001All right. Good evening. >> So, this is a committee of the whole meeting. Um, and we're considering this a special committee at the whole meeting. Uh, um, and it's about 6:10. Um, and um, we do have an agenda um, in front of us. I am just going to ask if the board would be willing for us to take the um approval of the minutes and the review of um the referral tracking sheet which is actually number two and move that and um to after we receive um the presentation um um which is our number three item. So are people in most agreement of that? >> Sure. >> Okay. Thank you. um what makes this a um a really great meeting and I just wanted to say thank you to all of our um town colleagues
002who have come out um to uh look at the rent um the rendering of the drawings. Um I don't want to make this too cumbersome, but there was a a request that maybe it would be really nice um for um the people that are sitting around on the edges um to also introduce themselves because many of them are either our town councilors or representative town meetings. Um and so that would be uh very swell um because this is being videotaped and it would be nice for people to know that um there are so many committed individuals in our community. So um Mayor Katowski if you would like um yeah Katowski, sorry about that. Oh my goodness. >> Wow. Patrice on so many levels. I am so >> it right. >> Hi. [laughter] I'm Patrice Ratoski.
003I'm mayor of the town. Thank you for having us here this evening to do a presentation. >> Yep. Absolutely. >> I'm David Atwater, town council. >> Jim Gusson, R10, District 6. >> Rachel Franco, Town Council. [clears throat] >> Joan Johnson, Stenographer. >> Hi, I'm Annie Rogers, RCM, District 6. >> Porsche Bordal, District 2, RTM. >> Conrad Heath, town council. >> John Burke, town manager. >> Mike Whitney, RTM, District 5. >> Craig Kohler, citizen at large. really draw from the main newspaper >> stat news and article 7. >> Awesome. Great. Um and so as has been alluded to, this is actually going to be I think the first presentation um to first full presentation of the design for the middle school plan. Um so outside of being the MC of the evening um and once again
004the purpose of having this presentation is so that the board we can we can really be exposed to um the designs and what the architect are thinking um because we will be having a special vote and that's going to be January >> 7th um where we then say absolutely and we're going to move that to um to the town council and mayor when do you guys vote on the plan. >> The council doesn't vote on the on the plan. >> On the plan. >> There's a letter just relaying the plans to the council. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. It'll be reported out to the council. >> It'll be reported out. Sorry. >> Well, then I So, so the board, we're the ones that will have the vote on whether on how the how we
005see the plan. Um and we just want I wanted to make sure that we got exposure to it as many times as possible. Um, and the also just another note um that this is not necessarily a public meeting, but I do know that um probably our RTM or our um or anyone that's in this room might have questions and I just would hope that one of the board members would just recognize the person so that they could that they could speak because once again this is not a public meeting. Um, but they might there might be questions that might be helpful um for the permanent school board members to hear um and the architect to hear as well. Does that seem like that's fair? >> Awesome. All right. Um so who who do I pass
006the baton on to? >> Pass it to the chairman school building committee. >> All right. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Bob Austin of France and I am the chairman of the Burman School Building Committee, which has been meeting pretty feverishly now for the last year or so. Uh, and we'd like to thank you for letting us uh show you what we've been up to. And uh, so if we can move to the next slide. >> Can you use a microphone? >> Skid marks. [laughter] So, um, just as a quick review, the, uh, construction documents for this have been completed now. Uh, we've got them all ready to go up to, uh, the state for their final review. The, the project is currently within budget, and amazingly enough, after a three-month hiatus
007on schedule. The timeline that you see sitting uh out here at the moment indicates the uh joint meeting of the board of ed, PSBC, and the town council today at 12:10. Um we're looking uh by the 7th of January for board of education approval of the plans. The the permanent school building committee will then certify to the town that those plans meet the education specs um no later than the 10th. We have a special meeting for that. and then they're going up to the state for final plan review on the 15th. We expect to hear back from the state no later than the 25th of the of January. And if that's the case, then we'll be able to go out to bid uh as soon as we get that word from the state. The plan
008at the moment, which you want to keep in mind, is that we would like to start construction no later than the 25th of March in order to get this thing completed on time. So, we have a very tight window and uh the architects and uh and all the uh folks at the the administration and the board of sorry the uh education administration Dr. Grineer and his people have been wonderful in helping us figure out what we want to do with this space and how to make it as flexible and usable as we can possibly do it within the budget. So, I'm going to hand it over to >> Oh, look at that. you're talking. >> That's the next. We'll do that. We'll come back to that one. That's at the end. So, I'm going to
