By Kim Walter

FRONT ROYAL -- After receiving a presentation on energy performance contracting at its Thursday evening work session, the Warren County School Board decided to take the first step toward fixing issues in the county's older elementary schools.

Charles Barksdale, from the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, gave the presentation to School Board members, Superintendent Pamela McInnis, Assistant Superintendent for Administration Louis Justis, County Administrator Doug Stanley, and other school and county staff.

Barksdale said the goal of energy performance contracting is to help local governments and school systems find ways to improve their facilities without burdening agencies with additional debt.

The concept is simple enough -- there are sufficient energy savings within certain buildings that can pay for improvements like replacing boilers, installing new HVAC equipment, more efficient control systems, adding insulation and other replacements and upgrades.

The performance contracting would allow a school system, for example, to upgrade facilities in a "green" way, and pay for those upgrades by reallocating existing energy dollars.

Barksdale said that if Warren County schools chose to move forward, he would be there "shepherding" them through the whole process.

To date, about 20 different companies in the state have been qualified by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy as approved energy performance contractors specifically aimed toward working with school systems. It is up to the local school system to make the final selection for a contract.

Barksdale suggested that the list initially be narrowed down to four to seven companies, based on criteria such as distance from Warren County, prior experience with performance contracting and references from state school divisions with ongoing projects under performance contracting.

"Of course, it also makes sense to have fewer companies bidding for a contract," he added. "If they know they're only up against three other companies, then they figure their chances are pretty good at being selected, so they might put more time and work into the planning phases of the project."

Visit link:
Warren County schools consider energy performance contracting

PAMPLICO -- A crowd of about two dozen gathered Tuesday night at the Pamplico Fire Station to voice community needs possibly to be funded by a new penny sales tax in Florence County.

The money that the commission believes could be raised from the new penny tax, which would essentially replace a current tax set to expire, stands at about $150 million over seven years or less.

Scotty Campbell of Lake City, who was appointed chairman of the penny tax commision conducting similar meetings county wide, told attendees before the floor was opened to the public that those needs eventually chosen to be funded will be outlined meticulously dollar for dollar - in a November referendum vote.

You will know exactly what youre voting on, Campbell said.

Pamplico Councilwoman Harriet Cox said she and many others had worked for years to bring a tennis complex to the town. She estimated the complex, complete with five courts (required for league play), a walking track and a playground would cost about $500,000.

Florence County School District 2 Superintendent Robert Sullivan said his district required many new facilities including parking lots, safety and HVAC equipment, as well as school buses. He offered no specific cost analysis.

The use of the funds gathered from the potential penny tax would have to be used for capital projects only, Campbell said, and some of Sullivan's requests would require new payroll funding for which penny tax money could not be used. Sullivan said he would gather further information about the districts needs for the commission.

Monte Tedder, Fire Chief for the Hannah, Salem and Friendfield Fire District said his district required two new stations and a new engine. He added his district is looking at a total of $6.6 million in necessary equipment and facility replacements over the next 10 years in all.

He said his district covers 165 square miles, the second largest in the county, and currently has 35 volunteers. The size of the area those volunteers have to cover with just the four current stations is nearly impossible, he said.

Windy Hill Fire Chief John Delung said his department needed two 20-plus-year-old engines replaced, along with many thousands of dollars worth of safety and breathing equipment. Another major necessity, he said, is to build a fire station for the department, which currently shares quarters with the town of Quinby.

Here is the original post:
Penny Tax Commission stops in Pamplico for public hearing

PAMPLICO, S.C. -- A crowd of about two dozen people gathered Tuesday night at the Pamplico Fire Station to voice community needs possibly to be funded by a new penny sales tax in Florence County.

Scotty Campbell of Lake City, who was appointed chairman of the penny tax commission conducting similar meetings county wide, told attendees before the floor was opened to the public that those needs eventually chosen to be funded will be outlined meticulously in a November referendum vote.

Pamplico Councilwoman Harriet Cox said she and many others worked for years to bring a tennis complex to the town. She estimated the complex, complete with five courts (required for league play), a walking track and a playground would cost about $500,000.

