By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
In December, the Greater Houlton Christian Academy experienced a frozen pipe that broke on the second floor, which flooded the school.
Over the last few months, repair and renovations have been under way.
“We are continuing to work closely with the insurance company to finalize the settlement amount and are making good progress with it,” said GHCA Headmaster John Bishop. “As I mentioned in an earlier note, we have performed some repairs and improvements which are outside the scope of the claim replacement cost estimates. It just seemed to be good stewardship to do these while we had the opportunity.”
Work that has been accomplished includes: upgrading the rug in affected classrooms to vinyl flooring; removing the gym balcony and concrete wall beneath it, while expanding the gym floor playing surface by removing the vertical support posts and extending ceiling beams; upgrading from particle board to a more traditional gym floor playing surface.
“Students, in particular, really seem excited about the opportunity to significantly improve the gym,” said Bishop. “It seems clear that what has been a real challenge — the broken pipe — for our school family has become the catalyst for making some long-needed improvements.”
When removing the gym vertical support posts (under the former balcony) the renovation has required the services of a structural engineering firm to approve plans and has temporarily delayed the completion of the second floor, explained Bishop. Removing the posts requires access from the second floor level. Once those changes in the gym are completed within the next few weeks, the second floor renovations will be addressed quickly.
The next step, according to Bishop, is to pour concrete in the gym as a subsurface.
“This will take approximately two months before we can apply any top playing surface — we are exploring multiple options such as tile, synthetic, hardwood and more — in hopes to have a final playing surface installed possibly by May. In the meanwhile, the gym ceiling and walls (protective padding, paint and such work) will be addressed, and most of that work can be performed before the floor is installed.”
With all of the major improvements to the facility, the one area lagging, which is in need of an overhaul, is the downstairs bathrooms.
“We have estimates of approximately $20,000 to completely renovate/beautify those rooms, as well as the hallway floor surrounding the gym,” said Bishop. “Ultimately, finances, and our ability to raise needed funds will dictate how much of this gets done. With this plan in mind, however, nearly half of our facility will have been remodeled!
“Please be in prayer and mindful of the financial needs that will undoubtedly arise as we have taken an aggressive approach to responding to this crisis in a forward-thinking manner. It is so exciting to see how the Lord is turning a disaster into a blessing,” he said.
