East Lyme ― Roof replacement projects at Lillie B. Haynes Elementary School and the high school Aquatic Center are on deck as the town looks to create a School Building Committee to guide the process.

Residents on Wednesday will be asked to weigh in on an ordinance establishing the committee. The move comes as the school district works to secure grant funding through the state Department of Administrative Services for roughly 40% of the cost of each roof project.

The current capital budget approved in May includes $4.36 million for the Lillie B. Haynes project and $1 million for the aquatic center to be covered by a 20-year loan. After being reimbursed by the state, the town will be responsible for approximately $2.62 million and $600,000, respectively.

A roof must be at least 20 years old to qualify for reimbursement through the Connecticut School Construction Grants program.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Newton last month told the Board of Selectmen he expects the projects to go out to bid in February, with construction anticipated over the summer.

The elementary school roof project will address a roughly 23-year-old, 87,250-square-foot section of roofing not included in the 2011 replacement over the north wing. The rest of the roof was not eligible for reimbursement at that time, nor during the subsequent overhaul of the town’s three elementary schools.

The current Town Building Committee last met two years ago when it closed out a $37.5 million project to upgrade and restore the elementary schools. There is one vacancy on the committee, with terms for the six remaining members set to expire in 2026 or 2028.

The proposed ordinance would add two school board members to the existing group and changing its name to the School Building Committee. Newton said the school board at its Oct. 7 meeting will appoint the two new members to the committee.

Newton in a memo to selectmen said an infrared moisture study of the Lillie B. Haynes roof conducted in 2023 found “substantial degradation” of the roof membrane and a significant amount of underlying material in need of replacement.

The aquatic center, installed as part of the 1999 high school expansion, has been plagued by corrosion problems for most of its life. The district about 20 years ago received about $80,000 in a settlement in response to known construction deficiencies.

According to school board meeting minutes from 2016, a dehumidification system was proposed as a way to improve air quality, prolong roof life and prevent deterioration of pool infrastructure. Minutes from the East Lyme Aquatic and Fitness Center Committee show it was installed in the summer of 2018.

The dehumidification project cost $367,000, with $100,000 covered by pool revenue and $267,000 through the town's capital improvement plan, Newton said at the time.

Last month, Newton told the Board of Selectmen the dehumidification system did its job by slowing down deterioration.

But swimmers for at least several years have complained of rust falling onto them from the ceiling.

Newton in a memo to selectmen wrote structural steel corrosion had begun to occur prior to the installation of the dehumidifier. Paint, rust and metal pieces currently fall from corroded structural steel “on a regular basis,” he wrote.

Replacement became the preferred option after repairs proved too costly, according to Newton.

“After two bidding attempts and only one very high bid, it has been determined that replacement is a more cost-effective and long-term solution to the structural problem,” he said.

The public hearing will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. Selectmen will vote on the ordinance at their regular meeting immediately following the public hearing.

e.regan@theday.com