Merrimack School District
Planning & Building Committee

Minutes of the May 13, 1999 Meeting

Present: All committee members and Assistant Superintendent S. Isabelle.

S. Heinrich called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M.

Approval of Prior Minutes

On a motion from J. Heinrich, seconded by M. Morrison, the minutes of April 12, 1999 were approved corrected to remove the name(s) of members who had abstained. The vote was four in favor with two abstentions.

Parking and Fields Update

S. Isabelle reported that work on the high school parking lots will start after July 5. Meridian is re-engineering some drainage issues near the front of the school and along the access road. He said, when finished, the entire lot would be level. He also noted that the drainage "ditch" (otherwise called Lake Isabelle) at the end of the parking area would be fenced in.

In response to a question regarding a fence abutting the Overton property, S. Isabelle said he would be meeting with the Overtons after the lot was finished to "improve" their situation. He indicated that the district would be working with SERESC on some fencing improvements as well.

S. Isabelle will send committee members copies of the drawings of the final parking and fields proposals. D. Miller also has some field drawings for the committee.

In response to questions regarding costs for the parking project, S. Isabelle reported that funds beyond the warrant amount will come from the operating budget.

The district received bids for the track ranging from $499,000 to $711,000. The bid was awarded to Combat Corporation of Merrimack. A Sprint system track, similar to the track at Pinkerton was specified in the bid. Combat will sub-contract as follows: Brox will do the sub-surface and Maine Track will finish the track using a laser grade. The track will still be a broken back track, black finish with white lines.

The fields behind the high school and at Mastricola Elementary will be ripped up the day after school closes. There will be no sports allowed on either field in the fall. Among the improvements at the Mastricola Elementary field will be barriers to parking along the road. An issue still to be decided is what type of fencing/barrier/net will be in place near the condos.

A pump house will be installed to the base of the road to the lower field. The irrigation system and a retaining wall are complete. Fencing and hydro-seeding need to be completed.

There will be some small improvements done to the fields at the middle school, including new backstops. The fields will be ready for the first day of school.

Meridian will put together a plan for stands and concessions. There will be new scoreboards installed. The current baseball dugouts from the high school field will be relocated to the middle school field. Portable stands will be utilized at the lower field. The current stands will remain behind the high school. The district is working to try to accomodate the needs of Babe Ruth baseball at the Middle School during the summer.

Other

Technology - W. Morrison suggested that someone from the committee should be a member of the Technology Committee. He noted that no work had been done on the technology plan since the meetings with Lucent. S. Isabelle reported that Heron Communications is putting drops in all high school classrooms as well as the Superintendent's office and Special Services Building. Room E-112 will become the videography studio in the fall.
S. Isabelle reported that the Capital Improvement Plan revisions are due to the Town Planning Board by July 1. He requested that the committee look at the current C.I.P. at their next meeting and make any suggested changes. He suggested they focus on the high school and on technology.

Meeting Dates

The committee decided to meet during the summer on July 13 with an "as needed/alternate" date of July 27 and on August 23. September through December, the committee will return to their regular schedule of meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of the month with the 4th Tuesday as an "as needed/alternate" date. Meeting dates after December will be determined if needed.

1999-2000 Goals and Objectives

The committee made revisions to their goals and objectives document to be finalized and approved at a future meeting.

On a motion from M. Morrison, seconded by T. Koenig, the committee voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted, Planning & Building Committee

Merrimack School District

Last Updated: January 30, 2000 by Wayne Morrison