Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout20150204 - Elementary School Building Committee - Meeting Minutes Hopkinton Public Schools 89 Hayden Rowe – Hopkinton MA 01748 Hopkinton Elementary School Building Committee 18 Main Street, Hopkinton, MA 01748 February 4, 2015 6:30 p.m. Chair Joe Markey called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Attendees: Joe Markey, Chair Mike Shepard, Vice Chair Rob Nickerson, Clerk Jon Graziano John Mosher John Weaver Pam Waxlax Dr. Cathy MacLeod (non-voting) Dave Daltorio (non-voting) Lauren Debeau (non-voting) Quorum present (7 voting Members). Absent: Kelly Knight (non-voting), Ralph Dumas (non-voting) Public Attendees: Meeting Televised by HCAM.TV Also present: Tim Bonfatti and Lauren Yanofsky from Compass Project Management, Inc. and James Barrett from Drummey Rosane Anderson (DRA), Inc. I. Community Input: None at this time. II. Approval of Minutes MOTION: After amending the HESBC meeting date to read “Feb 2th at 6:30PM”, Mr. John Weaver moved to approve the HESBC meeting minutes from January 20, 2015 as amended, seconded by Mr. Jon Graziano. Voted: 7-0-0. MOTION: Mr. Mike Shepard moves to approve HES Site Alternatives Task Force Meeting Minutes from January 15th, 2015, seconded by Ms. Pam Waxlax. Voted: 6-0-1, Mr. John Graziano abstained. III. Review and Approve on Payment of Invoices MOTION: Ms. Pam Waxlax moves to approve the invoice #CPM 44-06, from Compass Project Management, dated January 31, 2015 in the amount of $7,677.05 for OPM professional services, seconded by Mr. Mike Shepard. Voted: 7-0-0 IV. Community Workshop (1/24/15) Debrief Mr. James Barrett of DRA presented an overview of the community workshop held on January 24, 2015. The workshop was covered by HCAM.TV, and was well attended by the community. The morning was kicked off by Mr. Joe Markey presenting the overall timeline of the project as well as some ground rules, which set the tone for the workshop. Mr. Markey presented a general schedule of the project, as well as the “family options groups” with the 4 proposed sites. The 11 options were reviewed that morning. The site evaluation matrix served as an informative tool for the workshop, with a color-coded representation of the more advantageous options. Visuals of each option were shown on boards as the community arrived, then after the presentation there were breakout sessions, utilizing smaller sub-groups to discuss the 11 options. The workshop was a great opportunity to establish dialogue, offering opinions for the sites and their options. Key issues heard/recorded from DRA were: long-range plan/town vision, plan for growth/flexibility/adaptability, traffic issues/school safety, and the use/preservation/re- use of the Center School. DRA collected useful information and opinions from the community, and DRA observed that there was a more broad-based attendance at this second workshop than at the first, including neighbors and families. Dr. Cathy MacLeod commended DRA for their presentation of the options as well as the results of the community opinions gathered. Mr. Mike Shepherd thanked DRA for their professional presentation. V. Education Program Plan Status Update and Review The Education Program is an important piece for the MSBA to evaluate along with the space plan for the project. CPM sent the MSBA a rough draft of the education plan, and the initial response was positive. The School committee has reviewed and endorsed the plan. CPM is waiting to hear back from the MSBA with official comments. Mr. John Mosher asked if this is different than other education plans used in the past. Dr. Cathy Macleod noted that since it is an early childhood model, it is a different plan which they had to adapt because of the full day Kindergarten program, rather than half day, as well as the inclusion/co-teaching program. VI. MSBA Communications Update CPM has had productive informal communications with the MSBA regarding the preliminary design report (PDP), Tim suggests sending in the PDP on February 11th, 2015. The MSBA enrollment certification from March, 2014 is lower than the future forecasts that the Town has calculated. These changes have been sent to the MSBA. Ms. Cathy MacLeod distributed a list of comparative districts’ birth to kindergarten ratios. This information will be sent to the MSBA. It is important for the MSBA to have the most accurate enrollment numbers and forecasts. The committee agrees that the chosen site/design option should have the flexibility to adapt to more classrooms if the enrollment changes in the future. Mr. Tim Bonfatti clarified that CPM has not gone to the MSBA with a definitive enrollment number, but he suggested that the town be ready to prepare a letter explaining what the driving factors for higher enrollment are. Dr. Cathy Macleod explained two factors – more affordable options for families, as well as families moving into the community as their kids are just starting school. Mr. Mike Shepard asked Tim if there would be an opportunity to show the MSBA the efforts and the results of the two community workshops. Mr. James Barrett noted that this workshop community outreach overview will be included in the PDP submission to the MSBA next week. The MSBA will review the submission, then will setup a meeting with CPM to discuss their comments. The PDP is scheduled to be submitted to the MSBA by February 11, 2015. The next step within the site selection process will be to narrow the 11 options down to possibly 3 for further investigation and inclusion within the Preliminary Design Report (PDR). VII. Discussion and Decision on Shortlist of Preferred Sites CPM has encouraged the committee to shortlist 3 or 4 of the 11 proposed site options, and