KINGSTON >> Ulster County lawmakers are being asked to approve the issuance of $83,720 in bonds for asbestos removal and the planning and design of the “green infrastructure” at the former Sophie Finn Elementary School.
Deputy County Executive Robert Sudlow said unanticipated asbestos and drainage issues were discovered at the site, which is being renovated for use as a satellite campus of Ulster County Community College.
The money being requested, Sudlow said, will cover the cost of architectural and professional services associated with the work.
At least a portion of the cost, he said, will be reimbursed to the county from green infrastructure and energy grants the county has been awarded for the project.
In May 2013, Kingston school district residents voted by a margin of almost 5-1 to sell the county the Sophie Finn building, which is on Mary’s Avenue in the city, behind Kingston High School. The building last was used as an elementary school in June 2013.
This past March, the Legislature authorized the county to borrow $366,085, which includes $300,000 for the purchase of the building and 6 acres of surrounding land at 94 Mary’s Ave.
UCCC’s new Kingston Center, as it will be called, at the Sophie Finn site will replace the college’s satellite campus at the Ulster County Business Resource Center on Ulster Avenue in the town of Ulster. County Executive Michael Hein has said the move will open up college opportunities to more Kingston High School students.
The college expects to complete the Sophie Finn building’s conversion by the end of 2014.