ADDISON COUNTY — Residents of the seven towns in the Addison Central Supervisory Union on Town Meeting Day will vote on a $1 million bond issue aimed at scrapping the current, failing asphalt shingle roof on the Middlebury Union Middle School and replace it with a standing seam metal room. The budget would also provide for some energy efficiency upgrades in the building.
Voters in the towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, Weybridge and Middlebury will weigh in on the issue in Australian ballot voting in their local polling places on Tuesday.
School officials explained the current 1998 asphalt shingle roof has reached the end of its useful life, earlier than expected. Ice buildup in the winter and leaks during rainy days are fairly commonplace at the school now. The contractor who installed the original roof is no longer in business.
The proposed standing seam metal roof comes with a 20-year weather-tight warranty and a 35-year finish warranty, though it can be expected to last for around 50 years, according to literature released earlier this month by MUMS officials.
The improved building efficiencies would include additional insulation over the gym and cafeteria, air sealing of attic mechanical spaces, and addressing ice damming. All of these were highlighted as poor performing areas in a 2010 comprehensive facility energy audit.
Construction is proposed to commence June 2012 assuming a favorable vote of the electorate.
If passed, the bond is expected to add an average of $10 annually to the tax bill of a $200,000 property in the ACSU during the 20-year life of the bond.