HISD Bond: Bus Barn/Parking Lot
By JIMMY APPELT tribunenewsroom@sbcglobal.net
This is part 4 of information regarding the various items included in the proposed $13.82 million bond election ordered by the Hallettsville Independent School District for Saturday, May 7. This week’s information report is in regards to the construction of a new bus barn/fleet cover parking facility and parking lot renovation behind the high school. The proposed cost for these projects amounts to $3.68 million.
In addition to the various items mentioned in the three previous weeks of the Tribune, this item included in HISD’s call for a bond election involves addressing the need for a new bus barn and covered area for all its fleet of buses and vehicles.
For as long as can be remembered, the bus barn has been located at the end of E. Second St. in the southeast corner of Hallettsville High School.
This location is where the buses are serviced and parked when not in use by the school.
With HISD having 22 buses in its fleet, that include 10 route buses, six trip buses, two mini buses, one stored at the Junior High and three old buses for reserve use, the parking lot is filled to the brim with very little parking space between buses.
“Parking these buses we have to have the outside mirrors almost touching,” HISD transportation director Donnie Steffek said. “If I had everyone in the lot, there is no way to park them all. Some we have to double park.”
Also, over the years the district has purchased trucks and suburbans that are used by school personnel and for transporting smaller groups of students to the many activities.
Besides the need for more parking space, a covered area for its bus fleet is also called for in the bond.
“One of the reasons for the need for a new bus barn is to provide protection for our investments from hail and sun damage,” HISD superintendent Dr. Jo Ann Bludau said. “The average cost of a new bus is $100,000, and that’s low. Also, a covered area would protect all our other transportation vehicles.”
Bludau said a covered area would help extend the life of the buses and would insure a safe environment for the students to be able to regulate the interior temperature of on hot days.
“You crawl into a bus on a hot day, its very, very hot,” Bludau said.
Steffek also echoed Bludau’s comments saying the covered area for the buses is the main thing because the sun is so hard on the tops of the buses and the paint jobs.
“The hatches on the roofs of the buses are made of fiber glass and plastic and exposure to the sun causes them to crack,” Steffek explained. “The sun cracked hatches then leak inside the bus when it rains.”
Bludau said another reason for building a new bus barn is due to the location of the current barn.
She said the current bus barn is located on a curve at E. Second St. in a very high traffic area.
According to Bludau, when buses pull out of the bus barn parking lot, there are many times when a fast approaching car is rounding the blinded curve and could create the recipe for an accident.
“It’s a very scary feeling pulling out of the bus barn parking and having a vehicle coming around the curve,” Bludau said.
Steffek also said because of the location of the current bus barn on a blind curve it is vary dangerous for the bus drivers when they pull out of the bus yard.
“When we (drivers) come out with a bus, the acceleration of the bus is a lot slower and a chance of a collision with a car coming around the blind curve is a lot more dangerous,” Steffek said. “No matter which gate you come out of, it makes it a blind curve.”
Bludau said in addition many of the bus drivers park their vehicles in the area causing a congested parking area.
“A new location would help alleviate parking and increase safety in that area,” Bludau said.
The proposed area for relocating the bus barn, according to Bludau, lies north of the agriculture buildings near the current parking lot area and would allow for bus drivers to have an easier time driving into and out of the new bus barn parking lot.
Steffek said the proposed new covered bus barn would allow for the buses to circle around the new bus barn and enter its parking spot from one direction (south side) and depart from the north side.
The estimated cost in the bond for the proposed bus barn/covered fleet area is $2,954,000.
Parking Lot Renovation
Another item listed in the bond involves the renovation of the parking lot located behind the high school.
According to Bludau, the area is the location where buses load and unload students for both the elementary and high school campuses is showing its wear from all the traffic that travels through this area on a daily basis.
In addition, it serves as a parking area for faculty members, a place for loading and unloading the HHS band, and is the area where larger trucks deliver food supplies to the back door of the cafeteria. Also, it provides the driveways for Ag Science facility for livestock trailers and Ag administrators as well as the Career Tech (auto repair class) and is the existing fire lane for emergency situations.
“Every bus travels over the area, every school day,” Bludau said. “It has deteriorated over time and in the low areas it has held water many times for at least two weeks.”
Hallettsville ISD maintenance director Johnny Densman said, “The chip seal on the lot is worn out and we have been applying patch work to those soft spots for the last 7 to 8 years. We (district) have spent a lot of money on the patching.”
Densman said the proposed parking lot renovation would cover not only the lot behind the high school and elementary campuses, but also the driveway paths around the maintenance and Ag. buildings.
“A person just has to drive through the area and they can see its necessary,” Densman said.
The estimated cost for the parking lot renovation proposal is $726,000.
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Early voting on HISD bond will begins Monday (April 25) and ends on Tuesday, May 3. Voting takes place at the Lavaca County Courthouse Annex, 412 N. Texana St., Hallettsville, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. (April 25 to April 29). Early voting hours are extended from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, May 1 and 2.
The general election will be held Saturday, May 7 and voters can cast their ballot at their polling location from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voters who reside outside Lavaca County, but whose residence is within the Hallettsville Independent School District, if they wish to vote in the bond election, they will cast their ballot at the Lavaca County Courthouse Annex on election day (May 7).