The School Committee is seeking about $1.5 million for four separate capital improvement projects at the Bromfield School in fiscal 2021. The Capital Planning and Investment Committee considered those requests at its Monday meeting this week and will rank them for comparison with other requests at next week’s meeting.
All together, CPIC has received 18 requests totalling about $8 million for capital projects this year. Chair John Seeley warned that the Finance Committee was likely to be reluctant to recommend taking on more excluded debt for major capital projects in the next few years.
Middle school ramp is most expensive project
By far the most costly of the four school projects is the replacement of the structure known as the middle school ramp—an elevated walkway on the Mass. Ave. side of the school that connects the upper story of the middle school wing to the sidewalk at the front of the building. (Because of the sloping land where the school sits, the flat ramp begins at ground level but is a full story above ground when it reaches the door to the building.) A study by Abacus Architects found that the 1962 walkway is no longer structurally sound, with deeply rusted steel supports and degraded wooden planking.
Seeley raised the most basic question first—whether the school really needs the ramp as a second-story exit from the middle school wing. “Could you envision the school without that door at all?” he asked School Superintendent Linda Dwight, who was presenting the requests to CPIC.
“We did look into that with the fire chief and the building inspector—that we would not have that door as an exit or anything,” Dwight replied, “and they would not sign off on that.” Dwight explained the ramp serves as an emergency exit for that wing of the building, especially for students or staff with limited mobility.
Dwight also said the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), which grants or withholds school accreditation, had found the ramp “unacceptable” in its previous evaluation. Bromfield will begin a new evaluation cycle next year, she said, and it would be a problem if there were no plan underway to replace the ramp.
The estimated cost for replacing the ramp comes to about $1.1 million, but that figure includes several new features beyond the ramp itself. Abacus’ plan adds some storage space and two family-size public bathrooms below the ramp, a stairway from the ramp to the athletic fields, and a hardscaped area for an outdoor classroom space with stadium-style seating next to the stairway.
The capital committee members decided to rate each of those features individually as they decide whether to recommend the project in full or in part. The storage space and public bathrooms, which would be unlocked only when the athletic fields were in use for sports or a community event, were estimated to cost about $101,000; the stairway about $69,000; and the outdoor classroom and landscaping, $160,000.
Air conditioning and
Cronin Auditorium upgrades
Plans to phase in air conditioning in the high school and upgrade equipment in the Cronin Auditorium seemed less complex and drew less discussion at the CPIC meeting. The School Committee is requesting $150,000 for the air-conditioning project and $50,000 for the Cronin upgrades, primarily a new projection system and remodeled sound booth.
Seeley asked why the air-conditioning plans focused on the high school rather than the middle school. Dwight explained that the high school rooms are on the west side of the building and are more likely to get uncomfortably warm in the afternoon. The second-floor classrooms on that side now have inefficient window air conditioners. Classrooms on the first floor have no air conditioning at all, because window units would undercut building security. CPIC member Nate Finch pointed out that those units are noisy, making them inconvenient in classrooms. Dwight said the window units would be removed and used elsewhere if the air-conditioning project is approved.
Cronin Auditorium has been undergoing improvements for several years, and this year’s request is for $50,000 to upgrade the projection system, continue work on the sound booth, and replace broken seats.
The projector now used in the auditorium is too small for the size of the room, so it has to be placed part way down the aisle, with a tangle of cords and cables. A cost estimate for a new, permanently mounted laser projector, including installation, was about $30,000.
Locker room renovation delayed
The school department also originally requested $150,000 to renovate one locker room at Bromfield and had planned to ask for a similar amount next year for the other. Both locker rooms are the same size and layout.
Photos submitted with that application show rusted lockers, cracked floors, missing tiles, stained walls, and peeling paint. Several CPIC members were shocked to learn the current locker rooms had no working showers. Asked how long the showers had not been working, Dwight guessed it had been about 15 years. School Committee representative SusanMary Redinger said she thought one shower had still been usable about six years ago.
After discussing these poor conditions, both Dwight and the CPIC members agreed it might be preferable to look into a complete remodeling of both locker rooms, even though that would undoubtedly be a more expensive project.
Dwight brought the suggested change of plans before School Committee Monday evening, and committee members asked the student reps at the meeting for their opinions. Olivia Ren, Taylor Caroom, and Brooke Caroom agreed there was not enough time between classes to shower after phys ed, nor were kids likely to shower after sports events, because they just wanted to head home. So the committee concluded that perhaps locker rooms without showers would be a better use of the limited space. (The main argument for keeping at least one or two showers was that Bromfield is sometimes used as an emergency shelter, as it was during the 2008 ice storm.)
The School Committee voted unanimously to approve changing the CPIC application to a request for money to hire an architect who can recommend a redesign for the locker room spaces.
Difficulty getting estimates
Of the four projects, only the ramp (which had funds approved for a study several years ago) and the Cronin projector came with formal cost estimates. Dwight told the committee that vendors have become increasingly reluctant to give written estimates for projects where timing and ultimate approval are uncertain.
As is their standard practice, CPIC members will rate each project numerically on several scales so they can compare and prioritize all the requests they have received from different boards and committees in town.
