A new 90-foot high radio antenna tower will be erected at the Schnecksville Elementary School in an area behind the new addition which is planned for completion their summer.

The replacement is necessary because the existing tower is attached to the 1929 portion of the building which is scheduled to be demolished after the current term ends in June.

At a recent building and grounds committee meeting, director of school services Dave Keppel reported the present tower is set in a concrete foundation and cannot be reused.

He said four contractors inquired about the project, but only one company submitted a bid.

That was Light’s Tower Construction Company, Inc., Myerstown, whose bid of $139,750 was received April 6.

Keppel noted very few contractors have the expertise to provide and install a tower of this size.

He referred to it as a “specialty trade” and recommended acceptance of the single bid.

The antenna tower provides radio coverage for Parkland buses traveling inside and outside the district.

The tower is located at the Schnecksville site because it has the highest elevation in the district.

Keppel observed the radios used by bus drivers are essential for operation of the transportation department.

The project involves supplying and installing the tower in a concrete foundation with the assistance of a crane.

The antenna equipment will be attached to the tower before it is put up.

The contractor will have to drill holes through the brick wall of the building to install conduits for the cables.

There will be a locked cabinet in the school’s TV studio for the radio equipment.

The district began the school construction project one year ago.

After the new portion is finished, attention will focus on interior renovations, the west parking lot and the courtyard.

School representatives and KCBA architects are hoping to save the original school archway to incorporate along the new courtyard on the site.