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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTown & School Needs Comm. 08/19/2024Town and School Needs Assessment Committee Meeting Minutes August 19, 2024 Present: Walter Wilk, Jenn Walsh, Melinda Tarsi-Goldfien, Diana Bren and Scott Feely Also Present: Teresa Murphy, Matt Violette and Ed Donoghue Not Present: Vivian Webster 1. Open Meeting —i Mr. Wilk, Chair called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. CD 2. Consideration to Approve the June 17, 2024 Meeting Minutes <n M n 70 pp g ci> c-> r— rn Motion: To approve the meeting minutes of June 17, 2024. (Feely/Bren) Passes 5:0 }' _== _ rn c� O 3. Reorganize i7i D �'rrn Mr. Wilk asked for nominations of Chair. Ms. Walsh nominated Mr. Wilk as Chair anBr@9 sei4RIed the motion. The Committee voted and it passed unanimously 5:0. J c=) m Mr. Wilk then asked for nominations of Vice Chair. Mr. Wilk nominated Ms. Bren and the motion was seconded by Ms. Walsh. The Committee voted and it passed unanimously 5:0. 4. Review of Top Three Town Projects Mr. Violette stated that he and the Town Manager reviewed the list of projects and prioritized them, however they would like to have a conversation with the Select Board to seek their thoughts and support. Mr. Violette stated that the first priority was the roof at Town Hall. The roof is leaking and the cost of the project is $4 million, however the quote is from July of 2022 and it will be approximately six to eight percent higher. Mr. Violette then stated that the second priority for the Town is a town wide communication upgrade. He noted that this system is used by DPW, MMED, MEMA and School departments. Mr. Violette stated that they are going to look at any grant funding opportunities and the project has an estimated cost of $2 million. Lastly, Mr. Violette noted that a new Council on Aging Facility at 50 West was the third priority project. The project is estimated at $19 million in 2023. Mr. Violette stated that they continue to seek grant funding and will be looking for money for the demolition of the current building. Ms. Bren left the meeting at 6:28PM. S. Review of Top Three School Projects Ms. Walsh stated that the School Committee discussed and prioritized the top three projects. The first would be to move the preschool program from Roland Green to the main campus. She stated that there would be two paths that could be taken. The first would be to add on to the Robinson School or they could build a new building that would be for the Kindergarten and the Pre -School programs. Mr. Wilk asked what an addition to Robinson would cost. Ms. Walsh responded that it is $25 million for ten preschool classrooms added to Robinson however a new building would be $35 million. Mr. Feely stated that it takes a few years to go through the MSBA approval process. Ms. Walsh stated that the option to build a new building for preschool and Kindergarten on the main campus sets us better down the road and also provides an opportunity for MSBA funding, as MSBA will not fund any projects that are solely for preschool. Mr. Feely stated that there was no real savings to add on to Robinson verses a new building but thought that he could be misunderstanding the report. He was comparing option 5 on page 18 to option 5 on page 19 and believed option 5 on page 18 was giving the "biggest bang for the buck." Mr. Donoghue and Ms. Murphy responded that they would call the consultant for clarification. The second priority for the School projects would be for the science lab/classrooms at both the middle and high schools. They are not able to deliver high level curriculum that is needed. Each school has about 8-10 science labs and each school would cost $1 million for this upgrade and could be done over a summer break. Ms. Wilk recommended that this be a CIP request. Ms. Walsh then stated that the third priority would be a new building that would be for grades 7-12. This would be further out in the years of 2030-2040. Mr. Wilk then asked Mr. Violette to look at financing for borrowing and report back at the next meeting. Ms. Walsh suggested a field trip as it is eye opening to see the building conditions. Mr. Feely stated that the bathrooms seem to be a problem in many of the schools. Mr. Wilk then asked what the estimate on what Roland Green could sell for as there would be no reason to keep it. Ms. Murphy responded that she would ask a realtor because she was unsure. Ms. Murphy stated that the Roland Green population of students is growing and they are outgrowing the building. Ms. Tarsi-Goldfien commented that the Finance Committee is working on survey however she noted that questions relating to these projects would be too soon for the public. Ms. Wilk agreed but thought the survey work with her students could be helpful in the future. 6. Discussion of what the timeline will look like Mr. Wilk summarized that for the next meeting the Schools would get clarification on the difference between the two options questioned and what Roland Green could potentially sell for and that Mr. Violette would get the borrowing numbers. He further noted that the next meeting should be at the end of September and the committee agreed on Monday, September 301h and that the committee could meet at the high school and get a tour of the school and the middle school. 7. Questions There were no questions. 8. Any Items Not Known within 48 Hours There were no items. 9. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the Town and School Needs Assessment Committee Meeting of August 19, 2024 at 6:52PM. (Feely/Walsh) Passes 5:0 \ N /\ �-� Sign ture Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne �21 gI2q, Date