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Merrimack School District
Planning & Building Committee

Minutes of the August 11, 1998 Meeting





Present: S.Heinrich, D. Miller, T. Koenig, W. Morrison, M. Morrison
Excused: B. Triolo

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

Approval of Prior Minutes

On a motion from D. Milller, seconded by W. Morrison, the minutes of May 5, 1998 were approved unanimously.

On a motion from D. Miller, seconded by W. Morrison, the minutes of May 12, 1998 were approved unanimously.

On a motion from T. Koenig, seconded by M. Morrison, the minutes of May 26, 1998 were approved unanimously.

On a motion from S. Heinrich, seconded by M. Morrison, the minutes of June 9, 1998 were approved with the spelling of "Lucent Technology" corrected in three places. The vote was four in favor with one abstention.

On a motion from W. Morrison, seconded by D. Miller, the minutes of June 23, 1998 were approved with the following change on page 1, paragraph four: They suggested $100 per square foot for auditoriums versus $80 per square foot for regular school space. The vote was four in favor with one abstention.

On a motion from W. Morrison, seconded by D. Miller, the minutes of June 30, 1998 were approved unanimously.

On a motion from T. Koenig, seconded by W. Morrison, the minutes of July 7, 1998 were approved with the following change: Page 3, Section on Special Education - Future Need: The committee felt that they could not project future needs accurately. The vote was unanimous.

On a motion from W. Morrison, seconded by D. Miller, the minutes of July 14, 1998 were approved unanimously.

On a motion from T. Koenig, seconded by S. Heinrich, the minutes of July 17, 1998 were approved with the following changes: Page 1, paragraph two - S. Heinrich told the committee he had provided a copy of the report minus the Space Needs Profile and Profile Chart. Page 2, paragraph three - T. Koenig wanted the record to note that the committee thanked the clerk for her efforts over the past few months. The vote was four in favor with one abstention.

Project Updates

S. Heinrich reported that the School Board would be meeting on August 17, 1998 and would be approving their Capital Improvement Plan (C.I.P.) and hearing a report from the New England School Development Council (N.E.S.D.C.) on high school space needs. The superintendent of schools has suggested that members of the committee might want to attend this meeting. S. Heinrich noted that he would ask for copies of the new C.I.P. and the N.E.S.D.C. report for each committee member.

S. Heinrich reported that there had been only two bids at the bid opening on July 31 for the high school paving project. The bids were very high. S. Heinrich reported that he was unsure whether the project would be done at this time. D.Miller expressed interest in looking at the bid specifications to see if there were potential cost cutting measures that could be considered.

S. Heinrich reported that the Merrimack Village District has completed work to provide water to the Mastricola Elementary field and water and a hydrant to the lower field. He noted that very little other work will be done on any athletic fields until school closes next spring. He told the committee that no new bid specifications for athletic fields have been issued.

Next Project

The committee turned to discussion about what its future plan of work will be. There was a concern expressed that the committee has not yet completed Goals and Objectives for 1998-99. Members of the committee questioned whether the School Board still wanted the committee to pursue kindergarten options. Other members wanted to be sure that the remaining parts of the paving plan the committee developed were included in the next budget process. D. Miller again requested a copy of the paving bid specifications for committee review relating to drainage, amount of current pavement fixed and/or ripped up, and areas to be leveled. S. Heinrich noted that the committee will need to see if the Mastricola and Thorntons Ferry paving plans are included in the C.I.P. as the committee had suggested. By consensus, the committee decided to review these documents at their September 8 meeting. Additionally, the committee felt that they would need to make a formal presentation of the remaining parts of the paving plan (revised and cleaned up) to the School Board in October. Other members of the committee would like to look at requesting a complete survey of some or all of school district properties and/or making a recommendation regarding future use of these properties. Committee members would like to talk with Scott Isabelle and/or representatives from Meridian for help with determining potential costs of paving projects remaining and costs for a survey on September 22, a meeting date that is currently posted "As Needed."

On a motion from T. Koenig, seconded by M. Morrison, the committee unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,


Planning & Building Committee
Merrimack School District

Last Updated: January 10, 1999 by Wayne Morrison