Pipe damage closes Alcona schools
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LINCOLN -- Alcona Community Schools students will receive a weeklong extension to their winter break as the district will remain closed until Jan. 8 following the discovery of pipe damage, according to Alcona Superintendent Dan O'Connor.
O'Connor said the delay is the result of an issue that occurred during a pipe repair that took place on Dec. 22. Upon inspection of the pipe, contractors discovered the damage was more severe than originally estimated. O'Connor said the district needs to bring in additional specialists to assess and evaluate the pipe.
The contractors "realized there were more broken areas, so they needed to call in an abatement specialist and have certified contractors that work around that space," said O'Connor. "So we have to wait to get a fix in the water back on the building."
O'Connor said the damage was primarily a consequence of the pipe's age.
"We had to wait till the students left to turn off the water," said O'Connor. "When you're dealing with 60-year-old-plus pipes underneath the 60-year-old-plus school, that's in a pretty tight space, you don't really know until you get there. So, until the contractors were able to get deep into there after we had the water off, there were more issues than what they thought, and they needed additional help and contractors to fix it properly."
O'Connor estimated the repairs will cost between $10,000 and $20,000, but the exact cost is still uncertain.
"This wasn't planned -- pipe breaks, you have to fix them," said O'Connor. "We'll probably be between ($10,000) and $20,000 by the time it's all said and done, but, obviously, we won't know until the contractors are able to get down there and determine the level of time that they need."