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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