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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-11-ETF-minEstabrook Task Force Meeting Selectman's Meeting Room - January 11, 2012 Call to order at 5:33 p.m. Members and Ex- Officio in attendance: Judy Crocker, John Livsey, Peter Johnson, Christian Boutwell, Jim Brown, Mark Corr, Manny Ferro, Ed LoTurco, Tom Peterson, Michelle Ciccolo, Richard Larabee, MaryAnn Stewart, Deb Mauger, and Harold Payson. Minutes to be reviewed and approved: Judy Crocker requested corrections to the 2nd page, 3 paragraph. Mary Ann Stewart made a motion to approve the Minutes of the November 28, 2011 meeting as amended; seconded by Judy Crocker; vote: unanimous. Review and Consideration of Annual Report: A suggestion was made to delete the quotation marks (" ") in the second paragraph and to delete ETF in the last paragraph in the report. A motion was made by John Livsey to accept the Annual Report with said changes; seconded by Mary Ann Stewart; vote: unanimous. ETF discussion of recommendations as related to Task Force charge: A review of the Draft Recommendations prompted discussion of satellite parking lots and on -site parking lots to reduce the number of cars in queue. It was noted that once the new school is in place, it would be harder and more expensive to implement these types of changes. Recommendation #4 regarding providing a turn around at the end of Robinson Road was discussed. Robinson Road in its current state cannot accommodate 18 wheelers. There are critical concerns with Robinson Road and whether or not it could accommodate the weight and width of 18 wheelers. The BOS and SC will have to be policy deciders as to how the property is to be used and how the public will get to the property. Police, Fire and DPW have met and will be putting in writing a "what if' scenario for consideration by policy makers. Public Safety officials continue to maintain that it would be unsafe for Grove Street to be used for live queuing of vehicles. A procedural recommendation was made to modify dismissals. Behavioral ideas such as encouraging car pooling, making the bus more appealing, and public education about the benefits of not driving kids were also discussed. From an engineering standpoint, recommendations to physically design longer drop off areas and longer drive access areas are an option. A Motion was made by Harold Payson to recommend, through the combination of behavioral, procedural and engineering measures, that no queuing should overflow onto any public way after the new school is built. Seconded by Richard Larabee; vote: unanimous. ETF review of Beta Group's written report (Traffic /Access Evaluation — Phase 1). There was a brief discussion on Beta Group's report, which covers their activities to date. A Motion was made by MaryAnn Stewart to receive Beta's report as submitted. Seconded by Peter Johnson; vote: unanimous. ETF to discuss School Bus Fees during Estabrook Construction. The sentiment of the meeting is that subsidized bussing should be offered to Estabrook students during the construction phase. As a result of survey sent to parents, 78% said they would take the bus if it was free. If you add in the students who walk to school, it would bring the total of students not coming by car to 90 %. The school would possibly need 8 busses to accommodate this population at a potential cost of $325,000 per year for two years for free bussing. Public safety has ongoing concerns about the queuing issue on public roadways and feels offering subsidized bussing is a good idea. Although this will not fix the problem, at least it will be a temporary fix during the construction phase. There was a resident concern about the cost the Town will incur if free bussing is offered and wants to make sure if something like that is offered, to make sure it is going to work as she feels parents will still end up driving their children. Although the resident also feels the traffic situation will get worse during construction if things are left as they are so some type of subsidized bussing should be offered. A Motion was made by Michelle Ciccolo to recommend free bussing or reduced bus fees to be determined at the discretion of the School Committee and Board of Selectmen during the construction phase only. Seconded by Judy Crocker; vote: unanimous A Motion was made by Jim Brown to adjourn at 7:05 p.m. Seconded by Harold Payson.