HomeMy Public PortalAbout20180203 - Center School Re-Use Advisory Team - Minutes1
Center School Re-Use Advisory Team
Saturday, February 3, 2018 10:00 AM
Senior Center, 28 Mayhew St., Hopkinton, MA
MINUTES
Members Present: Richard Flannery, Chair, Kenneth Weismantel, Vice Chair, John Pavlov,
Darlene Hayes
Members Absent: Laura Barry
Liaisons Present: Claire Wright (Board of Selectmen), Michael Auen (Hopkinton Historic
District Commission), Frank D’Urso (Planning Board), Nancy Cavanaugh (School
Committee), Bob Dobinski (Parks & Recreation Commission)
Staff Present: Elaine Lazarus, Director of Land Use and Town Operations
The Team held a public forum to provide information and obtain community feedback on the
future of Center School. Mr. Flannery introduced the members and liaisons present, and
reviewed the mission of the Team. Mr. Pavlov presented information gathered to date, and the
interim (short term) recommendations of the Team, for uses of the building and grounds before
there are final recommendations/uses.
The Team opened the floor for public comment, and the following comments were received:
Mark Stephan, 18 Granite St.
Maker space, like Technocopia in Worcester – for entrepreneurs etc. Innovate and build space
Repair space.
Kim Hesse, 57 Grove St.
Have any developers expressed interest in the property?
Tom Terry, 17 Maple St.
Question whether demolition of the building is priority 3. There is a lot of interest by town
boards etc. for using the building. How will Town Hall be replaced? What is the capacity of
Town Hall? Cost estimates? Concerns about having a vacant building there.
Bea McMullen, 8 Lake Shore Dr.
Space for Polyarts so it can be held more than once a year, indoors – crafters/artisan center.
Community garden.
Teen center/adult education space/community center.
Sara Mayo, 5 Hilltop Rd.
The building should stay in the community (remain a public building, not private).
2
Devote to use by youth; community center; volunteers and donations should be used to make the
space available for them.
Marathon weekend – open it up for events, bring people into the building.
Don’t need to reinvent the wheel with respect to cost estimates, which are already available.
Put money toward the front historic part of the building
Grounds for parking, playground, community garden, etc.
Beth Malloy, 190 Lumber St.
Make it ADA accessible, this should be the first priority and it is necessary if the building will be
saved.
What is the rent paid for the school admin offices? What is the rent paid for Parks & Rec.
offices?
Use the parking lot for school buses
Teen center with police detail present.
Muriel Kramer, 39 North St.
Accessibility; look at the challenge of the structures as it relates to that. Get an expert to look at
it early, so that it isn’t an add-on later.
Preserve key pieces of the building, like the Library did.
Enumerate the things that you don’t want to lose and keep it at the forefront, such as events that
use the school for staging: Marathon, Polyarts, Jimmy Fund, etc.
Janine Leblanc, 3 Scarlata Rd.
Town offices
Multiple uses, not just one, to save money.
Dottie Ferriter Wallace, Pinecrest Village
Costs are an issue.
Town offices; Parks & Rec.; mentoring program.
Look at how we can save rather than spend money.
Use local experts/experience – use residents with expertise to prepare the analyses.
Marathon Committee wants to continue to use Center School for staging.
Staging for other events
Keep it in the community; don’t sell it.
Steve Frohbieter, 39 Sanctuary Lane
3
Additional meeting space for groups of 12 to 20 people, including nonprofit groups such as
HALT and Running Club.
Nonprofit group office space, including records storage
Town office space
Parking for general downtown use
Trails and connection to other trails beyond; Upper Charles Trail. Keep trail access open;
trailhead parking.
Jen Trendel, 31 Chamberlain St.
Break it up into 2 buildings, front for town offices/boards/committee space.
Marathon gallery (not museum) to display items within the office space area/hallways.
Back building with the gym
Maker space mentioned earlier is a good idea
Artist work space
Trails
Not a fan of community garden – the one at EMC Park failed.
Parking, but not for school buses.
ADA compliance
Paul Gedutis, 342 Wood St.
School Dept. offices
Parks & Rec. offices
There is already lots of space that can be used for offices and storage, such as at 66 Fruit St.
Make the Center School energy efficient.
Samantha Dings, 3 Whirty Cir.
Indoor Farmer’s Market, year round
Dale Danahy, 25 East Main St.
A lot of the building is already ADA compliant, except some bathrooms.
Organization/club space
Meeting space for town boards
Priority 1 use should be to keep it for town use, and to keep it occupied.
Beth Fritsche, 36 Ash St.
4
Ample parking for whatever use is selected.
Keep it in town ownership, don’t sell it.
Mr. Weismantel distributed a feedback and ranking form for participants to complete.
The public forum was adjourned at 12:00 noon.
Approved: March 14, 2018
Documents used at the meeting:
Center School Reuse Criteria Exercise
PowerPoint presentation: Center School Reuse Advisory Committee, Public Forum February 3, 2018