School Facilities Ad Hoc Committee

School Facilities Ad Hoc Committee Committee Co-Chairpersons Marnie Morrione, Chair, Portland Board of Education ∙ Ethan K. Strimling, Mayor David Brenerman, District 5 City Councilor Nicholas M. Mavodones, At-Large City Councilor Justin Costa, District 4 City Councilor Sarah J. Thompson, At-Large Board of Education Stephanie Hatzenbuehler, District 4 Board of Education Anna Trevorrow, At-Large Board of Education Tuesday, August 30, 2016 5:00pm – 7:00pm City Hall – Council Chamber Meeting Minutes & Notes The meeting began at 5:04pm. Attendance: Mayor Strimling, School Board Chair Marnie Morrione (Committee Co-Chairs) Superintendent Xavier Botana Councilors: David Brenerman, Justin Costa, Nicholas Mavodones School Board Members: Stephanie Hatzenbuehler, Sarah Thompson, Anna Trevorrow Deputy City Manager Anita LaChance Special Assistant to the Mayor Jason J. Shedlock Mayor Strimling and Board Chair Morrione began the meeting by welcoming the Committee Members and the public and letting the attendees know the purpose of the evening. Xavier Botana, along with representatives from Oak Point Associates, would walk through the Builds for Our Future plan, how it relates to the school tours that the Committee attended, and how the proposed plans tie into students’ educational needs. The minutes of the July 25th meeting of the School Facilities Ad Hoc Committee were approved unanimously. 1. Presumpscot a. Plan includes improvements and an additional 36,000 ft2 @ $16.2 Million i. Need a breakdown of exactly what that square footage entails b. 2nd Floor expansion may be able to be eliminated, but structure would need to be in place for possible future expansion i. Cost of 2nd floor is roughly $2.5 million c. Proposed size of school would make it about same size of Longfellow, still smaller than Lyseth and Reiche d. Updating carpets, windows, walls, electrical throughout the school are all part of the proposed plan 1  e. Partitions to combine classrooms and enable shared teaching are not part of the current plan, but could be added if the staff and administration deem appropriate f. During renovation, students would not be displaced, as they can use modulars as swing space for a limited time g. Offsite improvements (sidewalks, roads) might be needed. Oak Point will consult with a Civil Engineer h. Current traffic routing would more heavily utilize Sherwood Street i. Options might be to remove on street parking ii. Traffic study is needed iii. Fears of bottlenecks expressed i. Non-equity items are repairs that were not funded in the Capital Improvement Plan but subsequently added as a part of the Buildings for Our Future plan. j. Possibility of a larger shared use gym/cafeteria does not assist in flexibility of space, since the cafeteria would still make the gym unusable during meal serving times k. Enrollment fluctuates widely at Presumpscot and possible Front Street housing expansion can possibly factor into future enrollment numbers 2. Longfellow a. Plan includes improvements an additional 17,000 ft2 @ $16.4 Million b. Relocation of students during renovation would be to adjacent Deering High School swing space c. There is currently asbestos in ceiling and floor tiles – floors and ceilings would be replaced under the proposed plan d. Proposal includes separate heat for Longfellow (currently tied to Deering High School) e. Sprinklers throughout building will be brought up to current code f. Expansion would eliminate a portion of staff parking and displace student parking for Deering i. Will likely cause concern in the community ii. Considerable pushback in the past because of spillover into the neighborhood iii. Data needed from prior community forums to gauge public response (dates and number of people attended) iv. Suggestion to engage community again on the proposed plan g. A K-8 plan to merge schools was not discussed by the Board of Education and is not favored by the current Longfellow principal, not the Superintendent because of size of school and mixing of various neighborhood children (too large a catchment area) and mergers does not guarantee state funding to move forward (same issues related to the question of merging Lyseth and Lyman Moore) h. There is no need for sidewalk alterations, grading of existing property will accommodate ADA-related upgrades 3. Reiche a. Smaller footprint: Plan includes improvements and additional 6,000 ft2 @ $18 Million 2  b. Under proposed “relocation” plan for students, disused modulars from Presumpscot would be moved to campus of Reiche to use as swing space at a yet-to-be-determined cost c. The proposal includes a hybrid