FEMA will pay to replace Dayton school’s roof, DPS says

Kiser Elementary School in Old North Dayton will get a new roof in the coming weeks after inspections revealed enough tornado damage to require a replacement.

Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said about 87% of the cost will be paid by a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. A resolution to be voted on next week by the school board estimates the project cost at $1 million.

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“We’re getting ready for the design work, and then the roof will be replaced, hopefully before inclement weather comes in,” Lolli said. “There are no leaks at this point in the building (but) we want to avoid having any leaks.”

Kiser Elementary is at the northwest corner of Leo and Troy streets, on the south side of the Memorial Day tornado’s path through Old North Dayton.

DPS officials did not identify major damage at Kiser in the first few days after the tornado. But Lolli said shingles were blown off and after a review a short time later, the need for the replacement was identified.

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“We knew that we needed to replace it, but we wanted to make sure that students could come back to school on time,” Lolli said. “The roof has been patched, but you can’t continue with a patch in case you have strong winds or heavy snow.”

The resolution to be voted on next week declares “an urgent necessity,” therefore waving normal competitive bidding requirements. DPS will contract with Levin Porter Architects for $40,375 to design the replacement of Kiser’s “asphalt shingle roof with a metal standing seam.” The contractor to execute the work has not yet been identified.

More facilities work

Dayton’s school board will vote next week on contracts totaling more than $840,000 related to the asbestos abatement and demolition planning for the former Valerie and U.S. Grant elementary school buildings.

The Valerie building, at 4020 Bradwood Drive near Philadelphia and Turner, closed in 2018 after 52 years as a school. Grant, at 4309 Arcadia Blvd. off South Smithville, was built in 1936 and closed much earlier than Valerie, serving as district storage space in some recent years and reopening as a temporary school during last decade’s DPS construction boom.

FIRST STORY: DPS plans to demolish two elementary schools

A $768,320 contract with Gilbane Building Company covers management of the two-school project, as well as asbestos abatement by subcontractor Environmental Demolition Group. Two other contracts call for Helix Environmental to be paid a total of $76,000 for oversight of the asbestos removal.

Lolli said a separate, additional contract for the actual demolition will come after the asbestos work is done.

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