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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-10-21 ad Hoc Police Station Building Committee MinutesREAP R4'y SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 21 1998 A MEETING OF THE SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE WAS HELD AT THE CAREER CENTER OF THE READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL r ON OCTOBER 21, 1998. THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:37PM. PRESENT WERE JOE LUPI, JEFF STRUBLE, ROGER SANSTED, TIM TWOMEY, RICH RADVILLE, JOE FINNEGAN AND RUSS GRAHAM. THE CHAIR HAS ATTENDED A NUMBER OF MEETINGS ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE. He ATTENDED THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING OF OCTOBER 13TH IN WHICH THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE VOTED ON A CAPITAL PLAN FOR THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT. THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE VOTED TO SUPPORT THE SUM OF 21.6 MILLION (OPTION B WITH KILLAM) TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE TOWN MANAGER. THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE DISCUSSED THE FEASIBILITY OF DOING KILLAM LATER WITH ANY UNFORSEEN CASH OR AS PART OF AN OVERRIDE WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL. SOME QUESTION AROSE AS TO THE ACCEPTABILITY OF KILLAM TO SBAB. THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE ALSO DISCUSSED MOVING THE HIGH SCHOOL UP IN YEARS WITHIN THE CAPITAL PLAN. THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE ALSO HAD SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT OPTION A AS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE EXPRESSING CONCERN THAT THE RESULTING SCHOOLS WERE TOO BIG THUS MAKING IT A NONVIABLE PLAN. THE CHAIR WAS ASKED TO ATTEND A MEETING OF THE BUDGET COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 14TH HE OUTLINED TO THE COUNCIL WHERE WE WERE AND EXPLAINED THAT, AT THIS POINT, WE HAD MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROJECT WAS OF CONCERN TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE TOWN MANAGER WHO WAS ALSO VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE EFFECTS ON THE OPERATING BUDGET. ON OCTOBER 20TH , THE CHAIR ALONG WITH TIM TWOMEY, ROBIN DANTONA, CHAIR OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, AND DR HARUTUNIAN MET WITH THE ARCHITECT AND WITH JIM ANDERSON OF THE SBAB TO UPDATE SBAB AS TO WHERE WE WERE AND QUESTION HIM AS TO WHAT THEIR POSITION MIGHT BE. MR. ANDERSON FELT THAT NO FURTHER WORK AT JOSHUA EATON WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE----THEY WERE DONE THERE. HE ALSO FELT THAT THE WORK AT KILLAM SHOULD BE RESTRICTED TO THE PRESENT FOOTPRINT OF THAT BUILDING. IN THE OPINION OF THE CHAIR, SUCH UNDERSTANDABLE RESPONSE EFFECTIVELY REMOVES OPTION A FROM THE TABLE. OPTION B (A NEW SCHOOL, ADD TO BARROWS) WITHOUT KILLAM WAS ACCEPTABLE TO SBAB WITH KILLAM OUTLINED AS SOMETHING TO BE DONE IN THE FUTURE. SUCH A PROCESS WAS NOT A PROBLEM TO SBAB.. THE EVENTUAL RENOVATION TO KILLAM MUST HOWEVER BE A SOUP TO NUTS TOTAL RENOVATION AND CAN BE SUBMITTED LATER AS A CATEGORY 3 WHICH ARE FUNDED AND NOT MOVED DOWN IN LATER YEARS. THUS WE COULD MOVE, AT A DECEMBER SPECIAL TOWN MEETING TO ADD TO BARROWS AND BUILD A NEW SCHOOL WHICH IS A PLAN THAT COULD POSSIBLY FIT INTO THE CAPITAL PLAN. DISCUSS THE CONCEPT OF A KILLAM RENOVATION (TO BE DONE LATER) PUT KILLAM ON THE BACK BURNER WAITING FOR EITHER AN INFUSION OF MONEY OR AN OVERRIDE. THE CHAIR HOPES THAT THE COMMITTEE WILL ACCEPT THIS EVENING, ONE OF THE THREE OPTIONS-DISCUSS SAME WITH THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE AT A JOINT MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT AND THEN MOVE FORWARD TO FLUSH OUT THE CHOSEN OPTION. WE NEED TO SET UP A SPECIAL TOWN MEETING AND WE NEED TO r REFINE THE ABILITY TO FIT THIS INTO THE CAPITAL PLAN. THE COMMITTEE OPENED DISCUSSION ON THE AVAILABLE OPTIONS. JEFF STRUBLE HAD OUTLINED A SERIES OF CRITERIA BY WHICH HE WOULD CHOOSE AN OPTION. THEY WERE A) DOES IT SOLVE THE ENROLLMENT PROBLEM B) HOW DOES THE COST EFFECT THE CAPITAL PLAN. C) WHAT EFFECT DOES IT HAVE ON THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET. D) WHAT DEGREE OF COMMUNITY DISRUPTION DOES IT ENTAIL. E) DOES IT SATISFY THE DESIRE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS. AN ANALYSIS OF THE OPTIONS. TO THESE CRITERIA LED HIM TO SUPPORT OPTION B WITHOUT KILLAM. THE CHAIR ASKED EACH OF THE MEMBERS TO SIGNIFY THE OPTION THEY WOULD CHOOSE. OPTION B WITHOUT THE KILLAM RENOVATIONS WAS THE CHOICE OF EVERY Pv EMBER. THE CHAIR SUGESSTED THAT. A VOTE BE TAKEN AT THE JOINT MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED OTHER ISSUES RELATIVE TO THE PROJECT INCLUDING NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS, THE WORDING OF THE TOWN MEETING MOTIONS, THE TAKING OF THE LAND AT THE BARROWS SCHOOL AND FOR DIVIDENCE ROAD AS WELL AS THE NEED FOR A MORE DETAILED EXPENSE BUDGET FOR A NEW SCHOOL VERSUS NONE AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH NOT DOING THE PROJECT. A MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE ALEX MCCRAY EXPRESSED HIS BELIEF THAT WE ARE BEHIND SOME NUMBER OF YEARS IN MOVING FORWARD ON THIS PROJECT. ON MOTION OF TIM TWOMEY, SECONDED BY ROGER SANSTED, THE COMMITTEE VOTED TO ADJOURN AT 9:50PM.