Florence County School District 2 Superintendent Robert Sullivan said his district required many new facilities, including parking lots, safety and HVAC equipment, as well as school buses. He offered no specific cost analysis.

The use of the funds gathered from the potential penny tax have to be used for capital projects only, Campbell said, and some of Sullivan's requests require new payroll funding for which penny tax money could not be used.

Monte Tedder, fire chief for the Hannah, Salem and Friendfield Fire District said his district required two new stations and a new engine. He added his district is looking at a total of $6.6 million in necessary equipment and facility replacements during the next 10 years.

Windy Hill Fire Chief John Delung said his department needed two 20-plus-year-old engines replaced, along with many thousands of dollars worth of safety equipment. Another major necessity, he said, is to build a fire station for the department, which shares quarters with the town of Quinby.

Lastly, Pamplico Mayor Gene Gainey said his town is in dire need of a new 200,000 gallon water tank that could cost upward of $1 million. He said public agencies have warned that in the event of a natural disaster, the town could have trouble providing water to its citizens.

More:
Penny sales tax commission visits Pamplico to hear public ideas

Project bids out: The town of Killingly on Wednesday solicited bids for several municipal projects, including roof repairs for the towns community center and garage, maintenance for HVAC systems in six town buildings, as well as for the installation of larger fuel tanks for the water pollution control facility. All bids are due back May 9.

Roofs: The town is preparing to replace roofs at the community center and town garage. Both roofs, constructed in the 1930s, have leak issues, said Town Engineer Bruce Chimento. The community center project involves demolishing and replacing three sections of the building roof: The 18,600-square-foot main section and two flat, rubber roof portions. Since the building is an historic landmark, the main roof will be covered with gray, faux-slate shingles, instead of a more modern-looking facade. The $200,000 project will be paid with Local Capital Improvement Program, or LOCIP, funding. Roughly 13,000 square-feet of town garage will be replaced with a rubber covering system. The project, also to be paid with LOCIP money, will also include the installation of pre-fabricated parapets, stacks and vents. It will cost between $120,000 and $150,000.

Tanks: The Water Pollution Control Authority will spend approximately $10,000 to install two new, 1,000-gallon fuel tanks at the water pollution control facility. The plant currently possesses two 300-gallon tanks, used to power on-site emergency generators in the event of a power outage. But we ran out of fuel during (Tropical Storm) Irene, Chimento said. The new above-ground tanks will sit atop concrete pads supplied by the town.

Maintenance: Six Killingly municipal buildings Town Hall, the community center, the library, the Historical Society building, the highway garage and the recycling center are due for annual maintenance work on their heating, ventilation and cooling systems. The work will include boiler tuning and checks, roof-top unit filter changes and circulator pump inspections. The work will be paid through each individual buildings maintenance account, though the town will package all the work one solicitation in an effort to get a better price, Chimento said.

See original here:
Killingly projects planned, including roof replacements

The retail sector continues to face competition from E-commerce, with many big box stores closing and sitting vacant. Medical office, however, will remain an investment favorite as superior healthcare real estate performance makes them attractive for equity investors.

So, what do these two trends have in common?

Scott Mason who heads the Health Care Group at Cushman and Wakefield said in an interview that improvements must be made in the physical backbone of health care. One way would be eliminating the traditional but inefficient office building with lots of doctors in their individual offices, each with their own receptionist and billing person. For one health care system this meant putting their doctors in abandoned supermarkets with plenty of free at-grade parking or hospitals leasing entire office buildings.

Hmm interesting. That got me thinking, what would the due diligence look like for repurposing an abandoned supermarket into medical office space? Lets look at the acquisition due diligence process.

Zoning Study and ALTA Survey

I think the first trigger point is that there will be a change in use of the property. Therefore the impact on zoning requirements should be the first issue to be investigated. If there are zoning issues that cant be resolved, the deal may be undoable. A Zoning Study should be commissioned.

Parking is a primary concern, so lets use the parking requirements for the two uses in the Indianapolis Zoning Code I assume it will probably be similar to many metropolitan areas. Im going to assume a 50,000 square foot building which is not unusual for a free standing supermarket according to available data.

