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In Focus: Plymouth’s story is one of patriotism, kielbasa celebrations and changing times

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Happy birthday

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Wilkes-Barre Area School Board Solicitor Ray Wendolowski spoke for the first time Thursday with some of the investors offering to loan money for high school renovations or replacement.</p><p>&#8220;We spoke via phone conference that lasted maybe 40, 45 minutes. It was really general,&#8221; Wendolowski said.</p><p>None of the people he talked with were from Northeastern Pennsylvania he added. One was from Florida, another from Philadelphia.</p><p>&#8220;As I understand it, these guys have capital available. They do this all over the country,&#8221; Wendolowski said. &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure they&#8217;ve done it in Pennsylvania. They are looking for long-term real estate investments that are safe.&#8221;</p><p>While the investor proposal has been pitched as a way to save Meyers High School, Wendolowski said, &#8220;It was clear to me that they are not in this to save any one individual Wilkes-Barre Area school. They are interested in whatever project Wilkes-Barre Area is interested in doing.&#8221;</p><p>The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted to close Meyers and Coughlin and consolidate grades 9-12 in a new building on the Coughlin site, a plan that prompted opponents to form groups seeking to retain the three high school system.</p><p>That movement, in turn, attracted the investors who would put the money for any work up front, create a company to handle the project, hire their own architects and contractors, then leave any finished building under district ownership. The district would pay back the money with interest over several decades, investor spokesman Bob Sypniewski said.</p><p>Wendolowski said part of Thursday&#8217;s conversation included his explanation of the state&#8217;s prevailing wage and separation laws.</p><p>The former requires districts doing any large construction jobs to certify that contractor wages meet state-set minimums, while the latter requires districts to issue separate bids for different types of work &#8212; electrical, heating and air conditioning, and plumbing, for example.</p><p>Private companies can hire a general contractor who subcontracts all the work, Wendolowski said.</p><p>Sypniewskiaa GAR High School graduate of 1994, has declined to name the investors, citing non-disclosure agreements, but promised they would be publicized once the deal firms up.</p><p>Wendolowski also would not give names, but said &#8220;clearly these guys are legitimate, they are not fly-by-night.&#8221;</p><p>Wendolowski said one concern he voiced was that the district not lose any potential state reimbursement. Typically, the state reimburses districts for part of a construction project, but that likely wouldn&#8217;t happen if the project were done entirely by private investors.</p><p>It&#8217;s much rarer, Wendolowski said, but the state also reimburses districts for leasing schools constructed and owned by someone else. Sypniewski has not described a system like that, but Wendolowski said he told the investors it would be difficult for him to recommend the board accept a deal that did not include available state money.</p><p>The school board is meeting Monday with the professional design team handling the current project, a non-public meeting because it is for informational purposes and not for deliberation of actions or votes. Wendolowski said he had hoped to get some of the investors to attend that meeting, &#8220;to kill two birds with one stone,&#8221; but, as of Friday afternoon, that meeting could not be arranged.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Wendolowski-Ray.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wendolowski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Wendolowski-Ray.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wendolowski </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Sypniewski-Bob.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sypniewski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Sypniewski-Bob.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sypniewski </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Would-be school investors talk to Wilkes-Barre Area solicitor