2026 09.09 Amherst School Board Meeting

Speakers are labeled SPEAKER_N. This transcript is machine-generated.

Recording

All right, it is 7:00. I call this
meeting of the Amherst School Board to
order at 7:00. Would all those who are
willing and able please rise for the
pledge of allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
All right. Thank you everybody for
showing up this evening. Uh we have a
lot to get through. Um but first the
board. Does anybody have any questions
about the agenda? Everyone have
opportunities to preview all the
materials and are we ready to go or
anything that anybody would like to say
prior to beginning?
Thank you for the for the early things
so we can be prepared.
>> All right. So, just for those of you who
haven't had time to look at the agenda,
the way it's going to work is we're
going to get a presentation here in a
moment about two different options,
option A and option B for a Wilkins
project. We'll then have a public
comment after the presentation.
Um, after the public comment, we might
take a quick recess. Just depends on how
long it takes to get through things, but
just so people can use the restroom if
necessary. So, we might, but we'll see
how that goes when we get there. Then,
we'll have a board discussion. We'll
discuss and we'll take another round of
public comment. After that round of
public comment, the hope for tonight is
that we as a board will be able to make
a decision as to which option, option A
or option B would be the one that we
will be pursuing further. It's not
necessarily saying like this is
definitively what's going on a warrant
article or anything like that. That's
not what's happening here tonight, but
just like, okay, this is the option that
we're going to pursue further,
>> right? I'll turn it over to Mr. Barry to
introduce the uh presentation. You don't
need this, Michael. All right.
>> Thanks,
>> so thank you folks. We'll do most of the
present uh presenting from the from the
table, but I I I felt like uh it was
important that we kind of acknowledge
everyone in the room and and and
appreciate everyone getting here this
evening. Uh when we scheduled this um we
didn't anticipate the rain. We didn't
anticipate the Patriots playing at 8:00
tonight. Um and but we have the ability
to stream. So, it is uh able to be be
viewed. uh we'll record it and and put
it on the website as well. Uh but Jason
is right. Uh the outcome of the evening
should be for the Amherst school board
to provide direction to the
superintendent
Banwell the architects Harvey the
construction management company and
Trident the OPM to to pursue an option
further to get you more defined
conceptual plans and pricing and design
and costing and so uh that is why we're
here. Uh this is this evening is long in
the making. It it's a it's another cycle
of this and there's people who've been
at this for you know 9 years. You know I
I I I think of you know you know uh Miss
Beam and I think of the early JFAC
people and I think of the building and
grounds people and we have a new
iteration of the project advisory group
um here with us today. We have Obadia
Dart Bob McCarthy Dan Martell Matt Cis
is part of this. He's not here this
evening. Justin Power is here and
they've been providing guidance on this.
In the audience, we have people from the
community outreach and impact team that
are here and once an option is selected,
they'll start to do more informing and
educating with us as we as we try to,
you know, bring people together on this
and and have a gaining an understanding
of it. We also really wanted people to
walk away with something that we think
is really, you know, helpful. And so
please take you know a packet or two uh
it has you know the presentation it has
options it has the problem statement
that we're trying to solve with this
this project it has the questions and I
see you know some people who have been
around this project for early that have
been developed over the years on that
Amherst taxpayers and and families want
answered like what the direction of
Clark you know seventh and eighth grade
at Saggan fifth grade at AM MS
um what do you do with the SAU that's
part of there's a lot of thought that
went into this and this meeting is
really a reflection
reflection of all those years of work
and although the board did not put a
project forward last year we held two
listening sessions and and in and our
project that you see here tonight both
options are a reflection of those
listening sessions and you know talking
about what to do with the modulars
talking about the affordability
talking about the safety, you know,
talking about the gym, which is a large
part of the conversation. And so, we're
just really grateful people are here. I
want to thank uh the SAU team, you know,
Brian Miller's here, uh, you know,
supporting with tech. We have, uh, uh,
Sam Cook is is here archiving this and
and and as a communications, of course,
Chelsea kind of walking in is helps plan
all these. And then we we thought Liz
Canon and Heather just needed to sit
through this with us. And they're a ve
very very important group to the senior
leadership team. They're here and uh and
to my my left we have Banwell, Matt
Gifin, and Ingred Nichols, the
architects. We have Rob Prunier and
Keith Kelly from Harvey. Uh you guys
have seen Ingred and Caitlyn and and and
and Gino from, you know, Trident. And
then I'm just really grateful for the
board. The board's done a lot of work
with this and uh and behind the scenes
to educate themselves and to ask the
good questions. You can see some of the
questions highlighted in your
information packet that the board is
really kind of digging into. So, I
appreciate that. Um and appreciate the
the nimleness and and and really we
started this process the vote was on
March 10th this past year. On March
12th, we had a conference call with
Caitlyn and and Gino from Trident. We
designed a plan and then on March 13th,
I was talking to individual board
members about, hey, how do you want to
move forward with this? And so we we
started early. We had lots of
iterations. Uh we in the minutes that
we'll present, there's prior options
that were discussed. I was grateful for,
you know, tried and been able to work
with us for like look at this as a
completely different project and it's
it's a renovation project with some new
addition and so we think we've we've
captured you know the years in the
making of this but I as superintendent I
I kept telling the board we're obligated
as an SAU and a school board to put
something in front of the town of
Amherst that people seem is logical.
It's reasonable. It answers the
questions
and it provides a better educational
environment for our kids. Simple as
that. And we've taken a stab at it and
and we're pretty proud of where we've
landed. But at the end of the day, this
is not the SAU's project. It's not, you
know, these people here are the people
professionals guiding us. It comes down
to what the board wants to decide and
then in March ultimately what the town
the residents of Amherst want to decide.
We're just trying to be as logical with
that process as possible and and bring a
project that reflects where people are
at right now. So, with that said, I'll
turn it over to our group and we all
have some things we'll speak to. We have
about probably 25 minutes to get
through, maybe a little bit more, and
then we'll open it up for comments and
questions and things like that. So,
thank you very much everybody.
>> Good evening everybody. My name is Matt
Gifin. I'm an architect and project
manager for this project at Banwell
Architects. Um, I am going to be
moderating this presentation today. So,
I'll be doing a lot of talking, but I'm
also going to be pointing at folks that
are on this board here to to talk about
their slides as well. Um, so first I'd
like to just go through and introduce
everybody. Um, so we'll start with
Ingred.
>> Ingred Nickel Architects.
>> How you doing? Rob Pruner with Harvey
Construction Corporation.
Keith Kelly with Harvey Construction
Corporation,
>> Gino Bernhon from Trident, your Odin's
project manager,
>> and Caitlyn Heran from Trident.
>> Thank you.
>> All right, so first slide goes to James,
I believe.
>> Everybody, I'm James McCain. I'm the
director of facilities for SAU39 and
just want to touch on a little bit of
the summer work that we were able to
accomplish
over the course of two and a half
months. was actually pretty incredible
and I'll be quick about it. Um, we're
able to take care of the expansion
joints which had been asbestous. We
abated them and had them replaced. Uh,
we did some paving repairs on the
grounds that addressed a covert that had
dropped, I don't know, 3 or 4 feet below
grade. Uh, in addition, we put to
address lips that had developed over
time to allow for easier wheelchair
access into the building. We did a
little paving work there, created a
couple of ramps. Uh we rehabilitated the
electrical panel, the main electrical
panel in the building. Um you know, the
electrical service from this building is
fairly old and so we we rehab that this
summer. Um
we renovated two classrooms and they
really came out very very uh beautifully
and hopefully our students are loving
those new spaces. Um
there was also much as best abatement
that took place in this building this
summer which addressed some of the floor
and wall tiles uh that you see on that
list up there. We also had a a a little
bit of an air quality situation in one
of the modular units and we were able to
install energy recovery ventilators
which brings fresh air into the space
and it's it's conditioned air so it
captures the heat from the air that's
leaving the building and it brings it
back into the space with fresh air. um
which hopefully has improved the indoor
air quality in that space. So, thank you
all.
>> Thank you, James. Uh so, James mentioned
that we did uh renovate two classrooms.
So, we wanted to highlight this today.
Um he previously mentioned we did some
paving and cocking of joints. Pretty
self-explanatory, boring stuff. Um but
these this this the two classroom
renovation was very exciting. Um we
actually received some really positive
feedback from the teachers today. Um, so
what we did is we replaced the flooring,
repainted the walls, put in new display
boards, new casework, added uh new
shades. Uh, Caitlyn, um, Kathleen,
anything else you guys want to add to
this?
Excellent.
Good. So, where we are today, um, we've
reviewed the program of spaces with
Kathleen and have reduced the square
footage from the previous options. um
this option or these two options that
we're looking at tonight support grade 1
through 4 at this facility. Um we're
reusing a lot of the existing facility
uh with connector additions as well as a
secure main entry addition. We're
providing a uh we've developed multiple
options for review and we'll continue to
do so as we go through this process.
Uh we've added a new connector addition.
So now actually the building has a full
loop of circulation so it's not as long.
We're reusing this multi-purpose room
that we're in now as cafeteria only and
we're adding in both of these options
you'll see later uh a gymnasium edition.
We've done more on-site assessments of
existing conditions, had structural
engineers uh review and they're
continuing to review the roof to help
get the costs down. And as you just saw,
we recently completed the two classroom
uh renovation.
>> Uh one great thing about the two
classroom renovation is it allowed us to
explore some ideas for the larger
school. Um so it allowed us to
understand what kind of casework or mill
work would work, the amount of storage
that teachers needed, um play around
with the flooring. One one surprising
feedback on the flooring was that it's
actually softer to walk on, so it's
easier to stand for the day. Um so doing
those two classrooms actually informed
the rest of our project which which
ended up being very helpful. Uh the
current efforts uh so we uh recently
hired some civil and some structural
engineers to dig into the details with
us. Um so the building is made up of a
bunch of different vintages. So built
over varying years. The 1966 vintage is
the low slope flat roof that you can see
as you're entering the building. The one
with the white membrane roof. Uh part of
the project we want to increase the
energy efficiency of the building. So we
want to add insulation to the roof. But
due to the new 2024 structural building
codes, there are some complexities
there. So we're digging into the details
on how to add insulation but not have to
reconfigure the structure. Um we
conducted a site survey to determine the
locations of the wetlands, utilities,
and boundaries. And the civil and site
design is in progress. I'm excited to
share our first pass at some of those
options tonight. We're continuing the
mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems
review. The hazardous material
assessment has been received and we are
analyzing the scope of work and the cost
to mitigate. And we're updating the
pricing information based off of all of
these evolving efforts.
>> And as I mentioned when we opened up the
the evening, um we we looked at this in
a completely different way. And I was
really grateful for uh Kathleen Murphy
and Bob Jazokus, Heather Jennings and
Liz Kennon as talk about ED
specifications
uh as we worked with our teachers as we
we met with the project advisory group.