009hand this over to uh Amy Samuelson who is with Slam Cooperative who are the architects for this particular project and she's going to take you through the building. >> Thank you, Bob. Thank you all for inviting us. I'm here today with uh Kemp Moheart who's the principal in charge of the project and he and I will be happy to answer any of your questions um following the presentation. So this is the site of the future uh consolidated middle school. Uh you'll note that it's really at the corner of Fort Hill which runs in this direction in this drawing and Graten Longpoint Road which is right here. So that's that corner with the um triangle that you're all accustomed to. And here's the the neighboring church and Fitch High School is about where this red pointer
010is off of the page. But uh we're really happy that this middle school will become a part of the Fitch campus and really allow you to share resources between uh those two very important schools in your district. So two um entrances to the new middle school are proposed. one will be uh through the Fitch High School parking lot and that's in order to allow you to share buses and uh for the buses to continue to come off of Graten Longpoint Road in the same way that they do today. And they'll enter um from Fitch onto the new site of the of the um new consolidated middle school here. We've got a bus loop on this portion on the west side or east side of the building. And then the other entrance is off of um
011Fort Hill Road. And you'll see that that shares the Elgraso Technical School driveway. Um at a point about a little ways up the hill of Elgrasso, you'll find a new entrance to the site and it meanders across uh the site because of the steep grade change from here to where the building is located. um it takes a a route around the the hillside and and up to the location where the high uh middle school will be built. So the middle school is situated in such a way that the second floor is the entrance level on the east side of the building and because it nestles down into the hillside the lowest level or first floor is where you access the building from the west side. So, the entrances on either side of the building are
012actually on two different floors, but they're connected by a main concourse that you'll see in our interior renderings as we move forward. Zooming in on the site plan a little, I wanted to um share with you some of the site circulation. So, again, from the Fitch High School side, um you're passing I should have mentioned the the athletic fields that will be included as a part of this project. So, I'm going to go back and let you know that there's a large full-size field uh for um athletic events, a smaller field, and a a softball field included in the project. So, zooming in again, the site circulation is that the buses will come from Fitch High School and pull up and around and um drop off at this main entrance on the second level. And
013parent drop off will come from the uh Fort Hill Road entrance and be directed this way and drop off at this lower level. This lower level will also be where the administration is housed and where all visitors will enter. So for security reasons all doors will be locked to the room to the school including this upper entrance and all visitors will be directed to the lower level. So during school hours so for events you'll want to use this parking lot to access the fields and the gymnasium and some other uh public spaces within the building. This is an image of the entry of the building on the west side. So again, it's the lowest level and main entrance to the building. You'll be greeted on that side with a four-story wing of the building, which
014is the academic um tower. So the first floor is administration and then above is the uh the academic classes. And here's the first floor plan. Entrance is at this location central to the building. Um, and there's a locked vestibule for security where uh there will be a sign in and a window to the reception area. So, all visitors will be badged at this location and then you'll be allowed to enter into the waiting room or uh pass through to the school proper. In dark blue here is the administration, the guidance department and the nurs's office and school-based health clinic. Uh, also on that same corridor are some mechanical rooms that are buried into the hillside and some other rooms that are day lit which include the u couple of special ed rooms, multi-isability room and
015the ABA room on the south portion of the building. Um we we call this the podium level. There's uh a mixture of uh visual and performing arts surrounding the open cafeteria. So the cafeteria is really the heart of the building and it allows people to um pass through on their way to band orchestra or chorus rehearsal or to drama class. Um, and it also acts as a wonderful u place for gatherings for the building. And and I'll share with you in the next few slides how dynamic this space down here can be. Along the front portion of the building are a [snorts] maker space and engineering lab that speak to your STEM focus in this building. Um, and there's an AV production studio and graphic arts lab uh in the rear. And then also at
