Buried oil tank holds up project
North Colonie school modifies expansion plans following the discovery
Colonie Construction has been halted at a North Colonie elementary school after workers discovered a 15,000gallon fuel storage tank that would be too risky and expensive to remove.
The original capital project at Loudonville Elementary School builds an addition for the nurse’s office, as well as making space for an expanded art room, according to the design plans.
School officials and the design team at CS Arch presented an alternative proposal to shuffle classrooms around and renovate the existing nurse’s office at North Colonie’s Dec. 9 board of education meeting.
“We really don’t like ‘precarious’ and ‘expensive’; those are two words that make us a little edgy. I think you really came up with a good option for us,” board president Linda Harrison said.
The massive fuel tank, buried 10 feet deep, dates to 1953 and is listed on the state Department of Environmental Conservation website. It was emptied, cleaned and sealed off in 1997 to comply with DEC regulations.
CS Arch helped secure the tank in 1997, the firm’s president, Dan Woodside, told the board last week.
“The question has arisen about why we didn’t know this tank was there. I wish I had a really good answer for you except I don’t,” Woodside said. “I did not remember that the tank was involved. If I had, there is no way we would have designed that addition as part of the pre-referendum process.”
Shoring up the school building ’s foundation in order to safely re
We don’t have a lot of real estate there that’s really good to deal with. It’s really like an urban site, even though it’s not that urban to begin with.”
Dan Woodside, CS Arch president
move the tank would delay the project’s completion date an extra year and cost the district nearly $900,000, according to estimates. Moving forward with the modified plan, which has the support of the school principal, would save the district $222,319.
If the tank were removed, the district would also be required to analyze the soil underneath it and mitigate any contamination, which could get expensive.
The updates to the school are part of a $106.3 million multiyear capital project approved by voters in May 2017. A development boom in the town of Colonie has resulted in rapid enrollment growth and cramped classrooms, particularly at the district’s six elementary schools.
Enrollment in North Colonie for 2018-2019 school year was at 5,685, up from 5,511 in 2016-17. Demographic studies commissioned by the district show enrollment increasing by hundreds more over 10 years, with the sharpest rise occurring in the younger grades.
Loudonville Elementary is fairly landlocked by parking lots, a playground and neighboring houses that leave few opportunities for expansion.
“We don’t have a lot of real estate there that’s really good to deal with,” Woodside said. “It’s really like an urban site, even though its not that urban to begin with.”
The board will make a final determination on the changes by Dec. 21.