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Fair District 13 to begin energy upgrades
Work will impact summer recreation
District 13 will begin a $5 million energy conservation plan this summer which is estimated to save more than $200,000 annually and impact all four elementary schools in the district.
Approved by the Board of Education and the New York State Education Department, the plan includes lighting upgrades, more efficient heating systems, steam trap replacements and new dual-fuel boilers that can use oil or gas.
Meredith Brosnan, assistant superintendent for business, said that the plan will not affect the budget or the tax rate because the energy savings pay for the upgrades. “It will save real dollars and is environmentally friendly,” she said. “It’s just a great opportunity for us to update the boilers, which would be very expensive individually.”
The project is estimated to finish in early 2014, taking about six months. Its first phase, asbestos abatement and boiler removal, will go from June 24 to July 5. Asbestos is a mineral used in insulating materials and is present inside all of the old boilers.
J.J. Broderick, the company doing the abatement, will prepare for boiler removal on June 24 and 25 and will abate later that week. At Wheeler Avenue and Willow Road, work will be done from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the James A. Dever School, from 4 p.m. to midnight and at Howell Road, from 8 a.m. to midnight.
To ensure safety, signs will be posted on all buildings where work is occurring, air tests will be conducted several times daily and all industry, federal and state mandated precautions will be in effect, district officials said.
All summer recreation programs will take place at Valley Stream North High School for the week of July 1 and move to Howell Road School beginning July 8, where it will stay for the rest of the summer. Other than the location change, the program will remain the same.
Parents who are unable to bring their children to North High and would like to change their child’s summer recreation starting date to July 8 should email Denise DeMeo at ddemeo@valleystream13.com. A refund will be given for the first week.
