Alpena Public Schools considering bus garage updates | News, Sports, Jobs

News photo by Temi Fadayomi Buses are parked at the Alpena Public Schools Transportation Center on Thursday.

ALPENA — Big changes could be on the horizon for Alpena Public Schools transportation as the APS school board begins exploring options for updating or replacing its current bus garage.

According to APS Superintendent David Rabbideau, during the APS School Board workshop, the board and administration began preliminary discussions. He presented the council with various possibilities, including renovating the existing property or building a new facility in a different location.

“The existing property is quite old and in disrepair,” he said. “We were looking at whether to speed up the process or build something new in a better location.”

Rabbideau said one of the potential sites discussed is adjacent to the high school stadium, where the district’s agricultural barn is located. Rabbideau says this location could allow for shared use of infrastructure improvements planned as part of the high school bond work.

“We were talking about: If we put it there, would it work? » said Rabbideau. “Could we associate some sites or pathways with our high school liaison work? »

Rabbideau says for now, the board wants to wait until the school’s official audit is completed in the fall to assess the district’s financial situation before setting aside funds specifically for the transportation center project.

According to Rabbideau, this topic was brought to the council’s attention after the Municipality of Alpena informed the APS that it would like the current bus garage to be connected to the sewer system.

“The municipality is asking us to connect (the bus garage) to the sewer system,” Rabbideau said. “Because it’s on a well right now.”

Rabbideau says that according to current estimates, connecting to the sewer system would be extremely costly for the district.

According to APS Board Chair Anna Meinhardt, there are no concrete plans for the transportation center, with Monday’s discussion being only the first in a series of such discussions on this topic.

“There are no specific plans,” Meinhardt said. “This was a first conversation which arose from the recent request from the cantons that the building now be connected to the sewer system. This was the first of what will likely be many future conversations about the transportation hub.

Although the APS is still in the process of gathering information about the project, according to Meinhardt, because of the significant amount of funding that will likely be required regardless of which direction it takes, the project will likely be a high priority for the board of directors. .

“We are only in the early stages of gathering information,” Meinhardt said. “However, any time we are considering a significant amount of our taxpayer dollars, it is a high priority item.”

Temi Fadayomi can be reached at 989-358-5693 or [email protected].

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