A survey is the best way to verify the parking count and the buyer will always do his own, but the seller may be agreeable to provide a copy if he has one. Hopefully it will show parking space or list the total. If one isnt available, a survey just to confirm site parking count is not expensive and the buyer needs that data. As a last resort, one can spend a few hours at the site counting the spaces. Once into the acquisition process the buyer should get a complete ALTA (American Land Title Association) Survey.

According to the Zoning Code (Section 732-211 Table 2.10-A Minimum Numbers of Off-Street Parking Spaces Required by Use) a retail space is required to have 3.5 spaces per 1,000 gross square leasable area. A stand-alone supermarket will probably have leasable area equal to gross area so there needs to be parking for 175 cars.

Parking requirements for medical office space is one space for every 200 square feet of gross area. So if the entire building area is devoted to medical, dental, optometrists and clinics there has to be 250 spaces.

Go here to see the original:
The Science of Real Estate:

BATON ROUGE - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced the capital construction proposal for the next fiscal year (FY 2014), which includes millions in funding for projects in North Louisiana. The proposal was submitted Monday to the Legislature in the form of House Bill 2 and includes several investments in higher education projects. Since 2008, the Jindal administration has supported more than $700 million dollars in critical higher education infrastructure investments across the state, including more than $225 million for Louisiana Community and Technical College campuses.

Key projects include $8.05 million for Sandel Hall renovations at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, $3.5 million for a new classroom building at Southern University, Shreveport, $20 million for construction and utilities for I-49 from I-220 in the City of Shreveport to the Arkansas state line in Caddo Parish, and $14 million for replacement of Shreveport's North Louisiana Criminalistics Lab in Caddo Parish.

Governor Jindal said, "North Louisiana is already one of the best places in the country to live, to work, to study and to raise a family. By investing more dollars at our higher education institutions and in our roads, we can enhance the learning environment for students and make transportation this community relies on safer and more accessible. Doing so will continue attracting job creators who want to invest and provide opportunities for our people."

Higher Education Investments in North Louisiana include:

$8.05 million for Sandel Hall renovations at the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Ouachita Parish; $360,000 for planning and construction for the Underground Electrical Distribution System at the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Ouachita Parish, with $3.24 million in Priority 5 funding for a total investment of $3.6 million; $3.5 million for planning and construction for the new classroom building at Southern University, Shreveport in Caddo Parish; $200,000 for campus utility infrastructure assessment and emergency repairs and replacement at Grambling State University in Lincoln Parish; $2.25 million for roof replacements for campus buildings at Grambling State University in Lincoln Parish; $950,000 for the Bogard Hall roof replacement and waterproofing at Louisiana Tech University in Lincoln Parish, with $950,000 in Priority 5 funding for a total investment of $1.9 million; $1 million for renovations to Long-Jones Hall at Grambling State University in Lincoln Parish; $1 million for water system improvements and repairs at Louisiana Tech University in Lincoln Parish.

Transportation Investments in North Louisiana include:

$20 million for I-49 from I-220 from the City of Shreveport to the Arkansas State Line for construction, right of way and utilities in Caddo Parish $2 million for planning and construction for LA Highway 616 at Caldwell Road to LA Highway 143 in Ouachita Parish, with $9.6 million in Priority 5 funding for a total investment of $11.6 million; $5.4 million in Priority 5 Funding for planning and construction for the East Natchitoches By-Pass Project Phase 1 from Highway 6 East to Highway 1226 in Natchitoches Parish; $2 million for planning and construction for the Monroe Regional Airport Terminal in Ouachita Parish; $430,000 for Wiles Road reconstruction in Caldwell Parish; $390,000 for planning and construction of Highway 71 Street Lighting Project from LA 3032 to LA 511 in Bossier Parish.

Read the original here:
Gov. Jindal Announces Capital Outlay Funding for North Louisiana

The Finance and Facilities Committee revealed plans Thursday to update Central Michigan Universitys campus master plan.

The campus master plan was first released in 2001 and was updated again in 2003. According to Director of Plant Engineering and Planning Linda Slater, the first half of this year was dedicated mainly to data collection.