Uh it's a different scope. It's a
different prog. It's a it's a renovation
with targeted additions with the secure
entrance. You know, providing classrooms
so we don't have modulars and then
adding the gym. And at one point we did
discuss you know adding you know gym in
different places. We added the wing in
different places. Um we we discussed
keeping this as the gym and having the
cafeteria you know build a new cap
cafeteria. But I learned in this process
that building a cafeteria and kitchen
can be more expensive than building a a
gym. And so it's it's a we really took a
hard look at the ed educational
specifications of this and we want this
to support the education that happens
here. Um really grateful for Banwell and
and and and Trident. We had some very
candid conversations early on about what
we wanted to do with this and I'm
grateful for that and it's a needsbased
design. Um and so um I just want to keep
that keep that in mind. uh we tried to
you know keep the the project in within
reason of the square to create some
savings there and we wanted to make sure
that we have plans for the other project
the other spaces around Amherst school
district and SU39 and we took all those
things into consideration there. So, uh,
just a really thoughtful pro project
we're bringing forward. A lot of hands
were in it. A lot of opinions, a lot of
questions and and lots of years, just
lots of years of people doing this work.
And right now, we're just the ones as
board members and at SAU and and in
roles here with our professional
partners. But this has been a
culmination of really hard work by a lot
of people over the years to put this
spot. And so um uh I appreciate the
opportunity to share that journey. Happy
to meet with anyone individually after
these meetings. And uh you know before I
move on I just want to introduce someone
you'll see around SAU39 over the next
year. His name is Scott Fuller. Scott
Fuller is uh from G&D Associates. He is
a uh consultant that the SAU partnered
with to lead the strategic planning
process uh with us and uh very happy and
uh part of him understand is being like
this and so uh Scott thanks for making
time. So
design refinements. Uh so this is
elaborating a bit more on what Mike was
just talking about. Um so I'm not going
to read through this whole list. I think
you guys probably don't want me to. Um
but we took a real long hard look at
what we were previously presenting and
tried to re replicate that in the
existing building. Um so the kitchen
scope was drastically minimized. We're
able to reuse a lot of that equipment.
Um we were able to re-evaluate some of
the code analysis that we've done from
life safety and fire and energy codes
and simplified how we actually bring the
the the corridors up to code. And I
previously mentioned the the complex ex
the 1966 roof. got very creative on that
one and we're very encouraged on the
direction that we're going. Um, and of
course at the heart of any large project
like this, we're trying to bring the
building up to ADA standards. Um,
there's a I just used the bathroom in
there. I could barely get out of the
bathroom myself. So, there's a lot of
work around the school that we're
planning on tackling.
Is there anything else, Mike, from this
list that you'd like to highlight?
Uh, so I'm very excited to share some of
these current plans. Um, for those of
you who've been along for this ride for
the last couple of years, you've seen
option 1 2 3 4 and it just got so long
we ended up having to come up with a new
numbering system. So, we're now
presenting options A and B. Um, and so
we try to keep these graphics consistent
so that it's easy to to understand the
two. Uh the two key uh the the two key
similarities is the safe entry edition
which is right here for those that can
see my cursor
and the classroom edition. Those are in
the same location in both options. The
key difference is the location of the
gym.
Caitlyn, uh I know you wanted to speak a
minute on the civil design before we got
>> um something that we um did a little
differently this time. engaged a civil
engineer as part of this project um
process early on and they were able to
get out and do an existing condition
survey, site survey um to really
establish the boundaries of the site,
where the wetlands are, flag those, um
locate utilities, give us accurate
parking counts, information like that
that we just didn't have before. Um so
that's been completed and now that
allowed us to um have them produce a
conceptual site design for both options.
So, you'll see um there's a loop road
that will go around the building um and
provide parking out back for the field
access. This will be part of the drop
off um pickup routine as well as provide
safety for fire trucks and emergency
vehicles to be able to get around the
whole building. Um and then we've added
a significant amount of parking. So, in
option A, there's 91 added parking
spots. And, you know, as we work through
the design, we'll refine that. If we
need to add more, if that's too many,
take some away. um we'll be able to work
through that. We've also located um spot
out in the rear that works strategically
for a new septic system to handle the
school and the added um space and
children that will be here. And then
relocating the playground to a spot that
makes sense um actually go where the
existing modulars are now. So that space
is already disturbed and wouldn't take
too much work to just turn that over to
be become the playground in this option.
Uh some some people have a hard time
understanding site plans, so we thought
a kind of a simple 3D graphic would
would help. Um so anything with a ham
colored roof uh is the addition. And
with the white roofs, those are the
renovated areas. So you can see with
this long classroom wing down here,
we're creating a courtyard. Um this is
our gym. This is the connector that has
bathrooms that connects to the gym. And
then this is our secure main entrance.
Um, and this is zoomed out just a little
bit more to give you an idea of what the
the site and parking looks like.
Um, one of the ways that we were able to
bring the cost down is to, as we
mentioned, is to do more renovations.
And so we broke the idea of renovations
down into major, moderate, and minor.
Um, so the um the the blue, although it
looks like a different color up there,
the bluish purple are the major
renovations. The green is the moderate
renovations. The the white area is the
minor and the the pink ham color is the
additions.
And this is a helpful graphic because it
breaks down using colors what the
different spaces are. So for example,
the green rooms are the classrooms. The
um the purple area is the special
education spaces. The yellow is the core
assembly spaces.
Option B. Um, so as I mentioned, very
similar.
>> Matt, apologize. Can you talk a little
bit about light versus heavy?
>> Absolutely.
>> Renovation a little bit and maybe some
other people. I think that's a big part
of this that you want to talk a little
bit about.
>> Yep. Yeah. So, a major renovation
includes
reconfiguring walls, all new uh
mechanical, electrical, plumbing
equipment. sometimes drastic structural
upgrades in order to accommodate the new
program spaces. Um, really that's our
way of kind of seeing like the number of
dollar signs that are associated with
each one of these. The moderate
renovation, the walls remain in place.
If there's a sink there, it'll be it'll
we'll replace it with a new sink, but
we're not re drastically reconfiguring
the spaces. We're replacing the
finishes, the casework, the lighting,
the ceilings, but nothing structural. in
the minor areas is it's was recently
renovated and outside of moving a toilet
to be ADA compliant or adding a grab bar
here for the most part it goes
untouched.
Any any questions on that?
And you can see from the map, you know,
the new addition is is is in pink, major
renovations is in purple, blue, and and
moderate is is green and and white is is
very minor. So, if if you're looking at
the presentation, uh, and and people
wonder like how do you get, you know,
from, you know, a $50 million project to
to a 30 mid-30 project, you you do
things like this and you make decisions,
you make compromises. And so, I think
some of the candid conversation
internally and with, you know, Banwell
and Trident led us to this. So I I do
appreciate the journey as it really was
pushed upon by the project advisory
group to take a hard look at this
section and uh you guys can probably
speak to that a little bit later. So
thank you.
>> Yep. And and just to elaborate just a
little bit further uh this whole group
here uh did a very extensive walk
through at the beginning of this summer
to identify so we walked through all of
these spaces and and made very sure that
this space warranted a major a moderate
or a minor renovation. So we went and
literally looked at every square
footage, understood the electrical
plumbing implications and that's how we
concluded this
option B. Uh as previously mentioned,
the key difference is having the gym gym
storage and some bathrooms on the east
side and naturally with the building
being put in that location, the loop
road was changed.
>> Caitlyn, is there any any key elements
to this you'd like to point out?
>> I know you kind of hit I mean, the
biggest thing is that the loop road just
kind of spans and stretches out into
that back, you know, area. So, we're
impacting a little bit more of those
that field space now. Um, but you do get
a little more parking out of it. Um,
this one we're adding about 106 parking
spots to the facility. So,
>> that was the biggest major difference.
>> Great. Um, I do just want to put a plug
in that uh the civil plan that you're
seeing on both option A and B, that's
the first pass. That's the first of many
options and in reiterations that we're
going to look at. So, we thought it was
very important for everyone to see what
this could potentially become, but we
have a long ways to go looking at this
playing with the site design. And before
I go on to the the next building slide,
each one of these options also are
designed to accept future additions as
well. Um, so if the kindergarten was
decided to bring over here, we have
locations to put future kindergarten
classrooms.
So using the same graphic in 3D that
shows you the new versus existing
moderate major and minor areas.
It's very similar between the options.
So for example by putting this addition
here we had to remove some of the
classrooms here. So that became a major
area. uh one area where it's a major
area in this option where it is not in a
major area in the option A is right
here. And as you might imagine, it's
because we have a corridor extension for
this area for the gym.
The two options, uh there's plenty of
pros and cons to them. Um so and in a
lot of them you can make a strong case
one way or the other. So in option A
it's a more compact use of the site and
space for rear future building addition.
Um the gym is closer to the front
entrance in the offices. So what we
liked about this option is you have your
cafeteria here where everyone will be
eating. And right on the other side of
this wall is the future gym. So after
school hours when the majority of folks
are coming to visit, you're going to
these two spaces. So you can leverage a
lot of the same facilities like the
kitchen or the or the bathroom
facilities. Um the art room was not
moved in option A which of course has a
cost savings and there's a lot less site
work scope in option A. Some of the
disadvantages of option A is the boiler
room internal access. The boiler room
has an internal access only. Um the
facilities folks really like the ability
to enter a boiler room from the outside.
Um the gym wall is 205 to 35 ft from the
classroom window is just kind of close.
Um the gym is not directly adjacent to
the field or near the playground and the
construction of the gym and bathrooms
will be a bit more disruptive.
Option B has a lot of great advantages.
So the gym is adjacent to the some of
the fields and easier to walk to the
playground. So you're not having to walk
through the entire building to get
outside on a nice day. It's much better
sunlight uh to the north for the
classroom. So when I say the classrooms
having um kind of lack of sunlight
visibility, I mean these classrooms
right in here. So along this facade,
there's a lot more natural light. Uh the
boiler room retains exterior access.
Easier gym connection construction to
the main building. So So as you can
guess, building a a gym here, there's
just a lot of connection to the existing
building. It's easier for the students
to get distracted. Whereas this is out
back and it's and it's a little bit
easier to build. um the potential to add
additional parking to the site in option
B and potential to add future addition
near the gym. So, for example, you could
easily put classrooms along a corridor
here. Some advant some disadvantages. It
limits future building additions at the
rear. So, we've already built out here.
Um so, it'll be a lot more tough to add
even more additions out here. Uh it's a
a smaller third flex classroom, longer
walk to the gym. Assembly spaces are
separated now. They're not close. The
gym is not near the main entrance. The
gym toilets are not near the cafeteria.