016the front with generous windows are the art studios. Performance spaces um can be held in many spaces within the building. Um we have a lot of flexibility built in here and there's a studio theater. Um it's essentially a blackbox theater that you might have seen um you know in other facilities. It's a new asset that Graten will be able to use. um the students from Fitch might want to use this. Um but we know that it's a great asset for this building as well. So that room during the day will be used for coral rehearsals and for drama classes. Uh but then as you can see with risers, it can become a nice performance space in many different configurations. So you can use the risers in this way um or with a thrust stage or
017as a theater in the round. Um so we think it'll be a really dynamic space. um along the the wall here. Oops, got ahead of myself. So, along this wall of the um studio theater, you'll see that there's a what I've designated with a yellow line. That's a scaffold partition. It's a large 30 foot wide opening that um rises like an overhead door and it opens up to the neighboring uh room, which is a small performance room. So, this is the studio theater that we were just looking at. And then you could put the risers instead into this other space. And when that um demising uh door rises, you actually get a nice very large performance space. Those same risers can be set up as a flat platform and can become a platform for the
018orchestra to perform where another wall opens up. Um, so this back one could be closed and this other one could open up to the cafeteria. And that one allows for a a good audience seating of 270 people. Um, and then configured in a different direction. >> Mhm. close that door, put the risers at the south end of the cafeteria, and you end up with a a nice performance space for about 370 or 365 um audience members. So, we're really excited about that space, and I hope that it's something that really gets used um in all sorts of different fashions. I look forward to hearing about that. The second floor entrance um on the Fitch side again the east side of the building is a totally different scale and we expect that most students will be
019arriving by bus um or having a view from Fitch and entering the site in this direction. And you'll note that the the height of the building on this side of the building is really one and maybe two stories where the gymnasium pops up here, but it's a much more um smaller scale welcoming and um we hope um correct um and fun entrance for the students. Those students will enter the building here at the um west end of the building. this main concourse which travels down and you can actually see down um with a railing into the cafeteria below. So um a grand stair will take you from the the main entrance at the west side down to the cafeteria for those performances that I was just describing. Um but it also allows you to have
020quick access to the library media center and to the um fizzed department which includes a a movement studio, a fitness room and the gymnasium itself. Locker rooms and associated support spaces are also in that same area on the second floor. >> The building can be zoned. Thank you, Kim. Um, for security reasons, we never really want the public to enter into the classroom wings. Um, so for after hours events, when the public is invited into the space, um, and they might travel down this corridor, there are doors here which close off this uh, academic wing that I mentioned in the first slide. So the academic wing includes um your your standard academic classes and also your science lab, a couple of special ed spaces and a faculty workroom for um support. So on every floor
021um which can be set up sixth grade, 7th grade, eighth grade or it can be set up in teams. Um there are three pods of classrooms um on each floor and a pod of science labs. So you could instead do sixth grade, 7th grade, eighth grade on one floor. Um so again flexibility built into the uh plan and it allows for your pedigogy to develop as you move into the building. Um so but again that would be zoned and if the public is coming in for an event at the gymnasium or they're invited for a basketball game um doors would separate this area of the building from the remainder or doors here would separate the cafeteria and lower um performance spaces from the academic wing. So trying to keep um the most flexibility and the
022most [clears throat] use of the building in mind while also allowing for the appropriate security. The third floor is represented here. Um you'll notice that the academic wing is really repeated from the floor below. uh though the academy classroom is also on this floor and the fourth floor again one and the same so that each grade or each team can have the same configuration. So that's the fourth floor you're seeing here shot from above. Um this is the main entrance side and an aerial from the other direction from the uh fitch side or bus entry >> looking at the gym. >> Correct. This is the the the box here with a sloped roof is the gymnasium. And actually if I go back hard to tell there are windows in into the gymnasium. So there is
023some natural daylight in there. Daylight's really important to us. So, we've tried to develop that and you'll see as we move through the interior spaces um that you'll notice that that's an important feature throughout the building. The interior, vast majority of the interior is really set up with um this palette of neutral colors. Um, so a a a warm wood tone and some very neutral colors for the floors and walls of the building is your your um majority of the school. And then we've splashed in some color uh for wayfinding and for you know just a nice amount of color and accent walls and things um tile in uh the rest of the building. So, uh, the way it's been designed, we we really thought about nature and the the ocean, the earth, the sky,
