East Haddam School Building Committee Meeting

March 2, 2005

Adopted March 30, 2005

 

Call to Order

 

The meeting was called to order by Todd Moss at 7:01 p.m. at the Nathan Hale High School – Room 117.

 

      Roll Call    

 

Attendance

 

Members present:           

            Todd Moss                            Melissa Ziobron 

            Mary Beth Mordecai                         Kerri Willis Budzik

John Gibson                        David LaFemina

Denise Gable                           Craig Parker

 

Members absent:

            Dana Barnes

 

Others present:

David King, KBA

Robert Carroll, Central Office, Board of Education Business Manager

 

Approval of Minutes

 

Motion by Kerri Willis Budzik to approve the minutes of February 2, 2005 meeting amended as follows:

 

·        2nd  page, last paragraph, strike “that she would like to see as many bidders as possible and that if Milone and MacBroom was a low bidder that she would like to see them perform the work” and replace with “concern that Milone and MacBroom were doing a lot of work in town and that she would like to see as many bids as possible”.

·        2nd  page, last paragraph, strike “questioned” and replace with “inquired”.

 

Seconded by Ms. Mordecai and carried by unanimous vote. 

 

Audience of Citizens

 

There was no Audience of Citizens segment offered. 

 

Old Business

                  Property Acquisition

 

Dave King discussed the following documentation:

·        Two schematic maps of the potential site for the school including the compilation of data from the GIS, survey and preliminary scheme.  The maps included but were not limited to, the drive to the school, playfields, existing houses, boundaries, topography, wetlands and septic. 

 

Mr. King stated the preliminary schematic maps were subject to change due to School Building Committee member’s input.  Ms. Mordecai questioned which of the property included East Hampton property.  Mr. King demonstrated on the map and stated that it may be possible to subdivide the property or sell it back to East Hampton.  Mrs. Budzik stated that it was her understanding that it was not uncommon for a piece of land sited in a neighboring town to be included in a parcel of land considered for purchase by another town for public use purposes, but that there were certain procedures to follow.  Mrs. Ziobron stated the Committee could contact Linda Orange to determine if East Hampton would be interested in a land swap.  Mrs. Budzik stated that it would be to the Committee’s benefit to ask Attorney Bennett to compile a list of options for Committee review.  Vernal pool location and inspection was discussed.  Dave King informed the Committee that the Civil Firm WMC from Newington would start the monitoring wells within the next two weeks. Committee Members discussed boundary lines for the proposed school.  Maximization of the reimbursement rate was discussed.  Mrs. Ziobron questioned Mr. King if it was too early in the development stage to discuss the location of the out buildings for the athletic fields.  Mr. King responded affirmatively.  Craig Parker inquired how much land was in East Hampton.  It was stated that the survey would need to be reviewed to determine the correct acreage amount.  Mr. Moss stated the East Hampton property was necessary for emergency access onto the property, as requested by Planning and Zoning.  Mrs. Ziobron questioned Mr. King what the planning process would be over the next several months.  He responded the legislature must approve the project, followed by the Board of Finance’s approval; prior to any further planning can be competed.    

 

Ms. Mordecai informed the Committee that she had spoken with Dana Barnes and he had no updates on property acquisition, there would be a follow-up meeting on Friday and an update would be reported by Mr. Barnes at the next School Building Committee meeting.  Craig Parker questioned Mr. King how many test pits would be placed on the site.  Mr. King responded that he did not know.    Phase 1, 2 and 3 site surveys were discussed.  Mrs. Ziobron stated she read the Selectman’s meeting in December, revealing an adjacent neighbor to the proposed site had attended, sharing concerns with fault line/ seismic activity.  She requested that the Committee offer the adjacent neighbor an invitation to attend School Building Committee meetings.  She stated her biggest concern was that the complaint was not forwarded to the School Building Committee.  Public relations efforts were discussed.  Mr. King stated he would write a letter to the Committee which could be posted on the web site in regards to the design process with regard to how codes and standards are established for the State of Connecticut.  Craig Parker questioned if the Civil Engineers needed to access the land through the East Hampton property.  John Gibson stated the property owners signed permission for access.                               

 

New Business

 

            Open Space Submission

 

Mr. Moss discussed an email sent by the Selectman’s office on Wednesday, February 16, 2005.  The email states that Governor M. Jodi Rell announced the start of a new round of open space grants with the deadline for submitting grant applications to the Department of Environmental Protection, which administers the program for the State, is May 20, 2005.  The open space grant awards will be announced in the summer or fall of 2005.  Mr. Moss stated he went to the Open Space Committee for help with the application process.  Mr. Gibson stated the application could be found on the web. Committee members agreed to start the application process at the next meeting.  Mr. Moss stated a sub-committee would need to be formed for the application process. 

 

Mr. Moss stated he was in the process of setting an appointment with Mary-Jane Plude and Selectman Parker to discuss the School Building Committee budget.  He stated Mr. King had submitted a cash flow chart for his work for the next year as well as Newfield Construction.  He stated Newfield Construction had an executable contract with the former building committee which was contrary to what the School Building Committee had been advised.  Mrs. Ziobron stated she had sent an email to Don Fudge to schedule a meeting with the Committee with in the next 3 or 4 months.  Mr. Moss stated his company had LEED type resources which he would be willing to make available to Committee Members interested in the topic.  Mrs. Ziobron stated that there was a LEED conference in Boston at the end of March.  She questioned Mr. King if he had attended any such conference.  He responded affirmatively.                                               

 

Determination of Next Meetings

                       

The next regular scheduled meeting will be March 30th, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Nathan Hale High School – Room 117.      

 

Other Discussion

 

Mrs. Ziobron questioned Mr. Moss when the Committee could involve the neighbors with the project.  Mr. Moss stated it is important to keep the neighbors informed.  He stated that a forum or a special informational meeting could be announced, and held in the auditorium to update Town people.  Committee members agreed that the appropriate time to have a forum would be after funding takes place.  Municipal, Open and School space was discussed.  Mr. Moss agreed to attend the Board of Education meeting, Tuesday, March 15th at 7p.m. to update members on the School Building Committee’s progress. 

        

Adjournment

 

Motion by Ms. Mordecai at 7:59p.m. to adjourn.  Seconded by Mr. LaFemina and unanimously passed.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

E. Ruth Ziobron

 

Filed at Selectman’s office

 

Attendance

 

Document containing an email dated February 16, 2005 announcing a new round of open space grants.