BRICK – A small but needed addition for Midstreams Elementary School was approved by the Planning Board during its most recent hearing.
School District Attorney Ben Montenegro said a capital project review was required for a code-compliant kitchen facility and repurposing of the current small kitchen for a “much-needed storage room to better serve the students and staff in the district.”
The Planning Board reviews these kinds of applications for the School District and any other similar government entity, said Township Planner Tara Paxton during the hearing.
“It’s not a typical site plan approval, so Mr. Montenegro is here to present the particularities of the case and take any comment that we or the public may have at his hearing,” she said.
Montenegro called on architect Lawrence Uher to explain the reason for the proposed addition, which is next on the School District’s Capital Improvement list
Uher said that Midstreams Elementary School has a combination gymnasium/cafeteria with an existing small kitchen located off the side of the large room, which has “basically, a roll-up window” that the students have to walk up to receive their meals.
The kitchen is “extremely undersized,” so the proposed project is to construct an addition, a kitchen measuring approximately 15 by 30 feet, or 438 square feet inside the interior courtyard off of the same gymnasium room which would provide a kitchen large enough for students and staff to walk into and get their food off a serving line rather from the current opening in the wall, the architect said.
The red line shows the delivery route for vehicles bringing food to the school. A small dark box is where the kitchen would be. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)
The existing kitchen, which would be adjacent to the addition, would be repurposed as a storage room, which is much-needed, he added.
Storage is so minimal that the staff uses some hallway areas to store food deliveries, Uher said. By repurposing the current kitchen for storage space, food deliveries could be reduced because of the additional storage.
The kitchen staff does not prepare food onsite, Uher said, the food is brought in and just warmed onsite.
The outside of the new addition would be constructed with stucco to match the existing building. Its height would be 14 feet, or a little shorter than the gymnasium. The new kitchen would be built on the current impervious surface and would not be seen from the street.
State law limits the percentage of impervious space – asphalt, buildings, and any other material that prevents rain from entering the groundwater.
Township Planner Paxton asked the only question, which was if there would be a change in the circulation of the food delivery vehicles.
The architect said nothing would change in terms of vehicle circulation.
“The number of deliveries might be reduced because now there would be storage,” Uher said.
After the meeting, school Business Administrator James Edwards told The Brick Times that the kitchen addition has a Preliminary Project Budget Estimate of $711,800 ($560,000 in Hard Construction Cost, $84,000 in Design/Construction Contingency, $37,800 in Architectural/Engineering Design Fees, $25,000 in Permit Fees and $5,000 in Reimbursable Expenses).
There are also plans to improve the kitchen facilities at Osbornville Elementary School, he said. However, when the district asked for bids from contractors, only one came in and it was rejected since it was over budget. “The project is being reviewed by the Facilities Committee of the Board of Education at this time to determine how to proceed,” he said.
The post New Kitchen Approved For School appeared first on Jersey Shore Online.
