Present: W. Morrison, M. Morrison, D. Miller, S. Heinrich, T. Koenig, B. Triolo and School Board Liaison J. Flis

S. Heinrich called the meeting to order at 7:32 P.M. He passed out prior minutes and other materials relating to issues before the committee.

Old Business

1. Kindergarten/Land Survey:
   S. Heinrich reported to the committee that he is having difficulty obtaining estimates for surveys and that, without complete surveys of district owned land, working on free standing kindergarten or other building is difficult. M. Morrison reported to the committee that he has been in contact with state officials regarding using kindergarten space for other reasons and was told that this would not be allowed. There was a brief discussion about legislative intent and what the legislation actually says, how it will be interpreted and who will interpret it.

2. Athletic Fields:
   The School Board suggested that the track/athletic field proposal be petitioned. It has been proposed by a Track/Fields task force, not the Track/ Fields committee. The petition is for a two year plan, paid for in one year. The proposal and price have been cut from what the committee recommended as well as what the task force recommended. Items cut include concession stands, lights, and other amenities in the hope that maybe these items can be provided by private sources. It was noted that "ground work" for some of these items will be done as part of initial construction. J. Flis reported that the School Board recommended this article on a 5 - 0 vote.

   The committee discussed what position, if any, the committee should take on the warrant article. J. Flis would like the committee to take a stand because it has been so involved in the project for several years. General consensus was the committee supports the basic plan, but has concerns about the funding methodology. S. Heinrich made a motion to table a committee recommendation until the next meeting. The motion was seconded by M. Morrison and the vote was unanimous.

   The committee received copies of the district's contract with DiGeronimo. D. Miller was concerned that final plans have not been drawn. S. Heinrich has requested periodic updates on this project from Scott Isabelle and reported that the committee is supposed to be involved in the bidding review when it occurs. T. Koenig made a motion to have D. Miller act as liaison from the committee to DiGeronimo through Scott Isabelle. There was no second to the motion or vote taken. S. Heinrich suggested that D. Miller go ahead and contact S. Isabelle with requests and comments and no one had any objections.

   D. Miller has spoken with Kelly Ordway, Public Liaison for Fidelity, regarding potential donations toward this project. She indicated that Fidelity does not support any project that is part of a municipal or school budget, though it does make contributions to non-profit groups.

3. Traffic/Parking:
   The School Board has decided to request funding for the high school paving plan only. A majority of the funding will come from the capital reserve fund for paving. J. Flis reported that he had argued to keep the plan intact and funded in one year, but the School Board voted to split the project. The School Board also approved a warrant article to put a portion of this year's surplus, if any, into the paving capital reserve fund.

   M. Morrison expressed exasperation about the lack of supporting data from DiGeronimo the committee had requested be available at the project presentation to the School Board. J. Flis brought up the trees from the White Pine project which were again included in the parking plans DiGeronimo presented to the School Board. These issues created some confusion during the presentation which resulted in the plan being split. J. Flis noted that he will be proposing formal protection for these trees at a future School Board meeting.

   Members of the committee expressed anger that, to some members of the School Board, Bishop Street was supposed to be the focus of the traffic/parking charge from the School Board and this was never conveyed to the committee. J. Flis stated the committee had done a thorough job on the project but they did not look good during their presentation. He felt that DiGeronimo and the School Board had "de-railed" the committee efforts.

   W. Morrison indicated that he has officially requested that future charges from the School Board be specific and in writing in order to prevent misunderstandings.

New Business

1. Annual Report:
   S. Heinrich presented a draft of the PBC Annual Report to the Citizens of Merrimack. T. Koenig requested that "Mastricola Schools Complex" be clarified to include Merrimack High and a statement be added about "constantly evaluating school space utilization issues." The committee concurred. T. Koenig also suggested deleting "independently elected School Planning and Building Committee." J. Flis and S. Heinrich felt this statement should remain as is. D. Miller made a motion to approve the draft as corrected. T. Koenig seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

2. High School Space Charge:
   S. Heinrich presented written copies of a charge from the School Board to do a high school space study (attached). He also presented copies of the Capital Improvement Plan the School Board approved in the fall and copies of the Space Utilization Inventory for the middle school and the high school. S. Heinrich noted the charge has less substance than prior written charges received by the committee. J. Flis offered to get copies of the School Board minutes for the meeting during which this charge was discussed. S. Heinrich wanted to know how many years out the School Board would like to committee to study. J. Flis felt that the committee should indicate here's where we are now, and where we expect we will be in 3, 5, 10, 20 years. He indicated that science labs are a hot issue and that the study is time sensitive due to the fact that the high school is up for re- accreditation shortly. S. Heinrich felt that anything farther than 5 years is not feasible before June 1 which is the deadline indicated in the charge. He also indicated that the committee can look at many options.

   M. Morrison requested clarification of the meaning some of the various abbreviations in the space utilization inventory. What does Std # mean? Is it maximum number of students by standard that classroom can accommodate or the maximum number of students in that room during some part of the day? Also noted was the fact that how a room was used will affect the maximum number of students a room can hold. (For example: Lab or lecture class) The committee expressed concern about the many irregularities, the meaning of the information presented, and the lack of map labeling.

   The committee decided to ask Bill Marston to attend the next meeting with an overview of the current situation at the high school and what he feels is needed. They also want copies of current enrollment and enrollment projections.

   M. Morrison wants to look at enrollment projections for the high school. T. Koenig explained that the Space Needs Committee looked at projections from Pete Gagnon, Jim O'Neil, the School Boards Association, Nashua Regional Planning and town housing occupancy permits. He also commented that past projections beyond five years have not been accurate. J. Flis asked about a comparison of past Jim O'Neil projections for this year as compared how many are actually enrolled this year. S. Heinrich suggested the number of students currently in our schools gives a starting point for how many will be in the high school in the next five to ten years. T. Koenig and S. Heinrich discussed the possibility of additions to the high school. The question arose as to the difference between full and fully utilized. T. Koenig will review the information he has compiled from the Space Needs Committee for materials to share with the committee. He discussed demographics and national trends and how Merrimack relates to them and has related to them in the past.

Other

The next committee meeting will be on January 27, 1998. The committee needs to confirm a meeting date in February at its next meeting. The meeting in March will be March 24.

S. Heinrich and B. Triolo's terms are up for election this year. Filing opens on January 21 and continues until January 30.

B. Triolo proposed an informal joint meeting between the committee and the School Board, hosted by the committee. He indicated that he felt that this would promote better understanding between the two groups. It is his opinion that a lot of the hard work that the committee has done is often duplicated by committees appointed by the School Board and the committee contributions are ignored. J. Flis felt such a meeting would be a good idea and that committee members need to be willing to speak frankly. S. Heinrich suggested that such a meeting might be better held after elections. M. Morrison suggested that a meeting be set up shortly after election. A suggestion was made about having a member of the administration attend committee meetings on a regular basis as well as having a School Board liaison. T. Koenig noted that, when requested, members of the administration have been very willing to attend committee meetings.

M. Morrison made a motion to adjourn, seconded by B. Triolo. The vote was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 P.M.

Last Updated: February 2, 1998 by Wayne Morrison