The elevated walkway that connects the Bromfield School circle driveway with the upper floor of the middle school wing is “severely deteriorated,” according to a study Abacus Architects presented to the School Committee Oct. 15. The ramp is from 1962, as old as the building itself. Abacus found that the entire steel support structure has “deep rust,” the wooden planks have degraded, and the guardrails do not meet safety requirements.
In 2017, Annual Town Meeting approved $30,000 to determine the best option for the ramp that would meet the building’s safety and accessibility requirements. This study is the long-delayed outcome of that appropriation. Its conclusion is that the present walkway is not salvageable.
Members of the Select Board, the Finance Committee, and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC) also attended the School Committee meeting to hear the report firsthand, as all those boards will face decisions about rebuilding the ramp.
“We are sure the steel is failing, right?”
“Yes, you should take a look at it—it’s got holes in it.”
“Painted, correct?”
“It’s falling apart. There are big sections that aren’t strucurally sound.”
Pollack described a range of options for a new walkway. Among them were the addition of storage space and public bathrooms below the ramp, both of which would be helpful for sports teams and others using the adjacent fields. Another possibility was an outdoor classroom on the upper level, perhaps with stadium seating alongside the stairway leading to the ground.
Last month, the School Committee voted unanimously to request an amount in the range of $500,000 to $900,000 from CPIC for fiscal 2021 to replace the ramp. That amount was up from the $150,000 that had been inserted as a placeholder in the five-year capital plan when the project was expected to be done in fiscal 2018.
But the cost estimates provided by Abacus, which included the bathrooms and storage, came to a total of about $873,000 for construction costs alone. Select Board Chair Alice von Loesecke said that “soft costs”—which include fees for project managers and architects as well as contingency funds—usually add 25 to 30% to construction costs. That would bring the overall cost to about $1.1 million.
John Seeley, who chairs CPIC, said his committee would want a rationale for the project from the School Committee, along with its funding request, by the end of October.
After some discussion among members, School Committee Chair John Ruark summed up, saying all the options had some desirable features, but the committee would make cuts as needed. He said the committee would send Abacus’ whole report to CPIC for its consideration.
