Palmerton hears S.S. Palmer entrance options

Secured entrances have been a focal point of school districts across the country as the need for added safety measures steadily increases.

Palmerton Area School District heard plans Tuesday night on recommended ways to tackle one of its most challenging building layouts: S.S. Palmer Elementary School.

Jamie Bortz of KCBA Architects presented Palmerton’s board with several options to increase security at the building, highlighted by moving the administrative offices and nurse’s suite to the ground floor of the building, just off to the left inside the main entrance. With the move, visitors would be buzzed in to the main entrance, off Third Street, and be let in to a secured area. KCBA is also recommending adding a ramp for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance leading up to the main entrance. The ramp would start just to the right of the steps and head toward the corner of Third Street and Lafayette Avenue before turning and coming back to meet the main landing area at the top of the steps.

“This is a beautiful old building and we want to keep that aspect of the school, but still provide handicap accessible options into that entrance and direct access into the administration area for all visitors,” Bortz said.

Currently, visitors walk up a set of steps from Third Street to the main door, and then walk up a set of interior steps to get to the floor where the main office is located. According to Bortz, the interior steps would be taken away as part of the project.

Moving the main office and nurse’s suite would have some side effects on the top floor of the building. KCBA’s drawing calls for an additional classroom, relocating the art room from the ground floor and adding a STEM room. Those plans could change, however, Bortz said, after the drawings are discussed with Palmer’s staff.

“Maybe it isn’t the art room that is moved up,” she said. “We could do a number of different things based on the staff’s input and what they feel would work best.”

The estimated cost, which factors in the ADA ramp, relocated main office and nurse’s suite, added classroom, added STEM room, relocated art room and new furniture, is $1.55 million.

KCBA did present the district with a different option, which would switch the main entrance to the western side of the building. In that option, the lobby, main office and nurse’s suite would be located in an addition built to the north of the current cafeteria. The addition, Bortz said, would extend the footprint of the building by 12 to 15 feet to the west. That option is estimated at $1.5 million.

“At KCBA, we like the option which moves the main office down to the current entrance,” she said.

If things move forward on schedule, Bortz said, the project would be bid by January 2020, with construction happening in the summer of 2020. The new entrance would be open for the 2020-21 school year.

Palmerton has stressed security improvements as of late, including a secured entrance at the junior high as part of the recent addition, and adding a metal detector at Towamensing Elementary and guiding visitors straight into the main office. The board also previously approved entrance improvements at the high school related to security.

The district plans to transfer $4 million from its fund balance to its capital reserve fund, which would cover the cost of the Palmer work.