CHRIS KELLY staff The new Upper Freehold Regional Middle School takes shape off Breza Road and Route 524. ALLENTOWN — The Upper Freehold Board of Education has created a $25,000 escrow account for Allentown.

The board approved at its Jan. 7 meeting the initial escrow to Allentown for professional and administrative costs during review and approval of construction documents and agreements, project coordination and part-time engineering inspections that will be necessary during the construction of the proposed sanitary sewer infrastructure for the new middle school project off Route 524. The board voted unanimously to approve the escrow account, with Millstone board member Laura Dreifus not having to vote on the issue as it does not pertain to the high school.

During the Board of Education's Dec. 17 meeting, the board affirmed its intention to connect to Allentown's municipally owned and operated sanitary sewer system for service to the middle school campus.

School district Business Administrator Diana Schiraldi said the escrow account would allow Allentown to pay fees incurred on the school district's behalf during the construction of the sewer infrastructure. She said the borough has already incurred such fees and cited paying for professionals to review plans for the sewer hookup as an example.

"In good faith we are paying the $25,000 because they have incurred fees on our behalf and the borough does not have the money to pay them," Schiraldi said.

Schiraldi also noted that the board would eventually have to pay Allentown a sewer hookup fee, but suggested striking an interlocal agreement with the borough for sewer service that stipulates what the ongoing fees would be before doing so.

Board President Joseph Stampe said to Allentown Borough Council member Michael Schumacher, who is the council's liaison to the board and was in attendance at the meeting, "We are extremely appreciative to the borough due to all of the work done on our behalf."

During the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Dick Fitzpatrick provided a brief update regarding the school construction project. Voters approved the construction in a $36 million referendum in 2004 and a $13.2 million referendum in 2007.

Fitzpatrick said all footings of the project are complete. He said workers would start pouring slab on grade for the gym portion of the building Jan. 7 and noted that above ground masonry for the overall project is 6 percent finished.

Fitzpatrick said a sample of the brick that will be used on the building has been put up and that the crane would be moved to start steelwork on Area E, the last portion of the building that needs steelwork, Jan. 26. He noted that the steel work of sections A, B and C is 100 percent complete and the steelwork of section D is 75 percent complete.

"You can't miss a day because you miss something," Fitzpatrick said. "Unbelievable progress is being made."

The board had voted to authorize and accept bids on Dec. 17 for the construction of a sanitary sewer and pump station for the new school. Schiraldi reported that the school district received the bids and that she would present them to the board, along with a recommendation for which bidder to select at the next board meeting. She said the bids ranged from $384,000 to nearly $1.1 million.