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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-11-12 ad Hoc School Building Committee MinutesREADING SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 12 1997 THE SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE MET AT THE LIBRARY OF THE COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL ON NOVEMBER 12 1997. THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:40 PM. PRESENT WERE JOE LUPI, MARGARET COWELL, RICH RADVILLE, JEFF STRUBLE, RUSS GRAHAM, ROGER SANSTED AND HARRY HARUTUNIAN. JOHN DOHERTY, PRINCIPAL OF THE COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL ALSO ATTENDED. ROGER HOIT AND GENE RAYMOND OF STEVALOSKY AND HOIT WERE PRESENT TO SUBMIT THE FEASIBILITY REPORT ON THE SCHOOL SPACE NEEDS OF THE COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL.. PRIOR TO THEIR PRESENTATION, MR. GRAHAM UPDATED THE COMMITTEE ON A MEETING HE HAD WITH DR. HARUTUNIAN AND JIM ANDERSON OF SBAB. IN THAT MEETING, THE SUPT. AND THE CHAIR OF THE BUILDING COMMITTEE OUTLINED THE ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS AS PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE BY NESDEC. THEY ASKED MR. ANDERSON WHAT HE THOUGHT THE DEPT OF EDUCATIONS REACTION WOULD BE TO SUBMISSION OF BUILDING PROJECTS TO SBAB GIVEN THAT PROJECTS AT BOTH THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVELS HAD ALREADY BEEN FUNDED BY SBAB. MR. ANDERSON, AFTER REVIEWING THE PROJECTIONS SAID THEY WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE TO SBAB AND ANY PROJECTS WHICH WOULD RELIEVE SUCH OVERCROWDING WOULD BE IN CONFORMANCE WIRH THE STANDARDS OF SBAB. HE STRESSED THAT ANY SUCH PROJECTS SHOULD BE COMPLETE AND ANSWER ALL OF THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THOSE SCHOOLS. HE ALSO STRESSED THAT THE TOWN ACT SWIFTLY SINCE THEY HAD A NUMBER OF PROJECTS ON HAND AND MANY MORE BEING SUBMITTED WEEKLY. HE WARNDED THAT THE FISCAL PRESSURE TO FUND ALL THE SCHOOL PROJECTS WAS OF GREAT CONCERN AT THE STATE HOUSE AND HAD TO WONDER IF CHANGES MIGHT BE FORTHCOMING WHEN THE LEGISLATION COMES UP FOR RENEWAL IN 2001. MR. SANSTED GAVE THE COMMITTEE A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE MEETINGS OF THE SCHOOL SIZE AND ENROLLMENT COMMITTEE. ROGER HOIT AND GENE RAYMOND THEN PRESENTED THE FEASIBILITY STUDY, ATTACHED TO THESE MINUTES,. AFTER A REVIEW OF THE CONDITIONS OF THE BUILDING, AN ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND A BRIEF RECAP OF THE ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS, THEY PRESENTED FIVE OPTIONS, ALL OF WHICH MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COOLIDGE AS IDENTIFIED IN THEIR RESEARCH. THEY STRESSED THAT ALL FIVE OPTIONS WOULD BE REIMBURSABLE TO THE TOWN OF READING AT 66% OF PROJECT COSTS. ALL FIVE OPTIONS ARE CONTAINED IN THE STUDY ATTACHED TO AND CONSIDED A PART OF THESE MINUTES. THE ARCHITECT RECCOMENDED SCHEME A AS BEING THE PREFERRED OPTION, IT BEING THE LEAST EXPENSIVE AND LEAST DISRUPTIVE OF ALL THE OPTIONS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ANSWERING ALL THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL. JOHN DOHERTY PRAISED THE EFFORTS AND INVOLVEMENT OF THE ARCHITECT AND CONCURRED WITH THEIR RECCOMONDATION OF OPTION A AS THE PREFERRED PLAN. THE COMMITTEE ASKED MR. DOHERTY AND THE ARCHITECTS IF ANY OF THE OTHER OPTIONS PRESENTED HAD SIGNIFICANT EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGE OVER OPTION A. THEY STATED THAT, IN THEIR OPINION, THOSE OPTIONS DID NOT. DR HARUTUNIAN EXPRESSED HIS OPINION THAT OPTION A WOULD BE HIS PREFERRED OPTION FOR THE REASONS OUTLINED BY THE ARCHITECTS AND BY MR DOHERTY. THE CONSENSUS OF THE COMMITTEE, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, WAS THAT FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE COOLIDGE PROJECT WOULD CENTER AROUND OPTION A OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY, ALL OTHER OPTIONS REMAINING ON THE TABLE UNTIL A FORMAL VOTE WAS TAKEN TO RECOMMEND A PROJECT TO TOWN MEETING. THE COMMITTEE URGED THE CHAIR TO WORK WITH THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AND THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO SEE HOW OPTION A WOULD FIT INTO THE FINANCIAL PLAN OF THE TOWN. THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED AT SOME LENGTH, A TIMETABLE AS TO THE PROJECT WITH CONCURRENCE REACHED, THAT GIVEN THE ENROLLMENT PROJECTION, ANY ACTION WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR SUBMISSION BY JUNE 1 1998 SHOULD BE TAKEN. ON MOTION OF ROGER SANSTED, SECONDED BY JOE LUPI, THE COMMITTEE ADJOURNED AT 10:36PM.