Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Todd Moss at 7:07 p.m. at the Nathan Hale High School – Room 206.

Roll Call

Attendance

Members present:

Todd Moss

Craig Parker

Kerri Willis Budzik

Melissa Ziobron

Denise Gable

Dana Barnes – arrived at 7:35 p.m.

Members absent:

Mary Beth Mordecai

John Gibson

Others present:

Lynn T. Liska

Bob Carroll, Board of Education Business Manager

David King, KBA

Cynthia Abraham, KBA

Jennifer Mangiagli, KBA

Manny Misenti

Approval of Minutes

Motion by Melissa Ziobron to approve the minutes of the June 1^st, 2005 meeting. Seconded by Denise Gable and unanimously passed.

Motion by Mrs. Ziobron to approve the minutes of the June 29, 2005 meeting. Seconded by Mrs. Gable and unanimously passed.

Audience of Citizens

Mr. Misenti instructed the Committee to not let the size of the school interfere with its work. The responsibility for expansion rests on the BOE. He expressed his concern for documentation from KBA to guarantee the expandability of the building. Mrs. Ziobron agreed that the Committee should have that documentation. He stated that the Committee would be doing a disservice to the town if they do not have a good picture of expandability. Mr. Parker responded that the committee was very cognizant of the ability for expandability. Mr. Misenti stated that the BOE should give the Committee a long-range plan to how many students the school may need to be expanded. The septic capability was discussed and Mr. Moss agreed that it was a very big issue. It was agreed that KBA would work on what kind of additional capacity the septic could accommodate.

Old Business

Architect Report – KBA

Dave King and Jennifer Mangiagli discussed the updated schematic design of the East Haddam 4-8 Middle School. After receiving input from faculty and staff during the June meetings and commentary from Dr. Durham, KBA worked on incorporating their suggestions into the design of the school. They distributed and discussed the following documentation:

A 5-page document titled “Architect’s Report”, which is an updated of the status of the plan and program. Changes to the plan were discussed:

Preferences for door hardware by Mr. Carroll and Steve Czapiewski were discussed. Mr. Moss stated that he did not want specs to be written up for a specific manufacturer.
The size of the Gymnasium increased 5,626-square-feet because of the CIAC requirements. Mrs. Mangiagli stated that the CIAC has guidelines and not fixed requirements. More research is to be done concerning these guidelines.
The classrooms were enlarged slightly to accommodate the potential for 24 children as opposed to 20 children.
KBA was able to fit in a general music classroom. Rose Marie Evans expressed concerns at the June 29^th SBC meeting about the music class having to share the gymnasium stage as a classroom space. The music classroom and a storage space were added to the layout.
According to Whitney Talcott, from KBA, who was not in attendance, the site was at about 22.8 acres. He feels that it can “still be tightened up a bit.”
Mr. Barnes questioned if more parking spaces could be added. He stated that there is not enough parking at the elementary school during functions.
Mr. Moss questioned if KBA could look at the plumbing and see if things could be shifted to avoid pumping up to the septic.

The Media Center Layout was distributed and discussed. The space size was changed from 9,171-square-feet (the educational specifications) to 6,303-square-feet. Mrs. Ziobron questioned the change. KBA responded that they could still fit comfortable the necessary equipment, furniture, etc. within the new square footage. Mr. Moss questioned the need for the large size of the media center. Mrs. Ziobron responded that parents may want the added space to ensure the distance between the 4^th and 5^th grade students and the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students. She also added that residents of East Haddam may be interested in using the media center as a resource instead of the High School, as is presently used.

KBA stated that they still needed to work on the administrative space, cafeteria/food area, and the boiler room spaces. They plan to have the schematic phase completed by the end of August.

The potential for expansion was discussed. Mrs. Ziobron requested that KBA get the committee a specific number of square footage that potential expansion could accommodate. Mrs. Abraham stated that the stairs were designed for a future addition.

Mrs. Budzik requested that KBA bring handouts of the school layouts to future meetings.

BOE Report

Mrs. Ziobron reported that there was no BOE meeting in July. She relayed a conversation with a fellow BOE member who asked if a member from Newfield Construction had ever been invited to a SBC meeting since the Referendum. He also felt that Newfield should be compensated for work performed pre-referendum.

Property Acquisition

Mr. Barnes informed the Committee that discussion would be deferred to Executive Session.

Construction Management Services Solicitation

Mr. Parker informed the committee that he, Mrs. Budzik and Mr. LaFemina had met and spent over three hours reviewing templates for Construction Management Services. They drafted a RFQ document with the Construction Manager at Risk. It will be reviewed by the sub-committee, the Town Attorney and the SBC.

Mr. Parker relayed his conversation with Mr. Damien Davis, president/owner, of Newfield Construction. According to Mr. Parker, Mr. Davis felt that it was inappropriate for the Town not to negotiate with Newfield before putting out a RFQ. This Committee was unaware that there was a contract in place with Newfield and a previous School Building Committee. Mr. Davis stated that Newfield was still interested in submitting a RFP for the project. Mr. Davis will be evaluating the costs associated with their work for the project and may be submitting an itemization for their costs.

Traffic Study Update

Mr. Moss informed the Committee the Traffic Study will be advertised on August 8^th or 9^th. Proposals would be due on the 19^th and the Study would be submitted by the end of September/beginning of October. Mr. Moss will be meeting with Brad Parker and the Public Works Director in the future to discuss some of the traffic related improvements to come from the Capital Improvements fund.

Mrs. Ziobron discussed the Banner Lodge Traffic Study and how it did not include the new school in its study. She asked if the committee could share a traffic study. Mr. Moss doubted that it would be possible since they were a private developer but he would look further into it.

New Business

Mrs. Ziobron informed the Committee of the issues with the High School floor. Mrs. Budzik questioned Dave King to comment on the problems with the floor at RHAM High School and if the Committee could be assured that the same problem wouldn’t occur at the 4-8 Middle School. Mr. King explained how the problems occur and discussed methods to avoid problems with the floor. He also explained that the floor problems at RHAM are prevalent in construction throughout the country. Mrs. Budzik said when the time comes to decide what materials to use for the floors, the Committee should think about the cost of it verses the cost of making any repairs in the future, if that material was not to hold up appropriately.

Mr. King questioned the status of the town’s funding package. Mr. Carroll responded that he spoke to the State Facilities Unit and that the funding was in place as of June 30^th. The check is expected by next week. No official letter has been received yet.

Determination of Next Meeting

The next regular scheduled meeting will be on August 24, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Nathan Hale High School. There will also be a special meeting to discuss the Construction Management Services Solicitation. This meeting will be held in executive session at a date TBD.

Other Discussion

Motion by Mrs. Ziobron to go into Executive session at 9:10 p.m. for purposes of discussing property acquisition. Seconded by Mr. Barnes and passed unanimously.

Motion made by Mrs. Ziobron to come out of executive session at 9:30 p.m. Seconded by Mr. Barnes and passed unanimously.

No action was taken or decisions made.

Adjournment

Motion by Mrs. Ziobron at 9:35 p.m. to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Barnes and unanimously passed.