The gym is further from the parking and
and there's a lot more sight work scope.
From here, I'm going to turn it over to
Harvey to talk schedule.
So, during this effort, we evaluated
both option A and option B, both from a
schedule and costing standpoint to
establish the budget.
This is a preliminary what's called a
CPM, critical path method of scheduling.
Not to geek out on it for too long, but
that's essentially all the dates are
tied to each other, activities are tied
to each other, it flows through the
project. Um, the next couple of slides
will represent the phasing that's
associated with that. We understand of
building in an active school environment
is a high priority to maintain safety
and security and separation from
students and construction workers. they
don't necessarily play well together.
So, we have very deep experience in that
activity. So, we've created a phasing
plan for each option. The schedule is
basically about a 2-year schedule
anticipated after bond vote next year
and then, you know, a positive vote and
and get after it uh a year from now uh
with the support of the design team to
be able to do that. and then targeting a
2029 school year is how this is laying
out right now. Obviously, that's all
predicated on how the effort goes to get
this approved and and and supported. If
we hit the next couple slides, you can
see the phasing and logistics associated
with that. Um, when doing multiplephase
uh projects for schools, we talk about
swing space. Swing pace space is the
opportunity to create classrooms or an
environment to be able to move faculty,
staff and children out of the area in
which needs to be either built or
renovated. So by creating the additions
first and quote phase one uh we've
created spaces to be able to move the
students to those locations so that we
can do the activities in the other
phases. So phase one would be the
addition for the gym and again they're
they're similar between A and B. It's
just essentially where the location of
the gym is. It's the gym and the
classroom wing would be built in phase
one with its period of time. Phase two
would be the main uh new entrance and
the admin supporting spaces in that
common area in the middle portion of the
building. Uh that is anticipated right
now to be done over a summer what we
call summer slams which you can only
imagine by the word what it means. It's
we try to get a lot of stuff done in a
short period of time. Um and then phase
three, four, five, and six are all the
renovation scopes that would happen. And
we've created the flex or the swing
space by making the additions, creating
the additions, uh so that we can make
those renovations without impacting uh
day-to-day activities of the faculty,
staff, and students.
And we got phasing for option B up
there. Same concept.
everybody's favorite slide, the
estimated cost. Um, so as Mike
mentioned, you know, we've spent a lot
of time working um to to really sharpen
our pencil on this number and and get it
to where we're um feel it's the best
value for for the community and for the
town. Um so we've spent some time with
Harvey. um they've worked with their
recently completed school projects in
New Hampshire as well as um reaching out
to their trade partners. So getting you
know actual input from subcontractors
who would be working on this project. Um
and so we've broken these both options
down. So hard costs are actual like the
physical construction. Um so that
includes any of the demolition, any
additions. Um so the the gym, the entry
classrooms and then associated site
work. So that's the physical building.
Um the soft costs are um engineer
architecture fees, our fees, geotech, um
furniture, picture and equipment, IT,
moving, storage, commissioning, which is
like making sure all the um building
systems work and are performing as
expected. And then any legal or utility
um charges that would come up. And then
the owner's project contingency is um on
the owner side. So the the town side,
that's money that's um put aside just in
case something comes up unexpected or um
something happens that we need to cover
the cost there. So um we've broken these
all down, spent a lot of time with
Harvey, going back and forth on some of
the numbers, verifying things. Um by
hiring some of these other subconultants
like the civil engineer, the hazardous
material study that was done, um we've
been able to verify the numbers that
Harvey initially budgeted. Um, now that
we've had a little more input and scope
from these engineers and they're feel
comfortable with the the estimate at
this time. Um, obviously as we move
forward and once an option is selected,
we'll we'll work to refine the design
and get more information and they'll be
checking and verifying their numbers
before we bring this to a warrant as
they that number will be the not to
exceed budget value um that goes to
warrant. So
>> then next steps.
>> All right, next question. So um
hopefully tonight we can answer
anybody's questions that um come up and
any of the board's questions and
hopefully um the board will be able to
select an option and give us the go
ahead to move forward um and continue to
design. So then Banwell would move into
um more of a schematic design drawing
phase is the next phase of drawing. So
they're developing the drawings, working
with the sub consultants, the engineers
um to further refine the design, working
with the SAU leadership team to make
sure um all the needs and wants are
captured. Um and then we'll be
continuing to keep the community updated
through that process. And so hopefully
by the end of October, we'd have those
refined drawings and designs ready to
go. Um Harvey would then take a few
weeks with those um to again go back out
to their trade partners and work with
their staff to confirm the numbers and
adjust anything that um needs to be
adjusted and then we would present that
um to the board and be able to move that
into a warrant um hopefully with
approval from the board and then you
know keep working to keep everybody
informed and present what what the plan
and the project is.
Can I get him? Absolutely.
>> I want to make sure and I was I told
everyone I would not speak much because
I like to talk. Um when we say
comfortable, I don't want people think
we're comfortable. We're secure in the
number and comfort is a very nebulous uh
word be. We have a great team here. We
feel this is appropriate for this
project and the comfort level is that we
have a team that's done this before and
we can we feel we can do it again. So
come I want you to say oh there must be
fat in it. There is no fat in this. This
this is realistic numbers that we want
to use. The also the other thing we want
to mention here is that when it goes to
warrant article it will be the number it
will not increase. We will design to the
budget and we're doing this in a fashion
that really saves the the money of the
town. A lot of towns may put out a full
design go to bid and realize they can't
afford it. The process we've taken here
is we're going to go through SD, which
is schematic design, and stop. There
will be no more money spent on
completing the documents until there's a
positive approval. So, we're not wasting
money prior to an approval. We are
holding that back to make sure that once
the town says you're okay, we will then
have the authority to spend more money
to get this project online and on
schedule. And that's the last I hope
I'll say. Thanks, Gino. Um, so Matt,
before we kind of open it up for public
comment, uh, a couple themes that, you
know, presented in the early
conversations in March and April, uh,
you know, as the former principal of SH
Heaggan, working here in in SU39,
um, you know, kind of supporting
principles at AMS, Clark Wilkins, and
Sagen, uh, we really wanted to to take a
look at could could we get a another gym
space in in the town of Amherst? first
and we you know I hear heard from
parents and and talked to Irene Barry
and um Mr. Freley, the direct directors,
uh, about the need for this and and so
the the gym was part of this process
because I think it's an overall need and
and and, uh, and we heard that from our
community and uh, and multi-purpose
rooms are really hard, Kathleen, for
scheduling. You know, you got to
schedule around cafeteria and lunch. You
have to schedule around gym. Uh, it's
just it it puts some challenges here.
Um, and you know, having third and
fourth graders practicing at the middle
school in the evening, you know, 8:00,
8:30 on a Tuesday, you know, if you
don't have to, you know, maybe consider
um the other thing that we talk a lot
about and maybe that table, Dr. Canning
and Dr. Jennings and Bob and I about
trying to make, you know, Clark Wilkins
as the fourth largest elementary school
in the state of New Hampshire feel
smaller. And so when you start talking
about like fifth grade or adding
kindergarten to this campus, then all of
a sudden that increases the operation
here. You know, you have more grades,
more kids. And so having Clark be prek
and K allows us to, you know, work and
keep it small. Um and and for me, it can
be directly connected to, you know,
individualized success for students,
personalized approach and uh and and
resulting in, you know, higher
achievement, right? And a better, you
know, more individual experience. So
those were some themes that we talked
about as we we went into this. But you
know the real theme that came across was
like the affordability,
the affordability
and the modulars
and and those are things I heard loud
and clear. And so um before we open it
up to questions or comments or concerns
or ideas, uh just really grateful for
that table over there. We did put them
at a table to highlight some of the the
work that they've done. um and uh and
the questions that they have uh because
anytime they asked a question, it went
right to Caitlyn and Caitlyn decided who
needed to answer that and got back to
them, you know, and and we've had we've
met five or six times since since we
formed. So, very grateful for you guys.
I just want to, you know, give you an
opportunity if you have any comments or
or things that you want to say, you
don't have to, but uh you're relatively
quiet. Well, not Obadiah, but the other
guys are pretty quiet, so
that's why I put a mic over there. just
in case you wanted it.
>> Yeah. Um, so I know I think we were
going to talk about option A versus
option B. I don't know if we want to do
that right now or we kind of do that
after public comment. Yeah. Okay. But
no, um, again, I think in general, you
know, I'm appreciative of the work that
you've done, Mike, specifically, and and
pushing this from the get-go. um and and
getting I think two good plans and
really it's just a question of
preference I think between the two and
uh you know the group that you've got
here. So that's all I
>> So back to you Mr. White. Oh. Oh boy.
>> All right. Now is time for public
comment. So we'll do in person first
like we always do. Um do we have the
ability to do online? No, we don't have
the ability to do online public comment
tonight. So, we'll do only inperson
public comment. Um, we have two
microphones. That's not for surround
sound. That is so you kind of like
deliberative. You can choose a mic.
There's not a yay or an a mic. There's
not an A or a B mic. Um, just come up.
You'll have three minutes. We'll do it a
little bit differently, right? Because
we have everybody here. So, if you have
questions, we'll try to answer, but
typically in public comment, it's mainly
just listening. But we'll we'll do our
our very best. There are a lot of people
here. I have no idea how many people are
planning to speak. But I I have the
timer ready for 3 minutes.
>> So I do want to be, you know, respectful
of everyone's time and give everyone
opportunity in the room to speak if if
they so choose. So once this thing goes
ding ding ding, I'm sorry, but that's
going to be the end of of your time. So
when you do approach the mic, you'll
have three minutes. state your name,
town of residence, and then I'll hit the
the start button on the three minutes.
So
feel feel free anybody.
Good evening. My name is Jamie Krishki.
I am a new resident of the town of
Amherst. Uh first off, I want to
compliment everybody because I both
pamphlets I got were very informative.
Um, as as a retired project manager and
facilities manager, uh, just a couple
things I want to add for the engineers
that maybe that they could already be in
there. One, if they're going to have
snow shedding, every emergency
exit should have a canopy over it.
um the building management systems,
those often chew up facilities budgets
year after year because of, oh, we don't
no longer support Windows 10 or
different things like that. Um,
I think your building management system
should have some kind of um agreement or
um a maintenance agreement. I believe
that would really help and it could
already be in there, but these are just
things that I've seen along my um
career. Um
your main entrance, you talked about
security. I don't know if you factored
in bulletproof glass or not for that,
but that might be something to factor
in. And also utility and infrastructure.
Um, if the town is expanding, which it
seems like it is, and I'm I'm only here
for 2 months. So, um, I think some of
your infrastructure with utilities and
you think down the road we might throw
another building or an extension at some
point, I think you should run them home
run conduits for your fire alarm, your
phones, your data. Uh, make sure the
sprinkler sized enough that you can just
add on to it. Um, and that's all I got.