plan of walls around spaces where Kindergarten or small-group focused learning is needed, but an open concept with possible movable walls is envisioned for other classrooms d. Acoustic experts will be engaged to address noise issue that accompanies open concept design – money is currently in the budget for acoustic design and furnishings e. Non-equity items at Reiche include a roof (facilities staff state that though the roof may have an additional few years of life by the time the project is complete, the construction of skylights to address light issues in the interior of the building would necessitate replacing the roof) f. The plan includes an additional Pre-K classroom i. The school is already listed as over-capacity g. Explanation for the low square-footage addition and second-highest cost includes the need for a new roof as well as major utilities upgrades because of the original design of the building h. Further exploration of relocating basketball courts and redesigning other areas of the campus are being discussed 4. Lyseth a. Plan includes improvements and an increase of 37,000 ft2 @ $20 Million b. Possible elimination of 2nd floor is les straightforward than Presumpscot i. Since Lyseth is proposed to be at the end of the construction process, if enrollment continues to shrink, elimination of the 2nd floor is a possibility c. During renovation, students would not be displaced, as they can use modulars as swing space for a limited time d. There are many questions around the work proposed by the city and being planned for currently and what is included in the Buildings for Our Future proposal. School and City staff are working together on ensuring there is no duplication of proposed costs and costs already included in the Capital Improvement Plan i. Sidewalk, ballfield drainage are being discussed and would need to be addressed regardless of moving forward with school renovations ii. Budget can be adjusted based on work done and work still needed on campus iii. Possibility of moving up project based on economics of doing the entire project (school and grounds) at once will be explored, taking into account the cost of doing a portion sooner and a portion later (in future escalated costs) e. Non-equity items at Lyseth are few, as many items that would fall into this category have already been addressed f. Except for the addition of a Pre-K class, the proposed renovations do not anticipate allowing for increased enrollment i. A majority of renovation are adding a separate gymnasium as well as a second floor to ensure more appropriate use of space and the elimination of the modulars currently on site. 3  5. General Issues a. Admin costs in the proposal are for project reserves and contingencies i. Movable equipment accounts of 6% ii. Technology (wiring and other hard costs) accounts for 3% iii. LEED Certification utilized reserve funds iv. Unforeseen overruns in bids and construction are included in contingencies b. What is the status of the elementary school task force? c. Would adding to Ocean Avenue impact the need for a 2nd floor at Lyseth? d. More explanation on the downfalls of a combined gym/cafeteria i. Eating in gyms can take up nearly half the day ii. P.E. cannot be scheduled during those times iii. When P.E. is held in classrooms, the teachers are not teaching P.E. 1. Stretching, games, teamwork, not physical education iv. Stage area of gyms cannot be used either 1. Cannot hold a school-wide presentation with community because of space limitations v. Classroom teaching would normally use P.E. period to work on lesson plans in the classroom – if classroom is used, they must go somewhere else and cannot adequately prepare their classroom for study e. How many schools have three lunches (thus monopolizing gym times)? i. Longfellow has two with the third (for older children) held in the classroom ii. Presumpscot has three lunches iii. More information needed on Reiche and Lyseth f. If proposed renovations of the four schools in question was performed, would they meet the same standards as the new Hall School, Ocean Avenue, and East End Community School now meet? i. Yes, they would meet the equity standards set by the Board of Education ii. Seven school would then meet equity standards, with Riverton also at or near the same standard 6. Announcements a. Questions and answers to be distributed by September 9th b. Next School Facilities Ad Hoc Committee Meeting will be reserved to walk through questions and answers Presentation by Oak Point Associates is included in the official minutes. The meeting adjourned at 7:16pm. Submitted by Jason J. Shedlock, Special Assistant to the Mayor 4