Letter to the Editor-Washinton Proposal- Build to Suit February 27, 2007
Why have Washington residents allowed the small group of consolidators to present the “failed” SLAM proposal from April 2006 as their “Build to Suit Proposal” for the Town of Washington? This build to suit plan for WPS proposes using the GYM as a cafeteria to get bigger classrooms for all grades. The cafeteria becomes classrooms and the kitchen is moved to the boy’s locker room. The Bond cost to Washington was $14 million for this proposal, after adding the amounts for the Burnham and Booth schools. The voters overwhelmingly rejected this plan. Why not a build to suit plan that is reasonable with a lower cost? Certainly, there must be a better proposal for Washington voters.
A realistic Build to Suit Plan for the WPS School in District 12 renovates the current classrooms in place. The cafeteria gets renovated and stays where it is. The gym is not used as a multipurpose room. The gym and locker rooms continue to be used for middle school athletics. This proposal has an expanded lobby with a canopy over the bus drop off.
The Budget amount of $7,200,000 can be detailed by using a Construction Pricing Specialist to make sure this goal can be accomplished. This proposal was formulated using the SLAM methodology and estimating factors from last year. The same approach was used to initiate the build to suit efforts Roxbury and Bridgewater. The floor plan drawing for a more expensive proposal that includes a new kindergarten, a classroom/music room and handicapped bathroom is attached. The Slam drawing and some recent pictures are also attached.
In 2002 the BOE proceeded with renovation planning for the 3 Elementary Schools. There was a failed referendum in June of 2005. We had an informational referendum in March of 2006 that overwhelmingly showed that the Voters want 3 separate Elementary Schools, one in each Town. We have had two referendums since then as follows:
__________Total_ WPS Tot_ WPS Net_ WPS Bond
April 2006_ $39,3M_ $11,6M__ $9,3M___ $14,0M
June. 2006_ $37,4M_ $11,7M__ $9,3M___ $12,7M
Reasonable 2007 Plan ________$7,2M___ $7,2M
Renovating WPS without requiring state aid removes the need to make the old school into a brand new school. This means that more reasonable cost estimates can be used for budgeting. It also means that the renovation can proceed now, without waiting on state approval. The District should apply for state aid and continue working with our legislators in parallel with the construction process. Several school board members and the selectmen of the other towns have suggested this approach.
Build to Suit Committee Members:
Bridgewater Roxbury
Jerry Ronan Page Westervelt
Ed Wainwright Brian Krin
A realistic Build to Suit Plan for the WPS School in District 12 renovates the current classrooms in place. The cafeteria gets renovated and stays where it is. The gym is not used as a multipurpose room. The gym and locker rooms continue to be used for middle school athletics. This proposal has an expanded lobby with a canopy over the bus drop off.
The Budget amount of $7,200,000 can be detailed by using a Construction Pricing Specialist to make sure this goal can be accomplished. This proposal was formulated using the SLAM methodology and estimating factors from last year. The same approach was used to initiate the build to suit efforts Roxbury and Bridgewater. The floor plan drawing for a more expensive proposal that includes a new kindergarten, a classroom/music room and handicapped bathroom is attached. The Slam drawing and some recent pictures are also attached.
In 2002 the BOE proceeded with renovation planning for the 3 Elementary Schools. There was a failed referendum in June of 2005. We had an informational referendum in March of 2006 that overwhelmingly showed that the Voters want 3 separate Elementary Schools, one in each Town. We have had two referendums since then as follows:
__________Total_ WPS Tot_ WPS Net_ WPS Bond
April 2006_ $39,3M_ $11,6M__ $9,3M___ $14,0M
June. 2006_ $37,4M_ $11,7M__ $9,3M___ $12,7M
Reasonable 2007 Plan ________$7,2M___ $7,2M
Renovating WPS without requiring state aid removes the need to make the old school into a brand new school. This means that more reasonable cost estimates can be used for budgeting. It also means that the renovation can proceed now, without waiting on state approval. The District should apply for state aid and continue working with our legislators in parallel with the construction process. Several school board members and the selectmen of the other towns have suggested this approach.
Build to Suit Committee Members:
Bridgewater Roxbury
Jerry Ronan Page Westervelt
Ed Wainwright Brian Krin
Rebuttal of Washington Build to Suit Proposal: Spectrum March 9, 2007
Jack Field (Consolidator) and Dick Sears (Consolidator) would like you to believe that either of the two SLAM plans could be a viable “Build to Suit Plan”. The Washington voters overwhelmingly voted both of these plans down last year. The voters obviously want a lower cost proposal that can be approved by a Washington town referendum. A referendum for the three schools using either of the SLAM plans will fail again. Washington needs a new independent group that is objective without consolidators. This group could do what is needed to provide a realistic build to suit alternative for the WPS site.
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