Thank you.
All right, just give me give me one
second there. All right, I'm ready.
>> Hi. Um, Genie Loot, Three School Street
in Amherst. Um,
I think most of you up here know that
this has been a a project um that I has
been close to my heart and I um really
really hope we're able to um get the
support of our uh residents this time
for this particular project. Um
my question is about um communicating to
the public because I feel like that's um
sort of been a weakness in the past um
maybe because we've um talked to the
public too late. I don't know maybe not
used the right methods because I've
attended a million forums. Um there
probably more people up here on the deis
than in the audience. Um, and so I'd
like to really increase that audience.
And I just wondered what your plan is
for that.
>> Yeah. Um,
it's fair. It It's tough to to to get
the the the word out and the information
out. It's tough to get people in in the
uh in the audience. Um and so we have a
community impact and outreach team that
uh we've met twice so far and and uh
it's a good group of people and uh
they're going to kind of tick up in
their their efforts after an option is
is kind of narrowed in on. And uh we do
have a a communications plan that uh
tackles different audiences, different
stakeholder groups. Um and then uh we
brought on uh the communications
coordinator position. We had this
position a couple years ago. We didn't
fill it last year for various reasons.
Uh but Sam Cook is going to be working
with that to inform and educate, you
know, the residents and uh and there's
all different types of mediums that
we're going to target, but we're very
aware that informing and educating
people uh is is challenging. And uh the
packets that you received tonight, you
know, that's going to be a foundation.
There's a website that is going to after
an option is selected, you know, be
pushed out and people can act. There's
going to be an opportunity to have real
live questions answered. We're going to
house it on the on the website so you
can residents can offer up questions and
then we will go ahead and and respond to
those questions accordingly and leave it
up as a viewable link. Um, so uh uh more
of a concerted effort. We are starting
far earlier and I'm very grateful for
the board's wisdom on this process to to
hit the ground running and and and have
this meeting at September and then as
you know Banwell and Harvey do their
work and we come to November we have
another session like this and another
kind of you know of where we're at with
it. I I think we're we're way ahead and
I see Tom in in the in the audience, the
former board chair, right? And and like
we were having these conversations in
November and December. Now we're having
the conversations in September. And so I
think we're we're ahead. But it's a
really valid point, Genie. Really valid
point. It concerns me, too. You know,
and we also have to be very very careful
on how we communicate.
>> Hi, Erica Dilia Amherst, New Hampshire
resident. Uh, so I it was a con on uh
option A that I actually want to make it
a pro. Um, you guys said uh the sun for
the north classrooms. You know how hot
those classrooms get? It's actually
going to be beneficial. So, I just want
to kind of be like it actually is a pro.
Um, and the classrooms that are in the
middle that are going to kind of be
affected are music, which the kids are
in once a week, and then also special
ed. So, to me, that's a pro. Um, also
during um for option A, the one thing I
liked was the room for expansion. Just
knowing that Clark, like, do we still
want to keep pouring money into Clark?
Um, cuz that's just going to be another
money pit. Um, I think just having the
option to expand is important. Um, but
my question is during phase one when you
guys are starting to build,
where's the playground going? because
you're taking around away the playground
and there was no conversation of where
that's going during that phase. So I
would like to kind of know what where
the playground is going. Um you're going
to still portables so just what we're
looking at in that respect.
>> Yep. Uh so as you might imagine this is
all very much a work in progress
currently what we're proposing and and
Keith you please tell me if you're wrong
or if I'm wrong here. Uh, but the the
idea for the future location of the
playground would be where I'm pointing
right here. I don't know if you can see
the cursor.
>> Yeah.
>> Um, so that may also make sense to be
where it goes at the end of the first
phase,
>> but I guess the thing is like during the
first phase, you're going to have the
portables still needing to be utilized.
So, I just want to make sure we're
really thinking about that. Yep. So,
thank you.
>> Thank you.
Uh, hi uh Will Loot 3 School Street in
Amoris. Just a a couple of quick
questions I have. I know in the past
we've actually talked about u you know
solar panels and having the
infrastructure in whatever building that
we have to implement solar panels. Is is
is there anything in the design that you
can uh put up front that would ease that
transition once that uh you know the
town decides solar is the best way to
go?
>> Yep. Uh so on the additions on the new
additions all roofs will be designed to
be solar ready. Um so that's actually a
code requirement now. Um on the existing
buildings it's a little bit more of a
challenge. Um, so we would have to
investigate that further.
>> And the sighting of the antennas, would
they be on the roofs or would they be uh
>> to be determined, but historically it's
the most economical to put it on the
roof.
>> Okay. Thank you. Uh, the next thing is
uh at one time there was a uh you know
you had a road going up by Wilkins,
Upper Wilkins to um Jones. Is that still
in the plan or not? Okay. So that's
going to be next. And the um
uh what else do I want? Oh, risk
management or uh what are your top one
or two risks right now? You know, with
construction, is it with construction,
the uh the timing, the transition of
moving, you know, materials in and out
and still conducting school. So what are
your just top one or two risks that you
see that would that that uh management
budget would take
>> again with our contingency both an
obvious contingency and ours we have
money allocated for all these things top
two unforeseen conditions geotechnical
issues yeah
>> that's a top concern
>> uh anytime you do a renovation you don't
know what you really have until you open
the walls where what you thought was
there was not where you thought it was.
So, that's the second risk mitigation.
Um, complete design, which I haven't
seen 100% design drawings, sorry. Uh,
since they were handdrawn back in 1980
when I did my first high-rise. Uh, so we
started looking at was there any scope
missing, design misses. So, those are
the things that really concern me. The
phasing, uh, I work with Harvey and
Bwell now, but Harvey, we've done it
very successfully. Seven schools, uh,
six schools in Salem, excuse me.
everyone was active and and going
through there. So there are some safety
requirements sometimes you don't know
you you caught it all uh until you get
into it and so there's money aside for
that but the top really things are
unforeseen conditions and so conditions
>> escalation I think we have covered
tariffs are always uh on my mind but I
can't tell you what the administration
pro or con is going to do with tariffs
we try to best understand what that is
and we have money again allocated in
contingency
>> okay thank you uh just two more other
little things. Um,
oh yes, on plan option B, I noticed the
gymnasium's off to the to the side. Uh,
is are you still planning to use for the
community to have access to that after
duty hours or after school hours?
>> I don't.
>> Pardon?
Okay. So, that's still being And I
noticed uh are there, you know,
bathrooms and changing areas in this
little block that says for the
gymnasium?
>> Yes.
>> Okay. I
>> I don't think I can zoom in on
PowerPoint, but yes, we have bathrooms
right outside.
>> Okay. And the last thing is on day one,
whenever the kids start moving in, what
do you estimate is your percentage of
occupancy? I mean, we're not going to be
tapped out. We're not going to have full
build out of the building whenever they
first move in. So, what's the plan or do
you have an estimate of what that would
be?
Just rough
>> number of students or or how many
students can this what what you could do
the
>> Yeah. So what I would do is I would
default to, you know, Harvey to to work
with us on how we can house the students
and what kind of, you know, additional
facilities we might need like temporary
modulars, but right now we're we're
rolling. We have three and so I I I
think we we can manage the phasing of
keep all the kids here. Mike I think his
question is according to the department
facts how many students can be in this
facility and then how many students will
be in the facility how what is our
occupancy of a full building other words
right how much oneway do we have for
more growth do we have to build
immediately after this is done or are we
have headway that's the question right
>> that Greg you hit it I did not explain
it well but yes that's it
>> yeah
so
space, you know, and we have additional
office space. So that created our
ability to operate differently. So
>> definitely and I think the both both
project options have, I believe, three
flex classrooms that can be used um you
know depending upon each grade level. Um
every grade has a different number of
sections depending upon the enrollment
of our students.
>> Yeah. cuz I would think once we build
it, you know, people are going to come
and they're going to move into Ammerst.
I would just hate to have another
>> bond for extra space in the near term.
>> I think the design provides us some
room, but it's not overbuilt. We're not
planning for nine sections of a grade
level that, you know, we're not we don't
have right now, too. Right. Okay. Okay.
Thanks y'all. Appreciate it.
Hello, uh, Victoria Prey, 3 Church
Street. Um, first, the most important
part is thank you for doing the work
that you've been doing for all of you.
Um, second, keep doing the work. As you
know from the past, we we can't have the
option go in front of the voters in
January. We need to know sooner. I know
it's budget season. I know you're
getting back to school. Everything's
about to get really busy, but this isn't
the time to let up. Um, when we talk
about getting in front of all different
types of voters, it's going to be really
important to have as much button down as
you can. Obviously, there have to be
things that can change, but as much
button down as you can so that as many
people can be reached. Obviously, this
isn't going to be the the platform that
as many people come to. However, you do
have the benefit of a town newspaper
that is going to every house. Um, that's
also free of charge that the district
doesn't have to spend money on to send
that out. Um, so I I just want to really
urge everybody to keep moving on the
project. Um, also, I think it was the
first speaker who mentioned a long-term
maintenance plan. I think that's
something that um a lot of naysayers
have always come back and said this is a
great plan but what is going to be the
cost to maintain the building that you
already have or in this case maintain a
renovated facility. Um so those those
pieces of information information um are
something not to forget about. Um and
otherwise I really appreciate Kathleen
knowing that it's three flex classrooms.
That's going to be very important for
everybody to understand that that is the
number. When people ask you if this is
overbuilt, the answer is there are only
three flex classrooms. Thank you.
I'm going to be a contrarian. I'm going
to this one. Yeah, that one's getting
overused. Um, good evening. My name is
Kyle Coffee, 14 Courthouse Road,
Amherst. Um, I just need some
clarification. This has been mentioned
twice in the presentation and then there
was a lady who made a comment about
expansion.
The comment that I believe I heard was
that option B
does not allow for future expansion, but
option A does because it doesn't go out
the back of the property. But if we do
option B and have the gym out the back
and not put it where it is in option A,
wouldn't that be an option for expansion
in the future if it's needed? Just
needed clarification on that.
>> Thank you for asking for clarification
because after I said it, I realized I
wasn't all that clear. So, thank you.
Yeah.
>> Um, so what we meant by that was when
we're designing option B, so on the
screen there, let's say theoretically it
ends up being exactly this. We've now
put a building there. There's now
utilities around it and so we will plan
in an area for future addition for a
handful of classrooms. But that building
that just got built will now limit our
options.
>> Okay.
>> If in option A we built there now our
opportunities are fairly significant
back here.
>> Okay.
>> Um so it's like do you want four
classrooms? Do you want a twotory
edition? You know, whatever it might be.
