Adams Officials Worried School's Request Confusing
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At the Wednesday workshop meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Skrocki and School Committee Chairman John Duval said the warrant article requesting $400,000 from the both the town and Cheshire would require a thorough explanation at the June 16 town meeting.
"There are very confusing pieces to this and it's a little bit complicated," Skrocki said.
Because of the language of the article (which is determined by the state School Building Authority to be worded a specific way), voters may misunderstand the issue, said Skrocki.
State Reimbursements
The warrant article asks the town to authorize the borrowing of up to $400,000 to conduct Phase 1 of what school officials hope will be a long process, ending in the renovation of Hoosac Valley High School for a Grades-7-through-12 curriculum.
The funds will be used to hire a project manager and a designer to conduct a feasibility study and develop a project proposal, which will include schematic drawings.
Chosen as one of approximately 80 school districts selected to move forward with building projects — out of close to 500 applicants — the district needs to act now in order to ensure the best chances to get a project approved.
"There's no guarantee when this first phase is finished that a project will be approved out of this, but if we don't act now, we'll be pushed to the bottom of the list. Who knows? We might never get the chance again," said Skrocki.
The towns will be reimbursed by the SBA at a 68.4 percent base rate, which translates into a total cost of $126,400 for both towns. Adams would be responsible for $89,200 of that amount and Cheshire, $37,200.
"The $400,000 is a ballpark figure and it's obviously an estimate but, hopefully, it's a conservative estimate," Skrocki said. "The bottom line is, if we indeed spend the entire $400,000, the towns will incur a little over 31 percent of that."
Though no plans have been finalized, Skrocki said the district is looking to return Adams Memorial Middle School to the town and move the seventh and eighth grades to the high school. Because C.T. Plunkett Elementary School is already crowded, the problem of where to place the sixth grade will need to be addressed by the feasibility study.
The Columbia Street middle school building is more than 50 years old and has a laundry list of problems, including a deteriorating roof, an aging heating and cooling system and classrooms that fail to meet space recommendations.
"We have to make sure that whatever we decide will accommodate the students or the expected students we'll have," Skrocki said.
Skrocki also noted that reimbursement points are available and could increase the reimbursement rate up to 70 or 72 percent.
Selectman Joseph R. Dean Jr. said he was eager to move the project forward and failing to pass the article at town meeting could prove disastrous for the town.
"You snooze, you lose," he said.
"We're really looking for the towns to demonstrate that they are really committed to this," said Skrocki.
In Other Business
- Police Chief Donald Poirot told the Selectmen that he was facilitating a resolution between a business owner and a neighbor who had written a letter to the Selectmen, complaining about noise. He said the issue could be resolved in a matter of weeks and that both parties were agreeable to compromising.
- After prompting from Selectman Donald Sommer, the board voted 3-2 to begin reviewing the town's strategic plan issue by issue after the summer recess, in an effort to set measurable goals for Town Administrator William Ketcham. Sommer and Selectman Michael Ouellette opposed, saying they wanted to begin the process sooner.