The data collection process culminated with discovery and design forums during which public comment and suggestions were welcomed and concluded with formal drafting that took place at the end of February. Both events were open to the public and encouraged student involvement.

What weve gathered is an idea on how to plan the future of our campus, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Steve Lawrencesaid. These plan for buildings, sidewalks and bike paths could potentially serve us for the next 100 years.

While no specific plans for immediate action were established at the meeting, several renovation ideas were the focal point of the presentation. The planning of buildings, green spaces, sidewalks, bike paths and roads were all mentioned.

One of the focuses of the new master plan is to ensure CMU remains a safe and walkable campus by improving traffic flow across campus during peak hours.

Suggestions for optimizing traffic flow include large and more convenient parking lots on the campus perimeter, splitting Preston Street into two lanes and the construction of roundabouts on main streets.

Lawrencealso mentioned enhancing walkability with minimized vehicle traffic by adding a green spine through campus.

The suggested green space, which lends to a walkable, bike friendly and publicly accessible campus, would run the length of campus and expand just south of Broomfield Road.

Included in the master planning process is a space utilization and facility condition survey, which found a potential $130 million in deferred maintenance to facilities over the next seven to 10 years.

More here:
Campus master plan to focus on making CMU a ‘walkable campus’

The borough is taking care of some facility problems that have plagued the municipal building for some time.

At the March 26 Borough Council meeting, Mayor Jonathan Dunleavy noted that the roof at Borough Hall has been leaking at different locations.

Mayor Dunleavy said that he has received conflicting information from people on the age of the roof. Some claimed the roof was the original, while others contended it was not that old.

Through the diligent research of Borough Clerk Jane McCarthy, who examined old bond issues to see if any of the ordinances funded roof repairs or replacements, the borough was able to determine that the roofs were not that old, he said.

The metal portion of the roof was installed in 2002 in conjunction with the installation of the elevator in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The metal roof has a 15-year warrantee and Dunleavy said he contacted the contractor that installed the roof but has not heard back from the roofer yet.

The remainder of the roof that sits above the municipal building, including the firehouse, was installed in 2004 and has a 20-year warrantee. Dunleavy said the contractor, Firestone Roofing, has already been onsite to make repairs.

The borough has also had its share of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) problems at the municipal building. The council agreed to hire the GL Group to make repairs to the heating-and-air-conditioning system at a cost of $4,900.

Dunleavy said when the air conditioning is cooling the council chambers, the outside hallway senses the cold air and turns on the heat. There is also a problem with the thermostat system. The GL Group will install new dampers, which regulate air flow in heating and air-conditioning systems, as well as address the thermostat issues, and the upgrades will make the system operate significantly more efficiently, he said.

Email: walshde@northjersey.com

More:
Longstanding building woes examined in Bloomingdale

12:32 pm Fri, April 5, 2013

Posted: 12:32 pm Fri, April 5, 2013 By Daily Record Staff

Harris Teeter supermarketopens in Ellicott City

Harris Teeter Inc.s decision to open a store in Ellicott City, at Greenberg Gibbons Towne Square at Turf Valley shopping center drew praise from Howard County officials. The 48,000-square-foot upermarket, Harris Teeters third store in Howard County, opened to the public on Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Harris Teeter is the first of several planned spring and summer openings for retailers and restaurants in the new 108,000 square-foot shopping center. Harris Teeter is known for its quality foods, exceptional customer service and its community commitment, said County Executive Ken Ulman. I cant think of a more perfect location for Harris Teeter. We welcome them to Ellicott City.

Mullan Contracting awardedrenovation of auto dealership

The Mullan Contracting Co., of Lutherville, has won a contract to renovate a 22,000-square-foot building recently acquired by the Norris Automotive Group. Contained within a four-acre site at 8525 Baltimore National Pike, in the Ellicott City sub-market of Howard County, the project was acquired from the Miller Brothers family late last year, to reposition the cluster of buildings and acreage into a high-end automotive dealership. The location was closed in 2008 when the Ford Motor Co. consolidated its network of dealers. Mullan will oversee a comprehensive interior renovation of the building, including an automotive showroom, sales offices, receptionist area, multiple service bays, repair facilities, a parts room and storage space. The renovation also includes the modernization and improvement of the projects HVAC systems, lighting and electrical packages and finish work including painting and carpeting. Penney Design Group is the architect and Comprehensive Structural Solutions is performing structural engineering work on the building.

