Thursday, April 13, 2000 Older Editions

In two weeks, TM vote on two schools at $32M

By Rebecca Lipchitz

School officials vow that if Town Meeting voters approve the school building project, mistakes made during the renovation to the High School would not be made again.

The town is asking voters to approve a $31.9 million plan to build a new middle school and elementary school complex at Cross Street and High Plain Road in the form of Article 9 at Annual Town Meeting, beginning Monday, April 24.

The state is expected to reimburse the town 60 percent of the cost, leaving the town to pay $12.6 million for the project, say School Building Committee members.

The project would include a middle school for a maximum of 450 students and an elementary school for a maximum of 564 students, joined by an auditorium which the schools would share.

Each school would have its own gymnasium and cafeteria, but share the auditorium, kitchen, mechanical plant and storage and maintenance space. The campus would sit at the intersection of Cross Street and High Plain Road, and include playground space and playing fields.

As part of its presentation, performed in meetings with the public and PTO groups more than 70 times, the School Building Committee says it took several steps to avoid mistakes made during the High School job. The High School project ran millions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule, and led to lawsuits.

School Committee member Tina Girdwood says she hopes voters will also acknowledge building projects in town that have been successful.

"Sanborn and South (elementary schools) were complicated renovation projects with kids and teachers in the building, and we managed to do those pretty well," she says.

To avoid past mistakes, says School Building Committee Chairman Mark Johnson, the project will be run by a clerk of the works and the town's construction project manager, both of whom would report directly to Plant and Facilities Manager Joe Piantedosi.

During the High School project, the clerk of the works reported to project manager, who as a consultant hired by the town.

For this project, the Project Manager would be Phil Tuminelli, who also works for the town on the pending safety center and senior center projects.

The clerk of the works has not yet been hired.

This project also includes an environmental site analysis, and an independent peer review of the architects' plans and specifications.

Architects Symmes, Maini & McKee of Cambridge (see Townsman story July 1, 1999) designed the project, which was reviewed by two other independent architects.

Approval at Town Meeting 2000 would authorize the town to go forward with the project, but the $31,938,000 cost would not be appropriated unless voters also approve Question 2 on the debt exclusion vote May 23 (see story, page one), which also includes a request for funds for a public safety center (Question 1) and sidewalks near the new schools (Question 3).

Design and engineering costs for the new schools project was approved by a past annual Town Meeting at $2.5 million, Johnson says.

The new schools project would increase residential property taxes at various levels, with rates peaking in FY 2005, and then going down again, Johnson says.

A homeowner with a home valued at $300,000 with a tax bill of $4,395 would see a $12 increase in FY 2001; an $80 increase in FY 2002, a $167 increase in 2005; and a $116 increase in 2007.

To construct the schools, voters must pass articles 9, 11 and 12 at Town Meeting 2000, and the debt exclusion Question 2 in May.

Article 11 would allow AVIS (Andover Village Improvement Society) to swap a portion of land at the new site with a portion of land near the High School.

The town needs a portion of AVIS land at Cross Street and High Plain Road to run a sewer line to the new schools.

Article 12 confirms the original eminent-domain taking of the land on which the new schools would be built, Johnson says.

Article 13, a $3.4 million request to connect neighbors of the new school into the main sewer line for the school, does not need to be approved in order for schools to be built, Johnson says (see sidebar).

Article 10, at $600,000, which extends sidewalks off the school site (see story, page 1), is also not necessary to construct the schools, but is endorsed by the School Building Committee, Johnson says.

The project is designed to relieve overcrowding in Andover's elementary and middle schools.

School Building Committee charts show Andover schools above maximum capacity since 1997. If no new schools were built, elementary and middle schools would be nearly 500 students over capacity by 2002.