Committee presses for Option 1 for East Haddam Middle School Conversion

The East Haddam Middle School Conversion Committee made its argument Wednesday night before the Board of Selectmen to move forward with what’s known as Option 1.

Option 1 is total renovation of both the Hale and Ray sections of the middle school’s 67,000 square feet and building a 6,240-square-foot garage for housing emergency vehicles.

This option would bring all town offices and town agencies under one roof and has a projected cost of $12,821,214 – which would be reduced by a STEAP (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) grant of approximately $200,000 and an Emergency Management grant of approximately $400,000, bringing the cost down to $12.2 million.

The estimated impact on taxes is an additional $217 per year beginning in 2014.

Option 1 is “exactly what the committee was charged with,” said EHMSC Committee Chair Maryjane Malavasi.

It also is the most cost-effective per square foot, is energy efficient, would reduce or eliminate rental expenditures, provide space for all the town offices – as well as probate, the ambulance association and the food bank, and it preserves existing buildings, she said.

“It is the best fit for our priorities,” Malavasi said.

And while some may question undertaking a project of this size while the economy is still climbing out of a slump, Malavasi said, it’s also the best time to get the best prices from contractors looking for work, and for borrowing money.

More debt

First Selectman Mark Walter repeated his previous concerns about taking on more debt in the current economic climate.

He said that before building the new middle school, East Haddam was at the bottom of the list of towns when it came to carrying debt. Now the town is carrying about $3,000 per capita in debt, he said.

And if the town moves ahead with this conversion project, that figure would increase to about $4,000 per capita, which pushes East Haddam to the top of the list, he said.

Three options?

Selectman Peter Govert asked Malavasi if the committee’s recommendation was based on a unanimous vote.

According to another EHMSC Committee member, the vote was 6 to 3 in favor of Option 1.

Govert suggested there really are three options for the old middle school: the full conversion, or Option 1; breaking the project into two phases – renovating one portion and “mothballing” the other; or demolishing the building.

Malavasi responded that the committee “always expected to submit some sort of project,” versus demolishing the building or doing nothing.

She added that choosing to convert only one portion of the building would involve new costs for a new design, and that based on a survey submitted at the November hearing, townspeople don’t consider demolishing the building an option.

EHMSC Committee member Craig Mansfield also noted that “based on the mechanicals that exist,” renovating one section of the building and not the other would essentially mean a new design.

Walter pointed out that the three main sections of the building are all intertwined in terms of the electrical system and other utilities.

Mansfield added, “That’s part of why the costs to demolish the Ray portion are so high.”

Let the voters decide

Govert repeated a sentiment he’s voiced at previous meetings and that is to send the project to referendum and let the voters decide what is or is not too much to spend.

Govert said the Board of Selectmen should send Option 1 to a referendum and if that fails, to send the option of a partial conversion to a referendum. “And if that fails, tear it down,” he said.

Noting that it costs about $5,000 each for a referendum, Govert said he thinks it’s worth it. “I think this is the biggest decision we’re going to face for another generation,” he said.

In order make a motion to send Option 1 to a referendum, however, Govert said he’d want to have firm figures, and asked how much more money would be needed to send out bids.

“I am feeling some sense of urgency to move forward… either do something, or tear it down,” he said. “If we wait too long, the decision will be made for us.”

The estimated cost to collect bids is $20,000.

The estimated cost to demolish the building is $2 million, Malavasi said.

Govert asked if there are grants that could reduce some of the costs for Option I.

Malavasi said that the town has to have a project underway before any grants could be applied for.

Testing for PCBs

Govert also asked what guarantees the town would have that the project wouldn’t run over budget.

Malavasi said the budget already includes a contingency fund that takes into account the possibility of PCB contamination in the building, which would have to be remediated. She said it costs about $5,000 to have a PCB test done. If it comes back negative, this could bring the project’s costs down by about $500,000.

Committee member Melissa Ziobron added that there is almost no concern about asbestos in the building because the Board of Education previously took care of abating almost 95 percent of the building’s asbestos.

Malavasi said the committee cannot guarantee that there’s nothing there that could cause a cost overrun, but added that Newfield has guaranteed a maximum price.

She added that the budget includes very little for furniture, the expectation being that existing furnishing will be moved to the new building. “Except maybe for a conference table, because we’d finally have a conference room,” she joked.

Public comments

In response to an invitation for public comments at this meeting, Brad Parker began by praising the EHMSC Committee for its work. “Whether we agree with you or not, the quality of your work has been outstanding,” Parker said.

He added, “I think the town has learned from past experience that going out to bid before a referendum is better.

Noting that the town has already spent more than $200,000, “it would be foolish not to spend another $20,000 for bids,” he said.

Wyley Peckham said he doubts voters would approve a $12.2 million project given what people are dealing with now, such as no increase in Social Security benefits, 9.1 percent unemployment in Connecticut, one out of seven homes nationally in foreclosure, and an increasing number of people delinquent on paying their taxes.

Peckham said he understands the emotional attachment some people may have to their old school, and to saving “the last part of old Moodus,” but people cannot afford to support the project at this time.

“Please don’t spend any more money that we will need in the future,” he said.

Another speaker questioned Peckham’s “doom and gloom” forecast and noted there are many signs of the economy making a recovery. He noted that he was recently contacted by a “headhunter” and that the company he works for is hiring.

Parker argued that if the town only built projects that everyone agreed about, nothing would ever get built.

“Roundtable” vs “Committee”

At the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting, Walter said he wanted to wait on making a decision about the conversion project until a newly formed Financial Needs Committee could review it, along with other anticipated large expenditures the town faces.

However, after a long discussion about who would serve on this committee, who would chair it, how often it would meet and what its responsibilities would be, the name of this committee evolved into something else.

It was decided to scratch the idea of an advisory committee in favor of a “roundtable” where members would review projects as part of a “big picture.”

It was decided that this “roundtable” would be made up of 2 members of the three-member Board of Selectmen, two members of the Board of Finance, and three members of the Board of Education.

The “roundtable” will be chaired by the First Selectman or his designee, its members would serve for one year, and the group would meet at least quarterly. The first meeting is planned for Dec. 21, Walter said.

Walter said he feels this kind of group is important because “in normal meetings, there isn’t time to do long-range planning.”

“I need the input of all the players sitting at one table,” he said.

Ziobron said if this roundtable is going to get anything done, it should meet monthly, not quarterly.

She added that she served on the Board of Education for seven years and the board has a long-range planning subcommittee. “There’s information there,” she said.

Posted Dec. 16, 2010

Note: A PowerPoint™ proposal and other information about the project is available at the East Haddam Middle School Conversion Committee’s website www.ehmscc.com

Also, see related story: Five options presented for Middle School conversion project, published Nov. 12, 2010 in East Haddam Today http://easthaddam.htnp.com/2010/11/12/five-options-presented-for-middle-school-conversion-project/