Wilmot Modular Structures winsawards from Modular Building Institute

The Modular Building Institute presented White Marsh-based Wilmot Modular Structures with two awards at its recent 30th Annual World of Modular Conference. Wilmot placed first with its entry of a 6,300-square-foot building installed at the top of Mount Storm in West Virginia. The buildings innovative design includes a steel canopy that protects the building and its occupants from ice shards that routinely form on the overhead electric lines. The second award was given to Wilmot for its website (www.wilmotmodular.com). The Modular Building Institute is an international nonprofit trade association representing the modular construction industry.

Fitness center comingto Towson Commons

LA Fitness is opening a 52,700-square-foot, two-level health and fitness center at Towson Commons in downtown Towson in space that once housed out-of-date movie theatres. From the rotunda entrance at York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue, guests will see the LA Fitness space with views to an indoor lap pool and a new featured stair case with glass rails. Windows will be added to the multi-story buildings faade facing York Road. The facility will feature basketball and racquet ball courts, a spin area with stadium levels, an indoor heated lap pool, whirlpool spa and saunas, personal trainers and Kids Klub babysitting. Group fitness classes will include yoga, cycling, mat pilates, kickbox cardio and aqua aerobics.

Go here to see the original:
Real Estate Weekly: 4/5/13

The Allendale Board of Education passed its budget at the March 25 meeting with a $14.09 million tax levy, a $276,355 increase over last year's budget. That will result in approximately $127 more for the average assessed home, valued at $618,093.

The state aid will remain the same as last year at a little more than $300,000. The proposed tax levy is $14,094,129, which is a 2 percent increase from last year's approximately $13.8 million.

The appropriations for the 2013-2014 school year are (in approximate figures): instruction (43 percent) at $7.14 million; employee benefits (16 percent) at $2.72 million; plant operations (12 percent) at $2.01 million; instructional support services (11 percent) at $1.8 million; capital overlay (8 percent) at $1.27 million; central administration and technology (6 percent) at $976,341; school administration (3 percent) at $489,889; and student activities (1 percent) at $95,088.

The budget goals for the next school year are similar to last year in that the board is looking to maintain fiscal responsibility, get input from the board committees, maximize efficiency in the district's operations and maintain the district's culture of a "tradition of educational excellence."

Officials said that there will be no cuts in curriculum, academic programs, co-curricular activities or staffing in the proposed budget. An IT technician will be added and the recommended class sizes are expected to be maintained.

The district's focus will be in its Student Management System, a software application to manage data; PARCC (Partnership for Assessment and Readiness for College and Career), the new state assessments for students in English and math; EE4NJ (Excellent Educators for New Jersey), the new teacher evaluation assessment; and Renaissance Learning, a program to transition to the Common Core Standards. The curricular focus will be in language arts, middle school math program, Common Core Standards, professional development and the media center/technology/classrooms all centered around the framework of PARCC.

For language arts, the district's focus is in renaissance learning, professional development, supporting materials, like nonfiction resources and writer's notebooks, as well as on-demand writing assignments, among others.

Language arts have come under scrutiny in the last few years, as state assessment tests show areas in need of improvement, and have tasked districts to improve test scores. Part of the new curriculum includes students bringing in their own experiences to connect to a story more open-ended focus instead of question-answer format.

Global skills and technology will include laptops, desktops, upgrading the website and BYOD (bring your own device) environment at the middle school level.

Technology is coming up at its end of life, school officials said, which will require replacing of equipment, and as technology has become a more integral part of students' lives, so too has it become a part of the educational culture. Officials adopted policies outlining use of technology in September, such as electronic readers and computer devices, to have limited accessibility to the Internet during school hours, for educational purposes.

Read more from the original source:
Allendale's school budget spells $127 increase for average homeowner