Knoch School District looking to close out renovation
JEFFERSON TWP — As the start of the school year looms, Eckles Construction is confident it is ready to begin wrapping up the Knoch High School renovation, aside from one new snag.
John Pappas, president of Eckles, presented an update on the renovation to the school board at their Wednesday, Aug. 6, work session meeting. While entire sections of the building are nearly or fully complete, a new problem has arisen.
“I was hoping that I’d be able to report that the gas line work was complete,” Pappas said. “Unfortunately today, when they tried to put the final test on, the test on the eight-inch line was fine. The test on the four-inch line … that section of the line failed.”
Pappas said the appropriate people would be back out Thursday to run another test, at which point he would be able to determine if there is indeed an issue with the line.
However, superintendent David Foley informed the board an issue with the line may cause roughly 150 feet of road on campus to be torn up.
“I’m going to be sick to my stomach,” Pappas said at the notion.
Aside from the gas line issue, the district is still looking to resolve an issue with an entrance to the school.
Pappas previously said the district will have to pay for a portion of Dinnerbell Road to be milled and repaved, and a portion of concrete sidewalks to be reconfigured to allow for a high spot in the road to “shed water from both sides” when it rains.
Inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation want the district to revise its intersection plan for a new driveway into the front parking lot so rainwater “doesn’t pool in front of the entrance.”
At the August meeting, Pappas said he spoke with PennDOT and state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, to see if there was a way to help the school afford the costs. He said, to their knowledge, the district will have to pay for it themselves.
Besides the two issues, Pappas said everything else is still on track. Some spaces, like the wellness center, are effectively complete.
“A lot of things are starting to wind down and really finish up,” he said.
Pappas said as early as next week, the contractor’s trailers will be removed as part of “demobilization” and to work on some final sections of sidewalk.
The school board will get the opportunity to walk through the renovated school later in August, while an open house for the public is slated for September.