024and the heavens above, or maybe the sun. So, as you move up the building, you're going from uh first floor, second floor, third floor, and fourth floor. Um, each one's designated with a color so that it's easy to recognize where you are in the building when you're um, you know, getting on and off the elevator or the stairs. The cafeteria um has been developed as we mentioned as the heart of the building and um food service takes place in in one portion. Um and then the main seating is here in color. Um you'll notice that there are sawtooth um clarator uh windows above. So this is although it's on the first level and it's sort of buried into the center of the building, there's a lot of natural daylight that you'll be able to um
025enjoy in this space. >> So beyond you can see this peak. This is the concourse uh that brings you to the second floor public spaces and also um from the second floor parking lot allows the the public and and invited guests into the cafeteria area. I should mention also that for durability the the walls are brick, tile, um and and other durable materials at the lower level. And then as you move up, the painted chipboard is really covered with acoustic material. And so um while it will be a large space, [laughter] um we also know that need to control some of that noisy. This is the concourse. Uh as you enter from the bus entrance, uh the library media center is to your left. And uh again you see a peak of the colors in
026the floor pattern but the vast majority is um either wood or brick and or painted um block concrete block to for durability for the walls. Inside the library media center um there's flexible furniture. There's of course the stacks uh but we have high stacks against the walls and in the center we have low stacks for for visibility. So you can see that here. Um and the ceiling treatment has uh acoustic clouds and also some of those are lit. So they are the light fixtures as well as the control for acoustics. The elevator lobby is also the location where the bathrooms are on every floor and um where the entrance to the academic wing is. And on each side of the elevator lobby, you'll see that there's views. So, at one end of of the academic
027classroom corridor, there's windows and also at the side uh entrance on the third and fourth floors. So, this is looking out toward Fitch. In the academic corridor, of course, you'll find the lockers. Um, but we also find that it's important to have daylighting in there. So, although it's in the center of the building, we've got windows that that go from the classroom to the corridor. And so it allows you to borrow that natural light from the exterior within the classrooms uh into the corridor so that you'll see windows above. Um but those are carefully placed for security reasons for lockdown and um you know so you you get the daylight um and but you also get the security the door. >> The door has a narrow light as do most um classroom doors. Uh so
028you can see out and make sure you're not hitting someone when you open the door. Um but you'll notice that that natural light is actually on on the hinge side or that that narrow light. Um this way if someone an intruder was in the school and they broke the glass, they wouldn't be able to reach the door handle. So, it's just these little built-in security features that um we're trying to implement as we go throughout without making it feel um like uh a [clears throat] prison. Yeah. For lack of a better word. [laughter] So, classrooms, uh science labs, um they'll have the accent color that's representative of what floor you're on. Um so, in this case, it it's the third floor. Um, but you'll see that the built-in casework for the the science labs and
029in the classroom, the furniture is very flexible. It's a um a series of desks that can be put together in groups or can be taken apart. Um, can be, you know, set up like this and uh for a seminar. um but allows for the teacher to um set it up as they'd like and there's some choice um so that there's a round table and some choice of seating. That's all for this show. I just need to step over to the computer to turn Thanks Amy. I'll I'll take the opportunity to uh thank you all for having us here today and I hope you're all excited as we are for such a great design. Um, we're thrilled that how it's come together. Uh, my name is Kent Mohart from the Slime Collaborative. As Amy mentioned, I
030am the principal in charge for this project and, uh, we've been working very diligently over the past 5 months. Uh, and yes, it's only been five months. Hard to believe. Um, but, um, we're all thrilled with the way the design has come out and, uh, I hope you are, too. >> And the the last pres bit of the presentation is a is a video of this the outside of the school. So strap your seat belts on. Watch out for >> So this is the >> You can see the sawtooth over the cafeteria. Moving around to the those are keyboards. >> That's right. >> The keyboard. >> Love that. >> I think it is so cool. >> Windows are intentionally like a keyboard. the bus drop off side. And then there's that space in there, too.
