The East Hampton School District officially broke ground last week on its new transportation hub at the town's former scavenger waste site on Springs-Fireplace Road. The 10,800-square-foot facility will serve as a parking, maintenance, and fueling depot for most of the district's 37 school buses. It will also feature classroom space for a new student program in auto mechanics.
The new hub will mean that the school district no longer has to rent space at 41 Route 114, near the Long Island Rail Road underpass, the former site of the Schaefer bus company, which went out of business in 2006. The district has spent at least $200,000 each year for the last few years to lease that property, but the lease expires on Oct. 31. Construction is expected to be finished by the time the lease runs out.
"It's exciting. We're getting on our way," Richard Burns, the district superintendent, said last week. "We will actually own the building, instead of renting . . . I feel really good about that. We will be in our own place, and it will be as state-of-the-art as possible."
With "favorable bidding" by contractors, Mr. Burns said, there's a good chance the project will come in under its initial, voter-approved budget of $8.9 million, which included $2.3 million for the property and $6.6 million for the building and equipment.
According to Keith Rugen, the school district's assistant superintendent for business, the building will be modern and adaptable, with solar panels and infrastructure in case electric buses come into play in the future.
"We're making it so we can utilize it for many years to come," Mr. Rugen said.