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Justine Limonius, Christina DeSanti, Joe Lipani, J.P. Foster, Rich Burns, Adam Fine, Sarah Minardi, Sandra Vorpahl and Liz Pucci cut the ribbon on the new East Hampton School District bus depot on Springs Fireplace Road. KYRIL BROMLEY
It’s been eight years in the making, but East Hampton School District’s bus depot on Springs-Fireplace Road is complete.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Board of Education President J.P. Foster said during a ribbon cutting following the board’s August 16 meeting. “Thank you to everyone involved. It looks great.”
Foster signed the contract after the board approved the purchase of the 2.95 acres, formerly East Hampton Town’s scavenger waste plant, for $2.3 million in 2017. The board then gave the green light to erect a 10,800-square-foot facility, which came in under the initial budget of $6.6 million. The depot lot includes parking areas for the district’s bus fleet, a fueling station, a maintenance barn and a classroom for a new automotive education program.
“Long term, this is such a smart, fiscal operational move,” board member Jackie Lowey said previously. “We end up saving money long term, for sure.”
Islandia-based Stalco Construction, Inc. performed the bulk of the work at a cost of $2.67 million. Mechanical work came in at $363,000, plumbing fees were $319,300 and electrical work totaled $377,881.
Delays in construction, though, resulted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with materials being hard to come by and slow to be received.
“There was a lot of work that went in to get here,” Foster said. “It’s one thing to build a building, it’s another thing to take stuff from the old building and bring it here.”
Earlier this year, the extra $350,000 in funds the district bonded was reappropriated to begin a new bus fleet and retire older models. It came at no cost to taxpayers.
“We can use the proceeds from the sale of bonds to pay down the principal of the debt,” Assistant Superintendent for Business Sam Schneider said back in March. “So, we’ll be able to close the gap that opened this year because the budget couldn’t afford it.”
Of the money left over, $300,000 paid off the portion of the debt service that is due next year. Using the money that’s already been appropriated in the budget to pay off the debt — moving it under the transportation code — $650,000 became available to purchase buses.
“I think we would have probably done things differently if we were to do it again,” Foster said, jokingly. “It’s crazy to think that people have retired and moved on that were a part of this, and thank you all for doing what you did. We really appreciate it as a board and as people in this district. For community members, this is a huge step forward.”
