HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-01-18-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS
PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE
Minutes of Saturday January 18 1997 Meeting in School Administration
Building, as corrected January 21 and approved February 4, 1997
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bruckman at 8 40 a m with
other committee members Johnson, Kelley, Poinelli , and Touart present
Also present were Director of School Buildings Operation John Moynihan,
School Committee Chairman Barrie Peltz and candidate for Selectman Dawn
McKenna
School Administration Building improvements for about $122 ,000 are now
being urged by the School Committee According to latest plans, roof
and paint renewal as well as handicapped access to a part of the lower
level are to be recommended The state/ADA requirement of total
accessibility probably will not be triggered, since the building's
assessed value is over $600 ,000 The Building Finance Committee had
recommended $160 ,000 worth of improvements including new siding but not
new windows , which would be much more expensive for the Town than for a
private party
How to reduce town costs legally? Moynihan used as one example his
plans for the School Administration to do the exterior painting by town
forces but to contract out only the stripping, which may involve lead
paint He will also explore the possibility of adding a porch that used
to be part of the building with the help of the Minuteman Technical
School The building dates back to the early 1800 's , with an addition
nearly 100 years ago
Roles of BFC and PBC were discussed in light of Monday night ' s decision
(unanimous) of the Selectmen to reconvene the BFC as advisors to them on
capital building plans School Committee Peltz cited need for facing
political realities, with possible need for sanction of the BFC to back
up the Selectmen' s resolve or recommendation
What are the true necessary costs of schools ' expansion? Moynihan
pointed out that the total cost of the the HMFH report plus BFC-
recommended site work would be quite high Chairman Bruckman emphasized
that the committee should examine the basic space requirement
calculations and assumptions to make sure that the schools do not
overbuild Thus the maximum peak enrollment basis should be 2700 pupils
and not 3000 Class sizes should not be increased - 18 per
Kindergarten, 22 in grades 1 to 3, and 24 in each grade 4 and 5
classroom The peak projection number is 2866 for the elementary grades
in the year 1999-2000 After 5 years projections could have a two
percent error per year for each year
The BFC had foreseen need for seven more elementary classrooms , which 3,
would translate to ten including replacement of temporary classrooms
with permanent ones In addition programmatic specialty additions are
called for music, art and computer labs
Moved (by Poinelli ) but not voted that the PBC should recommend to the
School Committee that planning for the elementary schools should be
based upon peak enrollment of 2900 , consistent with the October 1 , 1996
PBC Minutes of 1/18/97 - Page 2
projections He also said he does not understand the School Committee's
rationale on pages 1 and 2 of their report He stated that he favors
addition of only one new school
Noted that adding six computers in each classroom would up space
requirements to 1000 to 1200 square feet Existing elementary schools
have 750 s f classrooms
Learning Centers, which have been most successful at Fiske School are
now planned for all elementary schools They are considered not only an
efficient way to provide services for special needs students who are
being mainstreamed but also as a way to give special attention to
children to prevent them from becoming special needs students The
Learning Center could enable the school to give attention to individual
needs for part of the school day Committee members posed this
questions If this kind of space is built , will people move into town
for it? Would there be reduction in need for special education? Is
this a rationale problem or a space requirement change The placement
of Learning Centers adjacent to regular classrooms is important
Equally important might be placement of spaces for music and art as well
as library and computer labs Committee members also added a plea for
design quality and extras that might not be costly
Consideration of individual schools Lextended Day program rents
Kindergarten space at Bowman and Bridge Schools, with only a storage
space completely devoted to their use They also sometimes use art and
gym facilities Their operation is somewhat subsidized by the schools
Asked if a classroom could be lopped off the plans for Bowman and/or
Bridge schools
At Estabrook use of the pit (with architect to provide lighting) for a
new library was recommended, with a computer room to be contiguous
Enclosure of the entry court was also suggested library space Design
sketch of Fiske drew suggestion that the courtyard be made larger and
that the internal circulation pattern be closed Also needed at Fiske
are music, art and computer spaces Committee also later pondered with
wisdom of investing in that school , since it is the oldest (and ugliest)
in the system As for the location of the Early Education Center, the
committee agreed that the vehicular access and space potential are far
better at Harrington that at Fiske Committee recommended that any
added wing to Harrington should be two-story Same for Hastings, with
the further recommendation that the addition should be in a different
location from that shown on the most recent HMFH sketches
General Comments on additions Where possible additions should be two-
story This may require engineering study for load-bearing capacity
The desirability of clear-span construction for possible later other
community uses (such as Senior Center) was touched upon, as well as the
thought that ground should be conserved by making schools with compact
rather than sprawling footprints (also noted that each night a police
vehicle encircles each school for security check)
Option C, the addition of one new school , with additions to three is now
definitely under consideration The object is to equalize school
population to about 450 each building SC Chairman Peltz called this
PBC Minutes of 1/18/97 - Page 3
issue "a biggie " The cost concern with no doubt be discussed by both
the BFC (who will be meeting Friday, January 24 morning) and PBC Ms
McKenna called for an early decision by the School Committee so that the
new site can be included in planning
Poinelli asked why the BFC recommendations seemed to be about 25 percent
lower that the Archetype figures Kelley explained that the BFC mission
was to make the Archetype tomes digestible and politically acceptable or
otherwise doable by the town The BFC recommended that some "capital"
projects could be accomplished in operating budgets Boosting of
maintenance budgets , always inadequate, highly recommended by BFC and
many in the room
Site issues will be discussed at the committee's next meeting Tuesday,
January 21 evening, possibly using the mini site plans in the Archetype
and early HMFH reports Also there should be input from Recreation and
Parks departments
The meeting adjourned at 11 45 a m
Respectfully submitted,
ge t-d—
Erna S Greene, Secretary