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Merrimack School District
Planning & Building Committee

Minutes of the April 18, 2001 Meeting






Present: W. Morrison, S. Heinrich, M. Morrison, T. Koenig, C. Morrison, and K. Powell

W. Morrison called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM.

Approval of Prior Minutes

On a motion from C. Morrison, seconded by T. Koenig the minutes of April 3, 2001 were approved on a 5 - 0 - 1 vote with the following corrections:

  1. Present: T. Koenig, C. Morrison, K. Powell, W. Morrison, M. Morrison (arrived 7:40 PM) and School Board liaison P. McGrath (arrived 7:50 PM)
  2. Middle School Alternatives
    M. Morrison arrived at this time. W. Morrison ... i.e. new middle school, is built. P. McGrath arrived during this discussion. P. McGrath reported that ...
  3. M. Morrison said that (), since the space can't be altered, he is concerned that any suggestion might affect curriculum which he felt was not part of the PBC's job.
  4. clerk cast one vote (for all three officer positions)
  5. Discussion of Goals and Objectives
    W. Morrison called for discussion on the most recently approved Goals & Objectives. He indicated the committee should consider revising and approving them. T. Koenig asked
  6. Further, she suggested that the committee consider adding a goal of visiting area schools..
In addition, there was some discussion about how detailed minutes should be. It was suggested that all brainstorming ideas should be included in the minutes.

Review of Yearly Calendar

The committee received and reviewed a yearly calendar of meetings. Any corrections or updates will be e-mailed to all members. T. Koenig indicated he would be absent on June 27 and August 9.

Discussion of Proposed Middle School

C. Morrison reported that she had attended a meeting with Matt Shevenell and Meridian Associates who will be fully surveying the Buker site. She noted that the plan for the proposed middle school will have to go before the Conservation Committee as part of the permitting process because there may be wetlands involved. She noted that the state definition of wetlands contains specifies about plant life, soils and hydrology and just because a piece of property has standing water does not mean it would be considered wetlands. She also said that the Conservation Committee would request a full survey is one wasn't done. Once the Conservation Committee approves the site, the project will go to the state for final permits. C. Morrison said that Meridian will be flagging wetlands, noting road elevations, and digging test pits. The survey will include a fly-over and a complete walk- through. She showed the committee a proposal which included a time-line (May - October) and cost proposal. K. Powell brought up marketing the land as buildable.

Discussion of Current Middle School Space Issues

W. Morrison reported on a conversation with Superintendent O'Neil who indicated that in order to meet space needs next year, there will probably be teachers on wheels.

There was a brainstorming session on ideas for short term space fixes at the middle school. Ideas and comments included:

  1. Double Sessions: issues discussed included busses, staffing, sports (both community and MMS), and family considerations. Double sessions will reduce class sizes and reduce the total number of students in the the school at any one time.
  2. Portables: issues included the need for a two year rental and space to put them. It was suggested that this issue be discussed further at the next meeting.
  3. Move Maintenance: issues discussed included will only result in two classrooms, where to move maintenance and the costs involved in building new maintenance space
  4. Use Other Available Space in the Community
  5. Year Round and/or Weekend School: issues discussed included need for air conditioning, annual building maintenance issues. It was noted that new construction now includes preparation for air conditioning the entire building and that in the summer, computers need air conditioning.
  6. Use the APR/Stage/Gym for classrooms: issues discussed included elimination of some school wide activities and administration reluctance.
  7. House some/all of 8th grade in the high school: issues discussed included whether there was adequate space to dedicate to 8th grade and how to handle lunch/cafe studies.
  8. Hold Health classes in the Shower/Locker rooms.
  9. Teachers on Wheels: issues discussed included which subject areas would be put on wheels.

Another consideration that was raised by having such a large number of people in the middle school was safety. It takes a long time to clear the building during a fire drill and there was concern about the possibility of increased student violence. It was decided to ask Principal Levesque and Assistant Superintendent Chiafery each to attend a different future meeting. (Mr. Levesque on May 10th and Mrs. Chiafery on May 23rd.) By consensus, the committee decided to write a list of middle school space options, including pros and cons as well as potential costs, and make a committee recommendation to the School Board. The committee discussed the need for this to be done in a timely manner and suggested a possible additional meeting date of May 30 or May 31. K. Powell asked for a copy of the MMS Space Utilization Inventory. Further discussion was put off until the next meeting scheduled for May 10 at 7 PM.

Proposed Goals and Objectives/Plan of Work

On a motion from S. Heinrich, seconded by K. Powell, the committee unanimously voted to table a discussion of goals and objectives.

Public Participation

Finlay Rothhaus, Kittredge Lane, requested an opportunity to talk with the committee about his petition to ask the School Board to hold off on building a middle school and look into a building a high school. He felt a high school would be planning for the long term because he had heard from a School Board member that the high school, even with the addition, will be full in 5 - 7 years. He further noted that the library in the high school is too small; the athletic field situation behind the high school is static; the current parking situation is a nightmare; the little theater is too small; and there is inadequate seating in the gymnasium. He suggested the possibility of a cooperative venture with Bedford. He noted his surprize that the School District did not have a master plan to deal with future growth. He concluded that this might be a better long term path for the town of Merrimack to pursue.

S. Heinrich asked Mr. Rothhaus if he had seen the complete plans for the high school addition and renovations. Mr. Rothhaus replied he had not. W. Morrison asked Mr. Rothhaus if he had read either the reports that the PBC had done on the high school and the middle school, or either of the broad based committee reports on the high school or middle school. Mr. Rothhaus replied he had not. Members of the committee noted that many of Mr. Rothhaus' concerns are not new and, actually, were addressed in either the current high school renovation plan or in the proposed middle school plan.

W. Morrison noted that the PBC has put together a plan to meet school district space needs based on the recently completed Town Build-out Study. He indicated that one of the committee goals was to fine-tune that plan during the upcoming year. C. Morrison noted that both the PBC and the Broad Based Committee had considered the possibility of building a new high school and discarded it. T. Koenig noted that a cooperative high school with Bedford would require building a high school for over 3,000 students.

W. Morrison thanked Mr. Rothhaus for coming to the meeting and talking with the committee. Mr. Rothhaus thanked the committee for listening to and talking with him.

On a motion from S. Heinrich, seconded by K. Powell, the committee voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:55 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Planning & Building Committee
Merrimack School District

Last Updated: March 23, 2003 by Wayne Morrison