then choose the final preferred option at the March, 2015 HESBC meeting. DRA also suggested choosing 3 options that can be explored at a much deeper level, which will help the committee come to a final decision in March. Mr. Mike Shepard proposed eliminating the 2 Elmwood site from the options as they were the least supported options by the Fire Chief due to the proximity of the new building to the gas line. Dr. Cathy MacLeod noted that the Elmwood site has very limited growth capabilities. Based on the fire chief’s and police chief’s comments, there are concerns about the gas pipeline and building additional capacity on the Elmwood site. Rob Nickerson noted that with the hesitation and concerns from the Chiefs, the Elmwood options are most likely not going to be supported by the public. Dr. Cathy MacLeod brought up the impact on education during construction with the center school options for up to 3 years, which she said needs to be discussed before the committee eliminates the Elmwood site. John Mosher wanted to express that his most favorable site is Irvine because he believes it gives a central location to the majority of the educational needs. He suggested that the committee discuss Irvine as a shortlisted site. John Weaver also favors the Irvine site. He knows there is some traffic impact, but he realizes that there will be traffic issues at any site. He also agrees that the Irvine site addresses future expandability. He has concerns relative to the Center site that the program will outgrow the Center School space in the future. The Irvine site has no issues with future expansion. The entire committee would like to see the Irvine site/option on the shortlist. The committee agrees that the Todaro site should also be shortlisted. The committee has informally approved Irvine and Todaro as shortlisted sites, and all options within those two sites will be further considered. Mr. Tim Bonfatti stated that the MSBA typically requires that a renovation option be explored. However, the MSBA will also support that the Town shouldn’t waste time and money on an option that is not going to pass. If the committee feels that there is no renovation option that is favorable, they do not have to shortlist one. Mr. Tim Bonfatti noted that the committee should be ready to explore a renovation option if the MSBA responds with this requirement based on the shortlisted options presented. Mr. Joe Markey addressed that the committee does not see Center School as the most viable option(s) but there is heavy community support for the Center School location. Mr. John Weaver notes that he does not support further exploration of the Center option(s). Mr. John Mosher agrees with Mr. John Weaver, but he believes the community deserves and will want further exploration of this site. Mr. John Weaver proposed that the only option shortlisted on the Center School site is the option: 1C plus the acquisition of the 25 Ash property. Mr. Joe Markey asked, if the 25 Ash property is not available after further investigation of the site, would DRA look at other options on the Center School site (1C). Mr. Tim Bonfatti noted that the team would react quickly if 25 Ash became unavailable. As the option is further explored, one of the scenarios that DRA and their consultants will investigate is a scenario where the 25 Ash street property is unavailable. The committee determined, by the options shortlisted, that there will need to be site acquisition. Mr. Mike Shepard suggested, through the chair, that the Town Manager contacts Town Council to draft the paperwork required to preserve the rights to the 3 potentially acquired parcels until March 30, 2015, when preferred option is selected. The committee agrees that this should be done to secure that the land will be available for acquisition for all shortlisted options. March 16, 2015 is the date that the Town is deciding their preferred option, however, preserving the rights to the 3 parcels through March 30, 2015 allows for some variance in the decision deadline. MOTION: Ms. Pam Waxlax moves to approve/shortlist the following three options for further study: - 1C plus 25 Ash – (current center school site) - Irvine – Options A and B (this will be combined into one option as further investigation takes place) - Todaro Property Mr. Jon Graziano second. Voted: 7-0-0. MOTION: Mr. Mike Shepard moves to approve the process of contacting Town Manager to preserve the rights to the 3 potentially acquired parcels until, March 30, 2015, when the preferred option is selected. Seconded by Rob Nickerson. Voted: 7-0-0. VIII. Preliminary Design Report Submission Update and Vote Mr. Tim Bonfatti discussed that the PDP will be submitted to the MSBA early next week (2/11/15). Mr. James Barrett reviewed the contents of the submission to the committee. MOTION: Mr. Mike Shepard moves to authorize the submission of the Preliminary Design Report to the MSBA which will capture the 3 options shortlisted by the committee. Seconded by Jon Graziano. Voted: 7-0-0. IX. Other Business Mr. Rob Nickerson and Ms. Pam Waxlax discussed the status of the project website and the distribution method of the HESBC meeting agenda and packet. The committee agreed that the agenda including links to each google document was effective. Ms. Pam Waxlax is also creating a spreadsheet which will include direct links to all meeting content by date. X. Next Meeting Dates 3/7/15: Community workshop will be held in the Center School. 3/4/15: HESBC Meeting will be held at the Town Hall at 6:30PM. MOTION: Ms. Pam Waxlax motions to adjourn at 9:10 PM, seconded by Mr. Rob Nickerson. Voted: 7-0-0 Respectfully Submitted, Lauren Yanofsky Marketing/Project Coordinator Compass Project Management, Inc.