Residents Question Need for Hoosac Valley High Project
 Building Committee co-Chairman Howard Wineberg, left, architect Robert Stevens of Tessier Associates, Business Manager David Hinkell and Adams Town Administrator Jonathan Butler. |
Some three dozen people attended the meeting at the high school.
Several decried the $40.5 million project as a "dream" or "wish" project. School officials, however, said the need to revamp the 40-year-old school and add space for the middle school was real.
"With the current economic times, I look at Park Street and we've got 12 empty buidings. These towns are going down the tubes really fast and we're spending like a drunken sailor," said one Adams resident who didn't give his name. "I want to know why we need to remodel the school at this time besides saying it's such a great deal we're going to spend."
A School Building Committee has been working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority for more than 15 months on options for the deteriorating 60-year-old Adams Memorial Middle School. With the aging Hoosac Valley High School expected to be next up for renovations, the SBA and building committee settled on the current project as the more efficient model.
"This isn't a dream, it's a need as far as our school facilities go," said Superintendent of Schools Alfred W. Skrocki. The school district applied to the SBA during its first year, one of more 500 school districts hoping for funding. "They approved us as being one of the buildings in the school districts in most need out of the 500 and something submitted that first year — so it's our time."
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On the exterior, the old softball field will be brought back to life, the track completely rebuilt and a stormwater management system (required by the Department of Environmental Protection) installed to reduce field flooding in the spring. The driveway will be made one-way and the westernmost exit moved further to west to facilitate traffic flow.
The $40.5 million includes nonreimbursable line items such as redoing the fields and parking lot (site development work) for about $1.8 million, the addition of solar photovoltaic and thermal panels for nearly a $1 million and the cost of temporarily relocating the students for a year to the middle school and Notre Dame School during construction for about $740,000.
Removing the students from the construction site is expected to save 20 months of construction and more than $2 million.
Several taxpayers questioned the need for LEEDS certification and wanted to know the cost. Much of the expense was tied up in construction methods and efficiencies such as new windows, insulation, low-flow toilets and lighting, making it difficult to come up with a single number.
The solar panels, while not reimbursed by the SBA, may be offset by grants and are expected to bring significant energy savings. The SBA is also giving the school district an extra 2 percentage points for pursuing green alternatives.
"All these bits and pieces you're talking about weren't just discussed in 5 minutes but more like 50 hours," said building committee co-Chairman Francis Waterman. "Personally, I think we can't afford not to [do this]."
Overall, the school district is getting the base rate reimbursement of 69.82 percent. In addition to the 2 percent for LEED certification, the district is getting 4.56 percent for reconstruction (rather than new construction), and .99 percent for having maintained the high school.
It will get another point, for a total reimbursement of 78.37 percent, should it decide to go with a "contract manager at risk." That would cost an estimated $100,000 and would mean hiring a contract manager prior to bidding to help reveal any hidden costs or problems.
In response to another question, co-Chairman Howard Wineberg said, "if the votes fail for this project the alternative is not a do-nothing alternative." The middle school would have to be fixed and the high school fixed — without the state's help, he said. The average homeowner in both towns will see their property tax jump more than $200 in 2015, the most expensive year in the 25-year bond for the school. As the bond matures, the impact on the tax rate should decrease, based on current population and assessment figures.
Cheshire will hold a town meeting to vote on the project on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Cheshire School and vote on a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion Oct. 23 from 10 to 4. Adams' town meeting will be Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at Plunkett School and voting on the debt exclusion will take place on Oct. 21 from 7 to 7 at the town garage.
"If you think it's bad now, if we don't have up-to-date schools in this district, it will get worse," said Adams resident David Bissaillon. "The first thing that businesses and families look at when they're considering moving to a new area is the condition of the schools. The big picture is the best way to educate the kids of the school district."
The meeting was filmed by Northern Berkshire Community Television. The next meetings are Tuesday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m., Plunkett School and Thursday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m., Cheshire School. For more information, there's a FAQ and Facebook page.
