Tuesday's meeting also featured a lengthy open microphone period in which students voiced favor of a new school and others opposed it.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There was no detail too small for city councilors Tuesday night when it came to the new Taconic High School.

 

The City Council spent more than three hours quizzing Drummey Rosane Anderson Inc. President Carl Franceschi, who is in charge of designing the proposed school.

 

During the special City Council meeting, the 11 elected representatives peppered Franceschi with questions and opined on subjects ranging from where temporary construction roads might be built to the type of locks on each door to the R-value of the glass proposed in a stairway.

 

The City Council ultimately has no say over the details of the project — their role is to decide if the city will borrow some $115 million for the total project. Nonetheless, the School Building Needs Commission will need that 2/3 council vote to move forward and Tuesday's meeting was scheduled to keep them informed.

 

The new Taconic High School project was first envisioned a decade ago. Last year, the Massachusetts School Building Authority accepted the city into its program. A feasibility study culminated in the School Building Needs Commission opting to build new rather than renovating, a decision developed through weighing three types of construction. The construction costs (not total project costs) were estimated at about $60 million for a renovation and $85 million for building new.

 

Once the preliminary designs and educational plan were approved by the state, DRA then moved into detailing the design. The 250,000 square-foot, three-story building would to be built on the other side of the driveway from the current school. It features large glass windows as the front facade, a sloping roof over the library, an L-shaped structure with shops on the first floor and classrooms on the upper floors.

 

The new design was shown off in 3D models to the City Council on Tuesday. Estimators should have the final cost this week. Both the School Committee and the MSBA have to approve the project and cost.

 

The MSBA's approval will give the city an 80 percent reimbursement. However, that 80 percent is actually closer to 65 percent of the total cost because there are limitations on reimbursement items. 

 

In total, the project is expected to cost in the $115 million range — about $85 million to $95 million of that being "construction costs" and the rest being engineering, planning and administrative. 

 

The City Council in April will be asked to bond the entire project cost and then receive the reimbursement in the future. The borrowing would be outside of the city's debt limit, which is allowable for school building projects.

 

While some residents have voiced a desire to bring the issue to a vote, the city charter empowers the councilors to authorize the bonding. Voters approved a completely revamped charter last year that continued to give the City Council that authority. 

 

"The difference is our form of government in Pittsfield is different from the towns around here," said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield.

 

A citizen's petition could force it onto a ballot.

Paul Muller said the quality of the materials matters more than the design of the roof.

If approved, the construction would start in spring 2016 and be completed by the end of summer 2018. The area would be fenced in and a new road would be built between the current entrance and Lakeway Drive. Once the construction is completed, the students will move in and demolition on the old school would begin.

 

During previous meetings, some councilors voiced concern over the roof — saying they wanted the architects to design a sloped roof rather than the recommended flat one. The current design has the roof only slightly sloping but councilors felt those types of roofs leaked.

 

Franceschi pointed to a sloped roof in Franklin that had problems in its first year. That town is now building a school with a flat roofs. The same goes for Plymouth for a project done 35 years ago.

 

"It's been problematic since the day it opened," he said.

 

The shape of the roof doesn't determine whether it will leak or not but rather the quality, Franceschi has said on multiple occasions during this process.

 

Paul Muller, a waterproofing specialist with the membrane roof manufacturer Sika Sarnafil that recently manufactured the roof over the TD Garden in Boston, backed up Franceschi. His company does membranes for both types of roofs. 

 

City Council Vice President Christopher Connell questioned both Franceschi and Muller about various aspects of the roof. The engineer and manufacturer answered his questions and concluded by saying that even if something does go wrong, there will be a warranty on the roofing.

 

Another topic kicked around Tuesday night is the thought of building one school for both Taconic and Pittsfield High students. That idea had been debated heavily in years past, including past mayoral elections, but eventually rejected.

 

"The bottom line is whether we are in favor of having one school in the city of Pittsfield or two, this project needs to be approved first," said Ward 6 Councilor John Krol. "This is step one. That other conversation may come up but if we don't approve this, we are putting ourselves 10 years behind."

 

The design leaves room for an addition project in the future should the city decide to close PHS. However, the city is already too far along in the process to reconsider the enrollment numbers that were already approved by the MSBA.

 

"Right now the question before us in 2015 is do we want to proceed with the Taconic High School project or do we want to get off the list and start all over?" said Farley-Bouvier.

 

Students from Taconic used the open microphone to voice favor of the project. A few residents also spoke in opposition.