So sorry

I have been a slacker with this blog!  There is so much to update, but fundraisers for my daughter "F" have kept me busier than I planned.

But a quick update is this:  When the building committee last met, they talked about doing the project in phases.  Phase 1 would start next summer - and that would include the boilers, the roof, and any ADA work they thought they needed to do (nothing major, but a few good things).  The roof and boiler are being completely replaced.  The cost is several million dollars, but the state would reimburse 52% for the roof and 35% for the boilers.  So that reduced the cost significantly.

Phase 2 would begin the following year.  I cannot off hand remember all the info (Mr. Burr wouldn't give me a copy because it was just a rough draft), but it was things like electrical work, windows, ventilation.  My personal opinion is that this cannot wait for another year, but this is what was originally planned.

Phase 3 would begin the year after that and would include all the left overs - which wasn't much.  A few maintenance items and some wiring, really.  Honestly, the whole plan was like watching a balloon deflate.  Yes, there were needed maintenance items on the list, but the phase plan bothers me and so does the face that no educational specs. were put into the plan.

It looked like the whole thing would cost around $6-7 million when all was said and done.  But that is only if the state reimbursement stays the way it is now (which is highly unlikely), and if cost of materials doesn't increase during their 3-5 year phase plan (again highly unlikely).  So - we went from a $15 million plan with a rennovate as new (where we were going to pay between $7-8 million as a town), to a $6-7 million plan that would take many years and not have near the work that we would have had the first time around.

Doesn't sounds like a good deal to me.

The building committee was going to have its presentation to the Board of Selectman on October 5th to introduce their plan and see what the Board thought.  But Donna Leake, our superintendent, reviewed the plan and was not pleased.  She asked the building committee to go back to the table and include things like room enlargements and ed. specs.  Can I get a "yay!" for Donna Leake.

So - Elbert Burr emailed me and told me that the building committee would be holding off on meeting with the selectman until November 9th (mark it on your calendar). 

Then I got an fyi form the BOE stating that they are going to be meeting with the building committee next Wednesday - the 27th - at 7:30pm at the school.  It is open to the public, so please plan on attending.  This is going to be a great meeting - I am looking forward to seeing the Building Committee and BOE try to come to some resolve about what to do about our building.  I will be there, so I hope you will be too!