S. Heinrich called the meeting to order at 7:53 PM. He noted that the
meeting that had been scheduled for September 14th had been
cancelled due to lack of an available meeting space.
On a motion from W. Morrison, seconded by J. Heinrich, the minutes of August 23, 1999 were unanimously approved with the following corrections:
Page 1: "S. Heinrich called the meeting . . . noted that S. Isabelle. . ."
Page 2: "3. . . District Meeting will be held . . . October 26."
S. Heinrich reported that there have been problems with grass on most
of the new fields. Either the rain washed away the seed or the water ban
over the summer caused poor germination. The fields will be reseeded. There
is a rubberized/tar walkway and a fire hydrant at the lower field. The
fields at Mastricola Elementary and Middle Schools are basically complete.
There will be no parking along O’Gara Drive next to the fields. There were
questions about whether the lower field was being used for team practice
and/or band practice. The access road has several washed away areas. There
is a need for more run-off, drainage areas as well as some type of paving.
There was a question about whether the fence around the track would limit
pedestrian access. There is a possibility that the track will be used in
the spring. It was noted that a pile of dirt still remains at the east
end of the Mastricola Elementary Field. The paving is also mostly complete.
The July 4 Committee paid to replace the electrical poles. Other issues
discussed included grants to help defray cost of new bleachers and press
box, a concrete retaining wall and a warning wall for the lower field.
1. P. McGrath reported that there may be a charge from the School Board for the PBC when the results of the special school district meeting are known. Further, he noted that the Parks and Rec Committee is working on a report to detail future field needs and potential sites in town to locate fields. He indicated there might be an opportunity to locate town fields on the Buker site. The question of a complete survey of the Buker property came up. P. McGrath suggested that the committee may need to make a presentation requesting a survey and explaining what specifically was wanted and why. Finally, P. McGrath reported that he was a member of the Sewer Commission which would be making a report to the Selectmen on October 21st. He asked for suggestions and ideas from the committee.
2. W. Morrison presented school district growth charts that he has been
working on using information from the Town Build-Out Report. He noted that
there will potentially be 6460 students in the schools at buildout. P.
McGrath pointed out that the copy of the Build-Out study the committee
was working from is not the latest version. The committee felt the committee
should get the updated space utilization inventory and the updated school
population and projection figures. He indicated that he is trying to determine
a potential break down by grade level. It was suggested that Pete Gagnon
might be able to help in this area. He has devised some multipliers based
on type of housing to aid in determining grade variances. It was noted,
for example, that more expensive housing impacts the middle and high school
rather than the elementary schools. PUD’s, on the other hand, impact the
elementary schools. There was a discussion about permanent growth trends
vs. "bubbles." By consensus, it was decided to prepare a master plan to
the school district that met the maximum population suggested by the town
build-out study recognizing that it is unknown how many years it will take
for the town to reach "buildout". It was also decided to invite Jay Minkarah,
Community Development Director, to attend the next meeting to discuss the
buildout study and its impact on the school district.
The next meeting will be held on October 12th in the Mastricola Middle School Conference Room. Both J. Heinrich and S. Heinrich indicated they would not be present.
On a motion from M. Morrison, seconded by J. Heinrich, the committee
unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:30 P.M.
Last Updated: July 16, 2000 by Wayne Morrison