July 25, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Midland Park A public referendum may be in the offing to tackle major building upgrades in the Midland Park district’s three school buildings. The board of education last week received a report from its architect, Solutions Architecture, providing preliminary cost estimates for the proposal, but the report was referred to the board’s finance committee to develop a financial impact statement. “The Finance Committee will analyze the numbers and explore the different funding methods available,” said board President William Sullivan. “A referendum is obviously one of the options, and a recommendation should be brought forward in one form or another at our August Trustees considering major building upgrades meeting,” he added. The board meeting is set for Aug. 21. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Cirasella said that the architect had explored funding options and determined that the district does not qualify for any outside funding. The architect’s report was based on a facilities study compiled earlier this year by the board’s buildings and grounds committee following a facilities audit. The report incorporated input from four open public meetings and a website survey, according to Dr. Cirasella. Among the areas identified as in need of improvement, Dr. Cirasella said, are roofs, boilers, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, lighting, phone and fire alarm systems, flooring and toilet/areas as well as upgrade to fields. The long-awaited connection of Glen Avenue houses in Midland Park to the Ridgewood sanitary sewer system was expected to get underway this week, causing road closings from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday until Aug. 3. Motorists who routinely travel through the intersection of Glen and Erie avenues are advised to plan alternate routes during the construction period. Detours - Glen to Fairview to Monroe Street - will be posted in Midland Park and Ridgewood depending on the construction schedule. Police said efforts will be made to keep open access to Parkwood Deli at the corner of Glen and Erie at all times. After three years of waiting, the borough received a low-interest loan of $600,000 from the New Jersey Infrastructure Financial Trust earlier this year to do the project. The funds will cover the $119,843 construction cost and Ridgewood’s connection fee of $305,000, computed Detours planned for sewer construction at $5,000 per unit. Crossroad Construction of Newark was the low bidder for the work. Plans call for connecting the 61 homes in the Miedama Place/Fairview Avenue/Glen Avenue area to the Ridgewood main sewer line via a 175-foot gravity main. At present, the flow from the Midland Park homes goes via a pump station and force main to the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority in Waldwick. The rest of the borough’s nearly 3,000 sewer connections flow into the NWBCUA via gravity. The 17-year-old pump station at the corner of Glen and Erie avenues has experienced system failures for years, and the 40-year-old force main has had several significant breaks over the past decade, according to borough officials. They determined that connecting to the Ridgewood sewer main is more economical than upgrading the existing main and replacing the pump station, which has a remaining useful life of less than five years. Board member James Canellas, who headed the committee, said that projects added due to the community feedback were the renovation of the MPHS auditorium, leveling of the hill in front of Godwin School and bleacher overhaul. Trustee Tim Thomas asked whether the extensive list of projects in the report would be prioritized for the most pressing needs. Canellas said the list in the report already represents the priority items. “They are all vital items,” Canellas said. He asked whether putting off the vote at the July meeting would jeopardize any timelines that needed to be met. Board Business Administrator Stacy Garvey said if the board makes a decision by its August meeting, it will still be within statutory timelines. During last week’s meeting the board awarded a contract for partial roof replacement at Midland Park High School and Godwin School to the low bidder, Arch-concept Construction. The $484,000 contract cost will come from the board’s capital reserve account.