A project to bring significant renovations to Dutchess BOCES’ Salt Point Center (SPC) is well underway and moving along smoothly, expected to be completed before the first day of classes, Sept. 8.
New ceiling tiles were installed in the building by Barone Construction Group, Inc., while new lighting fixtures were installed by BOCES’ Facilities and Operations team, who are also helping Rider Painting, Inc. paint the classrooms and their accompanying bathrooms. Once completed, the facilities team will do a deep cleaning.
“We’ll scrub the floors and then we turn over the room,” Assistant Director of Facilities and Operations Gregg Caruso said. “The in-depth cleaning is something that F&O is concentrating on; with the rooms being this empty we don’t get the opportunity to normally do that.”
While inside the classrooms, the facilities team installed switches so staff can dim the lights. Caruso noted that everything was designed with students in mind, and he completed many walkthroughs with District Superintendent Dr. Jodi DeLucia, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Denise Dzikowski, Director of Alternative and Special Education Margaret Buckland and SPC Principal Melissa Murphy to achieve this.
“We wanted consistency, so when you come into rooms, they are consistently the same,” Caruso said. “We’re trying to supply a clean environment.”
The main office is receiving a total makeover with new furniture and ceilings, while the counseling suite had its walls stripped by Barone’s workers, who also erected new framing. Electrical work was completed by the facilities team and Barone will sheetrock and insulate the room, while Rider’s crews will paint it.
“The walls weren’t fully up to the deck, so we went all the way up and provided sound insulation, so it’s a better environment,” Caruso explained. “We never want to put a Band-Aid on something.”
Behind SPC, a retaining wall was built to accommodate more parking spaces, while the fence that separates the lawn from the school’s bus parking lot was extended by Mancon, LLC, around to the facilities garage with a cement grade beam to keep ticks out. Additionally, a 3-inch fiber pipe was built by Amity Construction at one of the SPC side entrances to create redundancy for the high-speed internet service.
SPC typically houses the Extended School Year (ESY), therefore, it had not received updates for years. DeLucia shared her excitement about SPC students returning to a newly renovated building.
“They only have one or two weeks that the building is empty a year,” DeLucia said of SPC. “These investments are important not simply because they improve our buildings, but because they support the students and staff who learn and work within them every day.”
The work is being aligned with the last day of ESY on Aug. 14, with the goal of starting to move furniture back into the classrooms by then.
Other campus work
All across campus, you’ll see updates and improvements.
The facilities team installed benches at the front and side entrances of SPC, as well as at different spots across campus, while Avello Asphalt & Construction Corp. will provide the cement work.
“It will provide a nice sitting area for everybody when they come out of conferences or if people have to have a meeting with a student,” Caruso said.
Classroom floors at the Resilience Academy (RA) and Career & Technical Institute (CTI) are being waxed, while the latter is also receiving new painting on some of its classroom floors. Some parking lots were swept and others received new striping, while the gas pump by the CTI and RA main entrance will be decommissioned and demolished. Staff will get gas for district-owned vehicles at Dutchess County’s auto center across the street from campus.
The facilities warehouse area is receiving new blacktop courtesy of Avello, along with drainage and cement pads for facilities staff to wash trucks down after a shift. These are expected to be ready by the beginning of the school year. Two hoop buildings will be constructed by facilities staff to separately house BOCES’ rock salt supply and equipment, with completion expected before winter. The site’s former salt shed will be demolished.
“There will be more suitable and usable space,” Caruso said of this area. “This is operations, this is where everything comes from.”