So really the the the way to phrase it
maybe and again I think this goes back
to the language and communication is
that expansion is is possible in both
it's just more limited in option A than
it is in option excuse me option B then
option A C language matters. There you
go.
>> Um is that is that a better way to say
it?
>> Yes. Thank you for clar All right. Thank
you.
>> Hi. Um Kate Warden Buckner. I live at
Three Shadow Lane. Um I wanted to also
thank you guys for taking the time to
put this all together. Um I have two
kids who just entered Clark. So very
personal stake in this myself. Um, and
as a single inome household, I also want
to thank you guys for the efforts that
have been made to bring this proposal
down from some of the things that got
voted down in recent years just from a
standpoint of tax impact. Um, which is
my first question like can we provide
any rough estimates? I don't remember
with the bond last year that was roughly
the same value like what we thought the
potential tax impact might be, but
that's certainly a question people will
have I think right right out of the
gate. Um, I'm also an engineer, so I
wanted to put another plug on like
looking at the options like option A
seems to be the stronger one to my view
as far as the potential for easier
future additions. Uh, and being slightly
more cost effective. Um, and I do have
one little design net that I wanted to
ask about, and I say this having a metal
roof that sheds snow like crazy at my
house. Um, I'm looking at the 3D
renderings for both plans and noticing
that the old building has a sloped roof.
I don't know what the material is going
to be on the new roof, but if it is
membrane or metal, I would expect that
it would shed. Uh, and while I'm very
excited to see that both options include
a courtyard that I would assume would be
used for like outdoor classroom space or
something, what are the plans for
snowshedding and snow removal in that
space?
And that's all I have. Thank you.
I'll let James and and maybe some people
down here answer the snowshedding. Um,
and we have talked about that, you know,
at length. Um, but I'm still not
knowledgeable enough to answer it
publicly. Uh, the as far as the tax
impact, I think as we get a a more
accurate number in November, we will be
able to talk about that, you know, tax
impact. We did think about putting an
estimate, but it was just too early and
we want to be really careful on, you
know, when we put out information and
having all the the accurate. But I would
say, Gino and Caitlyn, like November,
when we come back in November and we're
making a decision for the warrant, we'll
have that information. But Snowshed,
could you go back to the slide of the
interior
that shows the hallways, please?
So, if you look at the the uh new
addition, you can see the cross there
where the hallway is. And so, one of the
things that we discussed was hardening
the slab so that if we need to get
equipment in there, the doors will be
large enough to accommodate equipment
going into the space to do some snow
removal if we can't do it with
wheelbarrows and such. Um, the other
really, really important component of
this is making sure that the envelope of
the building is properly prepared in
that space as well as ensuring
appropriate drainage. And so we have
really talked about this and um from a
facilities manager perspective, a
courtyard makes you a little bit
nervous, but there's plenty of places in
the state of New Hampshire that have
very successful courtyards. And we start
weighing um the potential educational
use with the inconvenience of removing
snow. You hope that that educational use
like tips that scale. So, and not that
it matters a ton, but Bedford High
School where our assistant
superintendent was there for quite some
time had a courtyard and uh the snow
melted and and then they didn't have to
remove it and uh doesn't remember too
often that happening. So, we're going to
take all the things, you know,
precautions to set it up so we can
remove snow if we have to. But knowing,
you know, the history of it and and and
we think it the pros of having a
courtyard and what we could do
potentially in partnership with the
different organizations in town and
creating different spaces. It's really
exciting, but we do have to take that
into consideration. So, that's a good
question.
Just want to we have done several
buildings with courtyards. They do offer
a lot of education and recreational
opportunities. Again, it's all under
design. The only time I remember having
an issue is when I don't know if it was
2012. I forget the year that it snowed
every other day. Uh, and that's why we
recommended having a second means of
entering there with a Bobcat or
something to pull the snow out. Uh, some
some of the buildings didn't have that,
so we had to get a crane to move snow
out and we don't want to do that. So, we
learn we hope not to make the same
mistake twice, but there are several
school facilities that really benefit
and buy a courtyard. I I you know the
architect can speak to the benefits of
what goes on in there and what you can
do for classrooms security-wise.
It's enclosed. It's it's protected. Uh
it's good design and hopefully mother
nature doesn't throw us another blizzard
of 78 then el bets are off.
>> Uh Bob, you wanted to speak to it?
>> Yeah, just uh add to that as far as uh
shedding goes. Um, over at the middle
school when we did the roof in front of
the parent pickup, we put snow blocks
attached to the roof so that you didn't
have those large pieces coming off when
it was melting. So, those could be
implemented as well.
>> Thank you.
Hi everyone. Uh Matt Harrington, uh One
Dodge Road. Um my main concern is is um
I've moved into this area eight years
ago and I've been impressed with the
many inter iterations of what has
happened in this um development. But um
one thing that I've always failed to see
and obviously I've seen that now that
there's renovations being done while
these things are being shot down, right?
Um but that word is not communicated
really well to someone like by like by
myself. I'm I'm a growing family. I have
a kindergartener now in Clark. I have an
younger one in an uh in daycare. I'm
telling you, when we as parents get
together and talk about the schools, we
are blind. So, if you want more input
from future, you know, classes coming
into this, it's the kids that and the
parents that are in the daycarees, the k
the parents that are moving into this
area as newlyweds that are planning to
grow with this community. Um, that's a
big focus that I don't feel that has
been touched upon in the 8 years that
I've been here. I've tried to reach out,
but I'm not from this area. So, I had no
idea who to reach out to, how to get
involved. I know I can go to certain
websites and stuff like that, but those
little pieces are what connects the dots
for important things moving forward. Um,
I've been a part of school boards as a
student back in the day and those are
important pieces that you also have to
have involvement with. Your older
seniors that have come through these
kind of conditions can speak to their
dislikes and likes about the challenges
that they had going through the school
system. So having input from
older classes that can then tell the
community on what is affecting them or
not is going to be a greater impact on I
think the larger scale of this being
approved and having more people come out
to support this. So just little things
there I think that are probably pretty
important that I wanted to say. So thank
you
I just thought we'd stare at each other
for a little while.
Anybody else going once? Going twice.
There will be another opportunity after
the
board discussion. Holy moly. Um, anybody
else for round one?
Seeing none, we are going to turn it
over to board discussion. But before we
do that, I did anybody need a break or
are we good? Can we push push? We push.
And so we're going to turn it over.
Yeah. So we'll offer an opportunity for
the U facility advisory group to kind of
weigh in. I know there was some
discussion preference in regards to
option A or option B or weigh in in
however you deem fit. I see that the
mic's already by Obadia. So way to go
guys.
So, I I I'm pro I think I'm getting
overruled here. And uh like I said, you
know, when I lost in in March, it was
one for three. At 333, if you're a
professional baseball player, you're
still an all-star, so I'll take it.
Right. Um again, so my preference is
option B for a couple reasons. Uh
basically, again, I'm not sure about the
heating issue. Hopefully, I don't know,
maybe after we're done or maybe we have
AC in there, it'll be fine. It the
natural light uh for those north
classrooms are going to be diminished. I
don't think that that's as great um uh
situation to have. Uh I believe costwise
when it's all well and done, uh you
know, the Harvey guys know what they're
doing. I respectfully disagree that it's
going to be cheaper to attach in
multiple locations on this side. It also
gives us bus flexibility as well in the
parking. So, I just I think we're going
to find I I think you would find that it
would be easier um on weekends, okay,
when you have events or in evenings,
you're parking right near that building,
okay? You're not tracing through the
school. You're going right in. And that
was one of the things that was brought
up, you know, in March and through last
year's process. So, I think that that's
that's a positive. Your loop road will
be a little bit longer. uh if you've
driven through Boston Post Road between
6:30 and you know 8:30 recently uh you
know it's a good thing to be able to
take more cars right we're going to be
taking those cars off the road so I
think that's a positive as well um
that was kind of it and disruption you
know again I think if you're away from
the building construction wise in this
area it'll be uh you know less
disruptive as you go through the school
but that's just my opinion Awesome.
>> Yeah. So,
the majority liked Option A. Um,
it had better circulation
as a whole. Classrooms are all equally
distanced from the gymnasium.
Um
a and just constructibilitywise,
it's a lot easier to phase that layout
into a tight schedule of an occupied
school. Uh it's just lends itself to it
a lot easier. Um
like Jav was saying, you know, you have
some summer slam work on the regular
Rena, but then on the additions, you can
get that going. you can isolate this and
keep the kids secure, keep the
construction isolated. Um, even like the
addition on the lower portion there,
you can do an enabling project where
you're going to relocate the playground
over by the stairs to the upper fields.
Then you can keep your portables. You
can then create construction fencing off
the back corner. All contractors enter
through the front where the road's going
to go anyways for fire egress, things
like that. It's just it it makes a lot
of sense.
Ra's good over there.
All right,
our turns.
All right, so I think the way to do this
is just kind of go one at a time. I
think we have kind of a few things to
get through. one being any questions
that are left unanswered for for people.
So I think we do a round of that and
then I think the
other you know kind of component thing
that we we have here is is um kind of
where do people
stand like what more information or what
do people need to learn in order to
support putting you know a project
forward in March. So, you know, last
year it didn't go right. And so, what is
it that we need to do to get everybody
to that spot cuz ideally,
you know, we can put forth something
that could get a five nothing vote. That
would be the uh the ideal. So, just kind
of what is it that people need to hear
to get to that to to that point to send
a a strong message to the community that
this is this is something we all fully
support.
So, I don't know if uh we just want to
go down the line. So, that would mean
Mr. Gould, you would start. I don't know
if you're you ready to go or
I know right on the spot. I know. I
know. It's a jerk move. I should have
prepped yet.
>> Oh, you want to go last? Okay.
>> All right. That's fine. That That's
Yeah. Uh
this hopefully that helps. Uh, I guess
first I'd just like to thank everybody
for coming in. I see a lot of familiar
faces, some new faces, so appreciate
that. Um, you know, we've been at this
for a while, at least for me. I've been
at this for the last year and a half, so
happy to see some some new faces again.
Um, I heard a lot of conversations about
word of mouth or how we're going to get
this out there.
It seems like we're going to rely on you
guys. Uh there's a lot of things that
can be done with the school district or
with the school board, but I I think
it's dependent on the community to get
the word out uh about the project. Um
Terry can speak to this. You know, I've
heard stories of people uh being in
people's homes years ago trying to get
their buy in. So, um grassroots kind of
thing. I I really think that's the only
way we're going to win this over. So,
you guys, kudos to you for being here.
