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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE- STM 2016 -3
<br />Clarke Project
<br />The Clarke project will include a 17,400 square foot addition and 21,600 square feet of interior renova-
<br />tions. The project will increase Clarke's capacity from 9 to 10.5 teams, adding 5 general education class-
<br />rooms, 2 science classrooms, 3 rooms for art, music, drama and engineering, and improved special educa-
<br />tion space. Site work around the school will provide better separation of cars and buses and will improve
<br />student safety. The construction will occur in phases and is expected to be complete by August 2017,
<br />when a large enrollment increase is expected. The total estimated project cost for Clarke is $21,675,000.
<br />Diamond Project
<br />The Diamond project will include a 36,000 square foot addition and 44,000 square feet of interior renova-
<br />tions. In conjunction with increased sharing of spaces by teachers, the project will increase Diamond's
<br />capacity from 9 to 11 teams. The 6 deteriorating modular classrooms currently in use will be replaced
<br />with brick and mortar classrooms in a new wing. The addition and interior renovations will also add 3
<br />science rooms, 3 rooms for art, music, drama, and engineering, and improved special education spaces.
<br />The kitchen and cafeteria will be relocated to larger spaces to accommodate current and future enrollment
<br />growth. Site work around the school will provide better separation of cars and buses and will improve
<br />student safety. In addition, the HVAC system, which has reached the end of its useful life, will be re-
<br />placed. The current HVAC system provides heat and ventilation capabilities. The new HVAC system will
<br />be able to heat or cool the building as well as provide ventilation, depending on the seasonal need. The
<br />construction will occur in phases, with classroom work to be completed by August 2017, when a large
<br />enrollment increase is expected, and the new cafeteria and site work to be substantially completed in mid -
<br />2018. The total estimated project cost for Diamond is $44,940,000.
<br />Although these renovations and additions are not LEED projects, the energy and indoor environmental
<br />quality design follow the LEED protocol.
<br />Prior Appropriations Related to Middle School Projects
<br />Plans for building capacity in the Lexington school system began in June 2014, when Town Meeting ap-
<br />propriated $250,000 to hire a consultant to assist the School Department in developing a master plan for
<br />school capacity. The School and Public Facilities Departments hired Symmes, Maini, and MacKee Asso-
<br />ciates (SMMA) and the School Committee formed the Ad Hoc School Master Planning Committee
<br />(AHSMPC) to complete the master plan.
<br />In January 2015, SMMA produced its final report, which identified multiple options for building school
<br />capacity system -wide. During the budget collaboration /summit process in early 2015, recommendations
<br />of SMMA and the AHSMPC were considered and building options were refined further.
<br />At a March, 2015 Special Town Meeting, the School Committee requested an appropriation of
<br />$4,080,000 to fund further investigation of these options though concept - confirmation studies, design -
<br />development work, and construction documents. $2,467,753 of that appropriation is attributable to design
<br />work on the middle schools.
<br />An architecture firm, DiNisco Design Partnership, and project manager /management consultants, Hill
<br />International, Inc., were hired. They then worked under the oversight of the middle school principals, LPS
<br />administration, community members, the Permanent Building Committee, the finance committees, the
<br />Board of Selectmen and the School Committee and completed the design development for Clarke and
<br />Diamond by December 2015. Among the many design options considered were (1) those recommended
<br />by the AHSMPC and SMMA, (2) building a third middle school and changing the grade configuration to
<br />5 -8, and (3) building only at Diamond, but enlarging the addition to accommodate all middle school
<br />growth. This process also included cost estimation and value engineering of designs.
<br />At a Special Town Meeting on December 7, 2015, Town Meeting appropriated $5,386,000 for further
<br />design and construction work at several schools, of which $1,951,000 has been used to develop construc-
<br />tion documents for the Clarke and Diamond projects.
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