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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-11-28-ETF-min Estabrook Task Force Meeting Public Services Building- November 28, 2011 Call to order at 6:05 p.m. Members and Ex-Officio in attendance: Judy Crocker, John Livsey, Bill Hadley, Sandy Trach, Peter Johnson, Christian Boutwell, Jim Brown, Mark Corr, Ben Moroze, Ed LoTurco, Tom Peterson, Michelle Ciccolo, Richard Larrabee, Pat Goddard, Mary Ann Stewart, Harold Payson, Keith Hoyle. Consultants in attendance: Jaklyn Centracchio, Kien Ho, Gary Ainslie, and Ken DiNisco. Minutes to be Reviewed and Approved. September 19, 2011 minutes—revision to third paragraph (motion) from the bottom of last page; change the word "egress" to "access" in two locations. A motion was made by Bill Hadley to approve the Minutes of the September 19, 2011 meeting as amended; seconded by Peter Johnson; vote: unanimous. October 26, 2011 minutes—revisions to these minutes were as follows. In the title, change 2001 to 2011. Add Bill Hadley, Sandy Trach, Peter Johnson, Christian Boutwell as being in attendance. Revisions needed to be made to a paragraph that referenced "entrance"that needed to be changed to "school driveway". The following paragraph was to be added into the minutes: Judy Crocker noted that in past school construction projects, there were parameters set by the Superintendant and School Committee with respect to parking and queuing. She encourages the School Committee and Superintendant to do the same with the Estabrook construction project. A Motion was made by Bill Hadley to approve the October 26, 2011 Minutes as amended; seconded by Peter Johnson; vote: unanimous. November 1, 2011 minutes—The following paragraph was to be added to the minutes: "Jim Brown expressed concerns for the safety of his family if they widen the school driveway as this will result in a grade increase to his driveway. He also has concerns with issues around snow plowing and drainage." The wording "Option 5" had to be amended to "Option 5A" in three locations. "Jim Brown" had to be inserted into a paragraph in place of"A resident". The following paragraph also had to be added to the minutes: "Mr. Brown expressed concern about adding a traffic light at the school entrance stating that such a solution would have a year round impact to traffic concerns for a problem that is essentially contained to 20 minutes a day, 180 days a year." The second to the last paragraph on Page 2 had to be stricken from the minutes. A Motion was made by Christian Boutwell to approve the Minutes of the November 1, 2011 meeting as amended; seconded by Ed LoTurco; vote: unanimous. Updates from DPF, DPW and PBC. DPF - Everything is on schedule; there is a PBC meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 11/30/11, and a School Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 12/6/11 DPW—The survey process for the Robinson Road and Grove Street areas will start tomorrow which will encompass the entire area of Robinson Road from the school property to Grove Street. An additional survey will be done along Grove Street where sight lines are a concern. The design phase will commence later once these surveys are complete. Public Works will update EFT on the design process once the timeline is clear. It was announced that a new committee has been formed: The Ad Hoc School Transportation and Safety Study Committee. This task force is the result of the 2011 school transportation report. The school bus contract is up for renewal this year. The Safety Study Committee will be offering some new ideas it would like to see in the new bus contract. These ideas and others are being developed through a sub-group working with the LPS Administration. Through these efforts the hope is to increase bus ridership and work to create better efficiencies in the overall transportation system. Review of Public Comments/Feedback from Emails—The Task Force received and reviewed copies of emails from residents sent to the Chair and Liaisons. Peter Johnson noted for clarification that the Town will not be taking any conservation land and that the need for permits from the Conservation Commission is the result of work that must occur in the wetland buffer zone. EFT to Review Engineering Drawings Beta discussed Option 5A, which was subject to engineering approval. Option 5A would maintain the existing school entrance and plans are to maintain the existing grade. Jersey barriers or some other physical barrier would be set up to separate school traffic from construction traffic. There may also be an 8' to 10' construction fence on top of the barriers. The fencing is a safety feature recommended by Beta and is not a mandatory requirement. During morning drop off and afternoon pick up, no construction vehicles will be allowed to either enter or exit the property. Beta is proposing a construction gate which will be set back 150' from the school entrance. This will ensure that trucks have plenty of turning radius room coming in and out of the construction roadway. DiNisco gave scenarios for two and three story buildings. Some time within the next two weeks, they will know if the school will be a two or three story building and what the parameters are. Detailed site planning will then occur after the schematic design. Chief Corr stressed that the design must have queuing space on the property to accommodate the current and planned enrollment. The school needs to be built so there is sufficient queuing and parking on the property to be safe. At this juncture, the ETF was informed that as of right now, it does not appear that there will be adequate internal roadway to allow for 100% of the queuing to occur on site. Trade-offs between having playing fields, and adequate playground space will need to be considered by the School Committee, PBC, and Board of Selectmen in evaluating the final site plan. ETF members expressed a desire to be involved in discussions around the site planning phase especially as it relates to vehicular options and schematics for queuing and parking as this is a primary safety concern of the Task Force. It was noted by Mark Corr that the recommendation for Robinson Road by DPW and safety entities (Fire and Police) was made with the understanding that queuing was to be on the school property and taken off Grove Street. If this will not happen, DPW, Fire and Police will have to meet and reconsider the recommendation for Robinson Road. Sandy Trach manages the traffic every day and has to dismiss 461 children. She also has a full staff outside managing children in all kinds of weather and getting them into cars. She is concerned with moving a road onto school property that the principal and staff will have to manage. As the Town designs the driveway, managing traffic in a safe way is the main concern. EFT to Review Engineering Drawings—Concept 5A The recommendation of Option 5A was pending engineering design and was for construction access only. A motion was made by Christian Boutwell to accept Option 5A as the safe and feasible construction access as proposed to the Task Force tonight; seconded by Judy Crocker; vote: unanimous. Sub-committee to Work on Draft Report. Christian Boutwell, Jim Brown and Harold Payson volunteered to work on a draft report. A motion was made by John Livsey to establish a subcommittee to work on a draft report; seconded by Christian Boutwell; vote: unanimous. Mary Ann Stewart, noted that part of the school budget process will look at a variety of options to reduce or eliminate bus fees across the district. Dr. Ash is looking at scenarios including Estabrook. The School Committee will vote the budget before the bid process for the busses is complete. Next meeting date: Next possible meeting will be December 20, 2011. A motion was made by Christian Boutwell to adjourn at 8:08 p.m.; seconded by Judy Crocker. All in favor.