Uh for questions for you guys, uh the
only thing I really had was um windows,
fire suppression system, things like
that. Is that inclusive in the in the
project or is are those separate? I'm
seeing some
Perfect. So, you know, I think that's
something for the community to
understand that, you know, we're keeping
the the core of the building, but we're
upgrading it everywhere possible. So the
the price tag is um you know look at it
how you want but the core of the
building stays but there's a lot of
upgrades that will will happen here. So
uh that's all I really had. Thank you
>> I I agree. It's always wonderful and I'm
always so impressed by the quality of
the questions and the expertise in our
community and so thank you for coming
and sharing very thoughtful um details
that you've noticed and questions that
you have. Um for those who have been
serving on our committees last year,
year before and and this more focused
one, thank you so much for your time and
your expertise because I have to tell
you that while I have learned a lot in
the last 10 years, I am still not a
construction specialist. Um, and so I
can speak to a whole lot more than I
used to be able to, but I really rely
very heavily on those of you who have
that experience and who can walk me
through it and help educate and then
help me to educate our public. So, thank
you for um, always answering all of our
millions of questions very patiently.
Um, it's appreciated and thank you for
the presentation because I think that it
was really nice and clear. I certainly
know which way I'm leaning, but neither
is a bad option, right? Um I think that
I really like the current incarnation
where we're really keeping things a
little bit closer and not sending our
youngest students like, you know, here's
your backpack, start hiking. That we're
saying, okay, things are are really
touching each other. We're reusing what
we can. Um, I know that there's been
some discussion that have gone both ways
on the rooms that we did first, but I
really appreciated being able to walk
through them um about a week ago and and
really be able to go, oh, okay, this
isn't just because what happens at AMS,
we've already seen the value of some of
what's been refurbed at AMS. And so, you
can see how that space has improved, but
because we haven't had that same
opportunity here, it's just not the same
thing. And so being able to see it in
the space we're actually talking about
and then have students that this year
are getting to have a better space and
teachers that are able to go, "Oh, wow.
I can see what my room if it's a if it's
one of these that's going to have less
done to it still makes a big difference
and be excited about that and be um
because morale I'll be honest has been
has been an issue that year after year
when this has been voted down or we've
had to hold off on things because we
didn't want to do it and then undo it
and waste money and so I feel like while
some things took longer than I'd hoped
um a lot of the work Thank you so much
James and your team for really the work
that got done this
staying on course force with that and
taking that money, thank you, that you,
the voters, gave us, we've used it well,
I think, and we have immediately made
improvements. We have done some things
that that were put off because we
weren't sure what the plan was. And so,
now that we know at least the general
direction we're going, we've made
progress. And so, thank you for all of
that. And, um, I think that's all. I
mean, I don't have questions per se
because you guys did a great job of
letting us get those um answered quickly
and up front and I see so many of those
already in the presentation. So, thank
you for that.
>> Miss Kley, your your turn. Don't don't
ruin the mic.
>> Very formal. Um thanks. And I don't
think I can actually compete with
Terry's level of thank you. She's very
appreciative of everything. I'd like to
echo her thanks to everyone. She does
cover all the bases I will say. Um I
think um you know overall I I don't have
any questions for you guys. I feel like
the process has been very thorough. Um
the information here makes sense. Uh I
do feel like as we go through this
process and as we continue in the next
few months, it will be helpful. And I
think what was nice today was painting
the picture of how we got to the
iterations that we're looking at today.
Right. Right. I mean, I think within
this community, we've had a long runway
of various options that we've looked at
even from last year's conversations.
Helpful to um understand
where we are today, how we got there,
and that truly it is a needs based
position that we're in at this point
after years of consideration,
iterations, and and and outcomes. Um I
think that will be a key part of our
communication um to the community at
large going forward. And I would echo
Brian's comments that I do think it will
take an effort from all of us, but I
think the board and various stakeholders
here are more than committed to um
making that happen along with members of
the community. So I think it, you know,
it's not necessarily just you guys. It's
it's our push to um commit to this and
make it happen and and I know we will be
there with you. So um again, Terry's
point, thanks for everyone for being
here. I don't have any other questions
or comments, but um you probably do.
>> I probably do.
>> Yeah.
>> Recognized.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. All right. Yeah. So, I Okay. Thank
you. All right. So, a couple questions.
We want to get to A or B today, right?
That's the whole point of this. Okay.
So, yeah, they both look very similar.
Um, so I just want to kind of understand
I understand that there was a
disagreement over there. I want
understand sort of some of the
differences um that you did talk about
and and some things that I think uh we
would talk about maybe uh in a in a in a
larger context. Um my first kind of
question is about the uncertainty
in the project. So um is there more
uncertainty in getting things done on
time and within budget with A or B? one
has more sight work. I I don't
understand that. Can someone help me
understand is it significantly different
or are these two about the same level of
confidence for on time and on budget?
>> You have the same level of confidence.
The only thing that the addition out the
back is again geotechnical issues if
they do arise.
>> Okay. Thanks. And um we had a question
about maintenance uh budget but just is
there a difference between these two? is
is I don't think there is. But does one
A or B have a significantly different
maintenance budget long term?
>> I don't think so.
>> Um we talked about snow. Um thank you.
Um
I I just had a comment I guess along the
lines of my previous members. Um
we we're going to have to have students
and other plans in a building under
construction. And I know that's um not
ideal, but if we remember back to this
room, we had the students in a building
under construction, but wasn't planned.
And I think that it's probably far more
preferred to have students in planned
construction than unplanned construction
because of deferred maintenance. So I
think that um thanks for considering
that that's going to be a a problem as a
part of all your projects, but I think
doing this in a planned fashion is
preferred to um deferred maintenance
catching up with us. uh you know once
again uh let me just read my questions
real quick back I think you covered a
lot of them. Oh there was a question
about the ex the gym entrance. There was
a comment about that and I want to
understand does A also have an exterior
gym entrance like B does.
So
I don't know how easy it is to see this
this picture here. So sorry if it's not
super clear. Um, one of the reasons why
we've located the gym right here is that
you can utilize the secure main safe
entrance. Um, there are exterior doors
that from a security perspective, you
probably don't want those to be used for
for after hours, you probably want a
more secure ingress. Um, but we also
have an exterior door here as well.
Okay. Okay. So, implication of that,
just talking out loud, is that if the
community members are going to be using
the gym off this side, they're going to
have to come through the building and
the building is not would would the
building be secured? Would there be
doors locked to prevent access to the
remainder of the building in in A?
Yes. Okay. Okay. So, I don't see a big
difference there between A and B. just
maybe a longer hallway
and okay is we talked a little about
earlier and it wasn't quite answered
clearly it might not be tonight either
but do we have any contractual
guarantees? Are you willing to offer us
any contractual guarantees for finishing
uh the work planned for the summer slams
on time for the first day of school? Are
you um able to guarantee us anything
about the final day of construction? Um
that mainly about timing.
There is a very thoughtful uh critical
path method schedule being produced that
again I've worked with Javi on many
projects. We've always been on time and
on budget. doesn't mean if something
catastrophic happens we're going to miss
it but once the date is established
we're going to hit those phasing dates
we're going to hit the end date and the
budget if something act of god it rained
for you know 6 months and we have to
build an arc u we can't guarantee this
so other than act of god run for scene
condition this will be a added scope I
mean if you decide hey we want to add
four more classrooms that it throws this
whole budget off and the schedule so yes
we have I mean you what I don't
recommend I'm not even mentioning
>> uh it'll be
>> compare the board decision to active
gods either but
>> yeah so we're going to I mean I've
worked with this team that we know how
to do this we know how to work in an
active campus the schedule will be
scrutinized especially by me because I
love CPM schedules and I love contracts
uh that they have delivered each time on
more sophisticated projects than this
believe it or not so I'm very confident
in Harvey's ability
and Benwell to produce documents that
will be buildable on time and on
schedule.
>> Thanks. U and the discussion of
additions to this design specifically
for a Clark like student body, so preK
and K. Um I presume that for A it would
go in the back where B was mentioned. B
sorry the gym and B is is going to be.
um where would the
Clark capacity be if we went with option
B?
>> So we have not designed that. Um however
I have put dashed lines on the paper to
visualize what that might look like and
so don't write anything down in pen
right now. Um but one idea was to have a
classroom addition and and let me know
if I'm answering this question
correctly. Um, but one idea is that we
could fit four classrooms flanking this
gym on the south side.
>> Four. Six.
>> Yeah. So, uh, one of the things that the
board's going to have to grapple with as
this fall continues into early winter.
Um couple weeks ago now, Ingrid and
Caitlyn, we walked we walked Clark and
and and and talked a little bit about
like what would we need to do to to
decisions to make what what are some
options for us to make some decisions
around Clark, right? And there's been
all sorts of conversations of what to do
with the Amherst property, the brick
building. There's been uh conversations
about, you know, whether we we keep
Clark there. I had a meeting with the
town manager about their needs and
desires potentially as they move forward
and and we have a pretty good
partnership with the Ammer selectman and
and the town manager. Um, and if you
remember a few years ago that, you know,
it was it was told to us that, you know,
it'd be tough to sell Clark, right? It
was tough to sell Clark to, you know, a
developer and it'd be tough to sell
Clark to the town, you know, or
negotiate something there. And and uh
and they had those conversations, but we
do have to make some decisions on on the
future of Clark, the future of the SEU
location and some other properties and
and that work is coming and I think
that's coming down the road. And uh
we've asked Banwell to kind of put some
thoughts on paper to help have the board
make some decisions about that and have
conversations. We're just not there
tonight. All right.
>> All right. Thanks. I guess my last thing
um before all our public commenters is
um I'm thinking that I want to see
whatever we do tonight, I want to see
either plan uh continued with that gym
as an option. think I can imagine us
down a path where we either um decide to
cut that at the at the end of this or we
decide to go with it. But I think fun of
that as an option on the spreadsheet is
really helpful. And I'm curious if
anyone in the audience would say that
they might um go from not supporting
this to supporting it if it was uh
without the gym for now to save money on
this project. How how important is the
gym to people uh as part of this this
project as opposed to um getting it
passed for less dollars and then having
that as a as a project later down the
road? That's it. Thanks, Jason.
>> Um I would rather put a gymnasium in now
than pay the escalation to do it in 10
years down the road on my taxes. I know
that.
All right, my turn. I don't I don't have
a ton. I submitted uh a number of
questions ahead of time that have been
kind of included in the presentation.
So, I asked questions about the fifth
grade because in previous iterations,
the fifth grade was was part of coming
down here. um you know now there's a
reconfigured
AMS in terms of you know kind of how
they function with the upper school and
lower school and things like that that
seems to be be working well doesn't mean
that all problems at AMS are solved
they're not right there's still space
you know kind of constraints there in in
different in different ways but there's
a lot of work happening there um
and so
yeah You know, I think there's still
some questions remaining and they're not
necessarily questions that you guys are
going to answer tonight. Um, around, you
know, which I which I asked and Mike's
already kind of answered quite a bit of
is like what does it look like for the
entire SAU39? It's the same tax base
that we're going to be coming to,
whether it's us or sagen or or or
whomever for different needs. So, having
kind of all those needs. Now, for me,
where I'm kind of okay with it is
regardless of what the rest of those
needs are, the need here is still so
imminent, right? It is infinite. Um,
but I do still think we need to kind of
be thoughtful about about that, right?
