News Photo by Temi Fadayomi Buses are seen parked at the Alpena Public Schools Transportation Center on Thursday.

ALPENA — Big changes could be on the horizon for Alpena Public Schools transportation as the APS Board of Education begins to explore options for updating or replacing its current bus garage.

According to APS Superintendent David Rabbideau, during the APS Board of Education Workshop, the board and administration began preliminary discussions. He presented the board with various possibilities, including renovating the existing property or constructing a new facility in a different location.

“The existing property is pretty old and not in great shape,” he said. “We were looking at whether to bring that up to speed or build something new in a better location.”

Rabbideau claimed that one of the potential sites discussed is adjacent to the high school’s stadium, where the district’s agricultural barn is located. Rabbideau says that location could allow for shared use of infrastructure improvements planned as part of the high school’s bond work.

“We were talking about if we put it there, would it work?” Rabbideau said. “Could we pair some of the sites or driveways with our bond work at the high school?”

Rabbideau claims that as of now, the board wishes to wait until the school’s official audit is completed in the fall to assess the district’s financial position before setting aside funds specifically for the transportation center project.

According to Rabbideau, this topic was brought to the board’s attention after Alpena Township informed APS that they would like to have the current bus garage connected to the sewer system.

“The township is asking us to connect (the bus garage) to the sewer system,” Rabbideau said. “Because it’s on a well, right now.”

Rabbideau says that based on current estimates, connecting to the sewer system would be extremely costly for the district.

According to APS board President Anna Meinhardt, there are no concrete plans for the transportation center with Monday’s discussion just being the first of what is likely to be many such conversations on the topic.

“There are no set plans,” Meinhardt said. “This was an initial conversation which stemmed from the townships’s recent requirement for the building to now be connected to the sewer. This was the first of what likely will be many future conversations about the transportation center.”

While APS is still in the information-gathering stage of the project, according to Meinhardt, due to the large amount of funding that will likely be required, regardless of what direction it goes in, the project will likely be of high priority to the board.

“We are only in the initial stages of gathering information,” Meinhardt said. “However, anytime we are considering a significant amount of our tax payer’s dollars it’s a high-priority item.”

Temi Fadayomi can be reached at 989-358-5693 or tfadayomi@thealpenanews.com.