Merrimack School District
Planning & Building Committee
Minutes of the October 10, 1995 Meeting
Present: W. Oosterman, J. Flis, M. Eberle, S. Heinrich and D. Miller
Excused: B. Hamm
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM by Chair Heinrich.
Approval of Minutes
The members received minutes from August 28, and September 12. Formal
approval of these minutes will take place at the next meeting. It was noted
that in the minutes from August 28 M. Eberle is accurately quoted as stating
50 square feet per student in grades R - 2. However, the statement is
incorrect. The state standard is 30 square feet per child in grades R - 2.
Public Participation
There was no public participation.
Update: Space Needs Committee
M. Eberle reported that the committee has met three times and that she has
attended twice. The committee has 22 members and twelve to fifteen on average
attend each meeting. The new committee is charged with finding out what the
district needs in terms of space and was given a December deadline. She
stated that the first meeting was organizational. The second meeting was a
brainstorming session. At the third meeting which she did not attend, the
group broke up into smaller groups: Elementary, Middle, High Schools and
Demographics. She noted that she was on the demographics group and they were
meeting on October 11th. She also told the committee that the space committee
had been provided with an inventory of all the information the PBC has
available. It noted that documents that are usually given the to the PBC have
already been given to this committee and the PBC has not seen them yet.
(Examples: 1995 updated Space Utilization Inventory, the first Monday
population figures and the resulting population projections.) M. Eberle went
through the materials she had and will get copies of documents the PBC does
not have for PBC members.
S. Heinrich had copies of proposed additions to MMS and MHS that Keyes
Associates has suggested. The committee discussed these suggestions and J.
Flis questioned whether these or anything would pass at School District
Meeting.
Update: Athletic Field
Pat McGrath, Merrimack Track and Field Task Force joined the meeting at this
time. S. Heinrich reported that Keyes Associates has suggested some other
alternative field uses, for example, make O'Neil field the middle school
baseball field and put the high school baseball field at the middle school.
There were some concerns regarding the PSNH wires and right of way expresses
as well. The final drawings have not been delivered to the School District
though. It was again suggested that once the drawings are in and mock-ups
are made that all interested parties be invited to sit down and discuss these
plans for possible construction next spring.
D. Miller asked about water. A copy of a letter from S. Isabelle regarding
district water usage has been requested. S. Heinrich shared a copy of the
Water District proposal to provide water to the lower field. The proposal is
for $13,000. The committee felt that only a two inch meter pit at $2,500 was
needed. D. Miller asked about water cannons and rain trains. S. Heinrich
reported that Maintenance has some concerns about the rain train falling over.
D. Miller felt this was unlikely and suggested that district purchase a
mini-water cannon.
S. Heinrich also reported on the condition of the access road. There are ruts
in the road and drainage problems. He felt something will have to be done
about the drainage. P. McGRath suggested that a cistern type of underground
storage area for drainage/rain collection might work.
There was also discussion about the Water District land. The School Board is
not interested in discussing this land. There were questions about whether
the Water District can legally sell the land without going before Water
District Meeting.
Next Meeting with Technology Committee
S. Heinrich reported that he had been in contact with Marge Chiafry and
confirmed the following dates for the PBC to meet with the Technology
Committee: November 14 and December 12.
P.R./Publicity Plan
J. Flis suggested several ways for the committee to "Get It's Name Out There":
- Minutes be placed in the library.
- Meeting notices be placed in the calendars of the Telegraph, Union Leader,
Crier, Bedford Bulletin.
- Meetings be posted in all newspapers, library, post office, schools, town
hall, everywhere.
- A press release regarding the history and work of the committee...possibly
an article by Jeff Merritt?
Capital Improvement Plan (C.I.P.)
S. Heinrich passed out copies of the C.I.P. the School Board had approved for
1994-95. M. Eberle shared information about the work the PBC had done on that
C.I.P. The committee made the following recommendations the 1995-96 C.I.P.:
J. Flis made a motion, seconded by W. Oosterman to put the track and the press
box together in 1997. The vote was unanimous. On a motion from M. Eberle,
seconded by W. Oosterman, the committee voted unanimously to put $3.5 million
dollars in 1996 for school district space. On a motion from J. Flis, seconded
by S. Heinrich, the committee voted unanimously to move MHS windows and the
SAU vault to 1996-97. On a motion from D. Miller, seconded by W. Oosterman,
the committee unanimously voted to put re-build/re-design MHS parking lot at
$120,000 in 1997-98 and eliminate the overcoat and additional parking as
currently suggested. On a motion from M. Eberle, seconded by J. Flis, the
committee unanimously voted to put the following in District-wide Technology:
$300,000 - 1996-97, $200,000 - 1997-98, $200,000 - 1998-99.
Other
The committee tabled the plan of work for their goals and objectives. S.
Heinrich reported that he is working with the assessor's office to get current
land listings by size and zoning. He is also working with Mr. O'Neil to get
up-to-date tax maps.
P. McGrath ended the meeting by noting that it was good that the PBC was
willing to cooperate with other groups within town for the good of the
community.
On a motion from J. Flis, seconded by D. Miller, the committee unanimously
voted to adjourn at 9:12 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Planning & Building Committee
Merrimack School District
Last Updated: February 2, 1998 by Wayne Morrison