Like what does it look like? Mike would
like to jump in. Yeah. No, I'm not
cutting you off. I just think it's an
opportunity. Um, as we talked a little
bit about the SU39 strategic plan and we
talked as as a a governing board that we
were going to, you know, go through this
strategic planning process and sagen's
going to go through the sagen study
process and then next summer, you know,
if everything goes as scheduled, we are
going to uh schedule a master facility
process and and and we've asked Trident
to to to map that out for us. And so we
we conduct a strategic plan and we get
our educational needs and and and decide
our vision and and where we're going and
then we build the facilities around that
plan. And uh but I do agree with you. It
needs to be very thoughtful. I need to
agree with you that it needs to take
into consideration other schools and
other districts and uh but we talked
about as a governing board like the pro
the process that we're going to get
there and uh and so but I do agree with
you that this building regardless of the
facility plan needs improvements. Uh
there's major infrastructure issues and
space issues and I think regardless of
the outcome of the facility plan, this
building's going to need some attention.
Thank you. Um, so I do have one
potentially silly question and it's in
part because I am not great at reading
drawings and also in part because I've
lived in New England my entire life and
I don't fully understand snow removal. I
guess on the drawings and I could be
feel free to put me in check and be like
you don't know how to read things. the
roofs on on the 3D renderings on the new
spaces looked flat. And I've always been
told, don't ever put flat roofs on
schools in New England. Are they
actually flat? Is that a problem? Like,
do we
Gino's already shaking his head? No. So,
like I said, feel free to tell me I
should hit the green button and turn
this mic off.
>> Yeah. Uh, so flat roofs are very common
in large educational or commercial
buildings. It's actually a lot more
economical than sloped roofs. Um because
with slope roofs, you end up with attic
spaces that need additional fire
protection. And the fire protection in
attic spaces can be a lot more cost
prohibitive than even in in occupied
spaces. Flat roofs allow you to put
solar on it. Allows you to put rooftop
units on it. It allows for the volume of
the building to be minimized. So you're
you're heating and cooling less volume
of air. Um and so yes, what we're
proposing are flat roofs. And it's it's
it's the majority of our roofs in
schools. that we design.
>> I want to jump in just as a learning
opportunity. It's not flat for
everybody. They're not flat roofs.
They're low slope roofs. So, they all
have drainage and pitch and slope.
They're just not as prominent as a high
sloped roof. So, low slope and high
slope roofs are the distinctions between
the two. And there's nothing wrong with
flat roofs in New England. They're done
all the time. And it's about the
structure that supports them. It's not
so much the pitch in which they are
designed or aesthetically. So, low
slope, high slope. They're not really
flat, but we just call them flat because
it's a shorter word.
>> Teaching me. I I learned more about
roofs in the last 45 seconds than
>> There's more to learn if you want to sit
down.
>> Nope. Not interested. No, appreciate the
offer though, Gino.
Um, so I don't have any further
questions. And so I did kind of pose to
the group one other component which is I
know we and we're going to take public
comment and we'll do a I think most
people are kind of ready to to go with
where they where they where they're
landing whether it be A or B but we'll
just take one last round of public
comment is if there are anybody who
wants to re-engage with public comment.
Um but I did kind of post to the group
and I don't know if anyone wants to
speak to if if you know people sitting
here like you know I'm opposed here are
things that I would need to get to a
yes.
So
>> yes, I'll answer that.
>> Thank you.
>> So I Yeah. So I don't have my hand, but
I think I think generally I like what I
see from this plan. I really like the
the focus on renovations. You know, I
think one thing I didn't like about a
lot of the previous um years, some of
the communication actually. I think one
thing to be careful about is is um I
called it overselling in the past. is
probably not the right word, but like
saying things that I don't think are are
taken the way you mean them, you know?
So, some of the gold plating we talked
about is off of this this plan, and I
think that's good. Some of the clear
communication on fifth grade, I think
that's really good. Um, we know what
we're getting. We know why we're getting
it, and I think this is a good building.
Our students have a good experience
here. Um, there's there's things to
improve and we're talking about doing
that responsibly, different than tearing
everything down except for the NPR. I
think this is a more responsible way. I
think it's hard to do things with the
values of the community in mind when we
have almost no turnout in most of our
meetings, almost no interaction. Tonight
been great to have so many people here,
but it's still a small cross-section of
the voters we saw yesterday at the
polls. Um, and it was for a small
turnout primary. So, we, you know, it's
just tough to understand the values
without a lot of feedback. I understand
that. Um, I think the needs of the
community have been improved. I think
Mike's done a really good job of boiling
down some of those things and getting to
what we really do need. And um thanks to
other community members as well who
helped out with this over for many many
years. Um yeah, honesty and
communication, honesty over the fifth
grade, honesty over the conditions of
the building, honesty over there is no
second choice. Um you know, oh this is
this is this is the last option. This is
the cheapest option possible and the
next year it's 40% off. I mean, I think
we really want to just explain that
we're not going for the bare minimum
costs ever. We're going for a suitable
cost reflecting the values of the
community. We're not going for the
greatest school or the cheapest school.
We're going for the appropriate Amherst
school. And I I I'm not marketing
person. I don't really care for
marketing language, but I really turned
off by a lot of the extreme extreme
language in marketing about, you know,
this is the greatest thing or your wife
believe you don't buy this product
today. So I um I just want to like
moderate some of the things and explain
that there has been thoughtful dialogue
in not destroying the whole building in
renovating what we have and the
construction
during class time I think is a big
bogey here but um like I said I think
there's ways to communicate that. So I I
think I I don't see anything here that
really looks outrageous to me. Um, I've
been asking for a renovation and small
expansion plan for many years. I'm
really happy to see it. Um, not just
because I thought it was years ago, but
I think the way we got here as a team, I
think is appropriate. Um, yeah, the
people who have been in these rooms for
a long time, I think we've seen a lot of
more appropriate discussions, a lot more
modest language, and I think this has
been a good a good thing to u be a part
of and just to see everybody sort of
moderate. So, I don't have any real
showstoppers and um I just want to
continue to see that kind of stuff as we
go through. So, I don't I can't commit
now to anything, but I think this has
been a good good year. I'm a little
disappointed. Well, I'm being honest
everybody. I'm a little disappointed
that we didn't have this in July. I know
we talked about last year. We talked
about in December, November, that if we
didn't put on the ballot, we'd have you
guys back for our July retreat. So, I'm
I'm I'm happy it's September, not
November, but I'm actually not pleased
that it wasn't earlier. So, I want to
make sure that we don't have any more
slippage between now and Christmas
because we really need to get this on
the ballot. We need to communicate
clearly. We need to keep keep our
schedule down. We can't have any more
slipping from what we talked about last
year. But, um, thanks for everyone's
work. I don't have anything else.
All right. With with that, I will open
it up for if there's anybody in the room
who's with
>> Oh, boy.
>> two mics.
I'm good at sharing. Um, hi, I'm Christy
Federer and I live at Winter 3
Winterberry Drive. Um, I wanted to just
um say a couple things. I really think
the gym is 100% needed with the um
shared multi-purpose room space. They
can't um keep functioning as a school
and sharing cafeteria space with the gym
space um all day long. Um also um I
wanted to point out or just question
about um I prefer option A over option
B. Um the having the gym push into the
back fields. I know those spaces are
used frequently into late into school
nights um for the um Amherst Parks and
Rex um all the rec sports practices um
both those fields. I know there's
usually like two field spaces for the
younger kids um at the lower Wilkins
fields. So I feel I was wondering how
much of the field space that would take
away having the gym um go out back in
option B. And I also love from a
security perspective having the gym and
the c um the cafeteria right up front.
And it um and I know you said you could
u make it secure either way, but having
doors blocking off the um classroom
spaces to keep the classrooms secure on
weekends for when families are coming in
for sporting events is important too. Um
either way, I think again um having a
really clear unified message from the
board, from the PTA, from the schools um
about what the best plan is moving
forward as soon as possible will be to
um help us um hopefully find a um
successful vote in March for the
project. So, thank you for your time.
>> Um, this was just a comment that I
thought of while I was sitting back
there. Over the years, we've always
talked about how renovation, once you
open renovation up, you have to come up
to code. Um, there's always been a lot
of concern in our community about that.
Um, so I would love to see the the words
that are out there for a frequently
asked question that explain how we're
getting around this problem that we've
been told was a really big problem.
Thank you.
>> We're not getting around the problem.
We're addressing the problem.
>> Okay. So, we're bringing this up to code
compliance. It's not getting around it.
I mean, I doubt we'll be asking for any
waiverss because again, child safety and
student safety and administration, staff
are important. So, this brings
everything up to code.
>> All right. Hi again. Um, so one more
thing that I think is um a vote for
option A uh may be a major sticking
point for some people in town. Uh so
while I'm a systems engineer with BAE
I'm here with my dad Kent Warden who
worked with Sephilano Orreno has decades
of experience and he just parited in my
ear the concern that from a construction
perspective I'm assuming the secure
entrance in both of these may be one of
the most expensive costs per square foot
of the whole project. So I think the
most elegant and safetyconscious option
for a particularly is that you you align
that entrance that you have to use it
for the gym is the main one. Whereas B
my concern thinking from that
perspective would be that unless you're
going to invest big dollars over there
with those entrances you are creating a
potential security v vulnerability like
for those weekend events plays concerts
you know town meetings things where you
know that would probably be a high point
of considered risk. So again, just
another vote for myself and from the
architect dad for option A. Yeah, thank
you.
Hello again. Uh just some observations
for me looking at both prints. I think
option A would be um better.
But one thing I wanted to add, um,
possible cuz I I understand the snow
maintenance of a courtyard could
possibly be detrimental for facilities,
cost them a lot of money. Um, electric
radiant heat in certain areas for
towards the drainage at least to give it
a jump start as a possibility.
Um, and the reason I say electric is
because I I believe
um, whatever the procedure may end up
being is you don't put it on with a
thermostat. If it's 30° and it's not
snowing, why waste that energy? Um, but
if it's going to snow, you can turn it
on after hours to start at less cost
with the uh, off se off peak. Um, and
the other thing, um, that I think may be
beneficial for the community is there's
a lot of terms flew here tonight that
some people may or may not have
understood. Um, I I think
an overview breakdown, as they say in
layman's terms, um,
the engineering folks, you guys use
terms that not a lot of people will
understand. Um,
And I don't mean that like derogatory
because that's just something that most
people don't really care about
construction or maintenance. Uh they
turn their lights on at home and flush
the toilet, everything works, they're
happy. Uh something this grand is a lot
different. Um so I think if you start
talking about code compliance, asbestous
abatement, but break it down really into
simple terms for people to understand.
