By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The July 16, storm that moved through Great Bend caused plenty of damage to individual homes. To entities with several properties, expenses grew exponentially. At Monday's USD 428 Board of Education meeting, Great Bend Superintendent Khris Thexton said, so far, the district is estimating at least $1.3 million in damages.
"I guess if there's a silver lining to this situation, I think we got our increase in premium covered," he said, "except they'll probably get us again next year, along with everybody else."
The brunt of the costs is tied to the roof at Lincoln Elementary on the west side of town. A new HVAC unit was recently installed on the roof and the exterior metal casing was damaged. The soft roofing material was also damaged by the softball-size hail, and the current estimate for replacement is $1.1 million. Assistant Superintendent John Popp said he did not think it would be quite that high.
"When you start thinking about our capital outlay, we've got seven-plus buildings," he said. "If it takes a million dollars just to replace an elementary roof, our middle school is twice that size. That's a lot of money that comes out of our capital outlay that we would have to replace all those roofs."
The district's hail and wind damage deductible is $25,000. Estimates on Park Elementary's roof came in at $134,000, and a roof repair at the middle school is $40,000. Temporary roof repair costs came in at $18,000, other structural repairs cost $1,800, and spoiled food at the central kitchen cost $675.
Many of the district's vehicles were parked at the Education Center on Patton Road and suffered intensive damage. That estimate sits at $25,000.
"We're saying $25,000 as an estimate," Popp said. "I think that's way low. There are a lot of brand-new vehicles that have softball size dents in them. I'm thinking that's going to be a lot higher."
USD 428 will also pay an estimated $4,700 for additional employee hours for cleanup. Board President Jacquie Disque thanked the many employees that were cleaning up at district properties immediately after the storm.