I I think if you have that maybe a
llayison on for the community I don't
know if that's the proper word but um
just a thought
uh will loot three school street um I
think uh if you don't put in the
gymnasium now it's not going to happen
in the near future I you know, shebang,
Shabbop. Do it right now and get it over
with. I think that'd be a uh good thing.
And the uh last thing is what uh Greg
said about keeping option whatever
option is not decided on keeping that
sort of open but don't I don't know if
you can spend little money on it but
there you know down the road whatever
option you pick there could be some
things that hey we didn't think about
this maybe we should move it over here
or whatever but is that the point you
were getting that Greg or No. Oh, okay.
Uh,
well, if you could keep it open for
maybe a month or so and then can
Oh, you can't.
>> Okay, great. Thank you.
Hi, Kristen Van Gore Amherst. Um, I I
think it's great where we've landed and
I do want to thank those guys over there
because you've done a tremendous amount
of work and I know it's you often don't
get a thank you. So, we really do
appreciate the time that you've put in.
Um, especially two of those guys who I
know have really been dedicated. Um,
just to point out, we do now have a
pretty firm $33 million anchor in
people's minds. I don't think that's
necessarily a bad thing, but the slide
that did give me pause was the one
called current efforts, um, where you
were going to update the pricing info.
So, just, you know, keep in mind you're
you're negotiating with the town at this
point and that $33 million number is an
anchor. And so if you start to slip on
that, I think even 35 is going to look
bad. Um, so you just really have to
think that through as you go through
this final process. Um, someone
mentioned tariffs. I would think about
tariffs. I think about tariffs a lot. I
would think about tariffs. Um, I would
also consider the fact that the economy
is not going to get better by March. And
you know, we've gone through the
property reassessment again anchors. we
don't have the adjusted tax value, but
the thing that's going to stick in
people's mind is the percent that their
home values went up, not the actual
impact that they see at tax time. So,
just think these things through as far
as like how human psychology works and
how you want to tell the story. Um, and
then finally, I I think I see board
consensus maybe maybe Dr. Fritz. So,
that's really exciting. I would say just
like please get it out of your system
now like by January just like really it
would be wonderful if the board could be
fully aligned on the concept the
messaging and how we're going to bring
this to the town. So thank you all. It's
really great work.
>> Well, thanks. I always hope that
everyone agrees with me on everything,
but they rarely do. So I hope they have
successes on everything. Um but I think
that's that's really um interesting
point and I just wanted while you're on
the numbers thing understand how
sensitive this is in timeliness. So um
we're talking about a $33 million school
project and we're talking about
financing that with a bond 100% with a
bond. We don't have any savings um speak
of at the moment. And I did some math
earlier tonight at the rates here it is
the rates of the uh July 15th bond sale
at the Hampshire Mal Bond Bank for a
20-year bond was 3.84%.
So a $33 million principal project would
be about 47 uh.3 million um cost to the
taxpayers over the 20 years. I'm not
saying that's how we have to do it. Um
but just so people can keep in mind the
total cost to what you're talking about
is about um 50% higher than what the
principal is because of the rates and
the time we're talking about. So um and
if I can use that as a plug, we did pass
a uh a voluntary um donation fund last
year was one of the most popular things
on the ballot. So right passing that
first of all um and so people are
interested. Uh we do have a fund is open
July 1. So, it's relatively new, but it
it's a fund that will allow anyone to
donate money to this fund that can be
used for facilities projects. It does
not need to be used in that year you
donate. It can be saved. Is
interestbearing and um ultimately the
board decides where that goes. So, I
have a print out on the information here
with me. I don't know if it's in the
packet or not. Probably wasn't, but I
can um I can distribute that uh more
broadly at a later date. But um thanks
for the comment,
>> Kristen Messi. I just wanted to put a
fine point on that 33 million um or
30ish,
you know, whatever it is, right? Um I
think that there's a potential risk for
people who are not in this room or who
don't come to these things that they saw
a similar number on the warrant last
year and there's this perception that
we're not doing the work behind it. Um,
you know, I I know that I didn't get
board support last year for that very
reason, but I think the people in this
room know that, but the people that were
trying to communicate might not. So, as
we're talking a lot about communication
plans, just having that psychology in
there, that that's the that's the number
that was on there last year. Thanks.
>> Hi, Erica Dilia again. Um I just wanted
to one thought I had um when I was
sitting back there was for option A. I
mean um
is there a way I'm just thinking of when
I come for my kids events how crowded
this room gets. We are not addressing
that issue. Is there a way to put the
stage there have a way to open it back
to the gym and now you just made a
larger space? I know it's going to cost
money. I'm not it's not free. Um, but
I'm just thinking like if we went option
A, like we have the ability to do
something even better and bigger. So,
um, just a thought on that one. Um, and
you know, OB, I still respectfully
disagree. I think having that building
to block the sun, most classrooms have
the shades down, so I don't think that's
going to be the issue. They'll get
enough daylight. So, that's all I have.
This really is the last call.
Ah,
>> uh, Matt Bianke, 22 Agopade Drive,
Ammerst. Um, yeah. So, I just wanted to
also say that like I think the gymnasium
is really important. I think it's, um,
probably as far as that section goes,
it's like one of the cheapest parts. Um,
so yeah, I just think it's really
important. I come from somewhere, you
know, I come from Alabama. They didn't
spend many money much money on schools,
but um we always had separate gymnasiums
from, you know, we didn't have to deal
with this with multi-purpose rooms. So
like, uh it was either Bob, you know,
said I would rather have, you know,
separate articles even to the point
where the town could uh select that like
I want a secure entrance and a secure
school. I want a gymnasium, right? And
then, you know, additionally, I'm for
everything, by the way. Um, but, you
know, you can allow people to decide how
much they really want to spend by then
saying, you know, I want the front
edition as well kind of thing. So, yeah,
>> you guys got to send mail.
>> You got to send mail. the one that you
had of this last year that was full of
people. You sent a postcard in the mail
and you got everybody that doesn't use
Facebook, that doesn't use the internet,
that doesn't read the newspaper, like
big plug for mail.
>> I I know who you are, but you didn't
>> house to Hill Road. Please send mail.
That's where you can mail it.
>> Good point.
>> Peter Mesig, Amherst resident. Um, I
just wanted to commend you on how
clearly you've addressed some of the
educational level questions that have
arisen time and time again with where
grade levels land in all of this. And I
feel like in other times that I've heard
this represented in the past, it was
very passively or vaguely
addressed on your end. And from what
I've heard described tonight and more
particularly what I've seen described
concisely in here, I think you've laid
forth a clear
ar if not argument at least like you've
you you've made it clear that these
things have been looked at and sort of
agreed that this is a good way to do it
and that things are also currently
operating in a way that those grade
levels the way they are now are not only
working but it would be disruptive to
try to re-ress them. So, I think
continuing to
communicate that as clearly and
consisely as you have in here in future
um meetings like this or in mailings or
however we're communicating is very
important.
It's it always came back to the like
well have you thought about and and I
think you've it seems very clear now.
Last call.
>> All right. All right. Board
is any
that made me nervous. I made me nervous
to close.
>> We have public comment is closed at this
time. So um if anyone feels so moved, I
would be willing to entertain a motion
in support of either option A or option
B.
Miss Beam, what are you moving?
>> I will
like to make a motion to go forward with
option A.
>> Miss Beam has uh made a motion for
option A. Do I have a second? seconded
by Miss Kley. Is there any further board
discussion about option A or B at this
time?
All right. Seeing
>> discussion,
>> can you reassign?
>> Yeah. Okay. So, I will say that I
appreciate having two fully thought out
and and well articulated options. I do
feel like that the trade-off of
preemptively taking that space from the
back fields because the field I mean we
want kids outside as much as we can and
we want to be able to do as much as we
can with that space in future possibly.
So I do think that leaving our leaving
our options open back there for future
if we need to. But then I just also like
for many reasons I like having it be
more consolidated and having kind of the
you know a a cube of what's going on.
You know you've got the front yard
model. You have things that that
logically flow into each other. I think
having some shared bathroom spaces to be
able to really upgrade those and make
those better. And I think that um the
safety aspects of being able to keep
things close in right now. I I certainly
spend a lot of time over on the San
campus as well. And while for those
older students having the annex and
having that model works well, the more
we have to walk kids out separately, I'm
I'm again this is a long-term thing and
we don't have to. So I like having it
all more consistent and I think that I'm
not alone in that. So I appreciate
having both of them and I I do
appreciate that there are definitely
reasons for both, right? That they could
work, but for me that's why I've landed
here.
And it's slightly cheaper, too.
>> Is anybody else for discussion? Miss
Kley, he's going for it.
>> Well, it's really just going to waste
everyone's time because I I'm gonna
agree with everything Terry said um for
those reasons. Um I think the security
is a big thing. I think you using space
from a multiple perspective, restrooms,
etc. Shared space is important. It is
slightly cheaper. Um, and uh, I just
think effectively maximizes what we're
trying to achieve within this this
model.
>> Yeah, yeah, I agree agree with all that.
And I think um I think if the gym were
viewed as only for the schools, I think
A is much stronger. I think we start
thinking about town, then I think B come
in. But the road the road on B is a
little more jagged. it looks harder for
buses. I imagine buses are going to use
that. Um, so I I think yeah, I think
think of school first or a school board.
I think that the that general location
is better. And also I can't believe we
think about expanding, but I do think if
we do expand, we have the option to
build multiple stories. It's new site
work. It'd be a new structure and we
wouldn't be having an existing building
there. So I I think a provides us the
flexibility that we really want as well
as all the needs. So, I vote for A.
>> Any other discussion or comments about A
or B.
All right. Seeing none at this time, I
will call the vote. All those in favor
of option A, which is the motion on the
floor.
All right. Unanimous. 50.
>> Claps.
>> Yeah. Every time. Every time. all the
time. Yeah. All the time.
>> I will now we have a non-public posted.
Oh,
>> yeah. So, um we're going to allow
everyone to to to leave. We're going to
clean up a little bit. The board's going
to hang out. You don't have to rush out
of here because we have non-public. Um
but thank you for coming. Um and uh and
so board stick around. We're going to
clean up. Get the SAU people out. Get
the people our guests out and then we'll
come out. Thank you.
>> Yes.
>> Motion to enter nonpublic. made. So made
>> made by Dr. Fritz. A second
>> seconded by Mr. Gold. We have to roll
call to enter non-public.
Yes.
>> White. Yes.