031The kids are designing in math class um an outdoor STEM classroom for this space, and they want to see it to fruition. So, they've got a couple different plans. the bed corridor that that corridor they some of them chose that and some chose other areas that are out in the outside part of the building. >> Thank you very much. So >> thank you. >> That concludes the presentation. >> Open to questions answer questions. >> Andre, could you turn on the light? >> Let's go to the last slide. Which is the first second. There is more chairs back here because the mic >> J one last before we go to Bob. you can introduce yourself while it's running. >> My name is Jack Puckus. I'm a program manager with Arcadus and we're assisting the town with
032all three of the projects for the 2020 plan. And uh one of the tools that that we've used on other projects is uh again you've seen the the the fly around but and you've seen the site plan but what is this really going to do to within the neighborhood and uh so we've got a little before and after uh don't have all the site features like the sports fields rendered in but don't >> so over on the left you can see St. Mary's Church here >> St. Mary's here and Fitch in the background. >> The existing Grao >> currently is getting torn down in Elo. >> And although I think this has an automated opportunity. Whoops. >> Moving on. >> Twitchy technology. We'll do it the oldfashioned way. And just pull it across. Come on.
033Wow. >> from solid woods, which is essentially a solid mass of of trees to our site. >> So, as you see, it's it'll be roughly similar orientation to the Graasso building as far as the uh the north south axis. And then this area which is open the open fields of the Barrett farm. This area here in the darker green is the wetland that is going to be preserved and avoided by construction. The softball field will be up here in the area where the Merit House exists. The smaller practice field here centrally and the larger uh sports field down here close to where we will tie in to the Fitch driveway. This is uh going to be reconfigured uh slightly in this area of parking here for the for the buses and parents will move up
034to the front portion of the uh the fitch. Right now the buses drop off here. Uh that'll be converted to parent drop and then the buses bus loop will come into this back area here and through this side parking lot that is at the rear of St. Mary's Church. There will be an access way cut through the the trees at that point that leads into this roof drive and into the campus. Yes. >> Okay. Two questions. One, if I were getting married on a Saturday afternoon in that church and there's a soccer game going on, how rude are we being to the church? Like, is it like are we far enough away? This isn't going to like some bride is not going to be cursing us. somewhere. >> We do have screening requirements in the
035town. There's a significant wooded uh buffer right now. We need to complete that buffer. >> Will the wedding video include cheering from a crowd? >> I don't think so. >> An outdoor wedding [laughter] popular. >> Well, they are close to the high school. They're much closer to the high school, >> but they're not next to the athletic fields. >> So, I was just thinking about the other thing is at a new one of the newer schools in Waterford, the parent pickup drop off area. Somehow they must have all thought everybody drives sub compact because we're all in mini dance and it's almost it's like it's the scariest thing I do every day is pick those children up from that school if you there's no Are we planning on you know >> are you talking about
036parking spaces >> parentsized parking spaces right so the parent drop off loop will be um standard parking spaces like you would find at at >> a are I mean at a um a shopping center shopping center space that when you back up you can actually >> and again this this being a middle school >> following the standards that this that the town puts forward >> the parent the parental approach will be to come up the drive from from Graasso come into the loop here and around to the front you know to the curb of the building pick up the students and then exit out. Uh, so the queue will be in in the roadway and looping around as opposed to an elementary school where you're parking, dropping your child off or walking them into the
037classroom as the case may be with a with a kindergartener. Uh, so given the the fact that we are, you know, a middle school age group, I think that traffic situation will be less congested >> and the parking spaces are 9 by 18 ft, which is the town standard, which you'll see all over town. So, they're normal, if you want to call those, normal size spaces. >> As long as I can tell, that would be nice. >> I had a couple of questions. Um, my first is how what is this school being built for? How many students? >> 947. >> And is there room for expansion anywhere on the grounds if um more students move into Graten? >> Yes, there is. >> You should leave your picture up, Jack. >> Well, we're going to put
038I would like to go back to the site plan. Yeah. Go back to this side because we can show you where >> show showed exactly where. >> Well, that's true. >> Expansion was one of the concepts that we had very much in mind. And so it's someone will show us now. [laughter] >> You can see it. >> The wings are designed. >> The wing is designed >> right here >> with phenomenal space beyond it that could be used to build new >> after the fact. >> Okay. that was planned even to the point of, you know, where where do the utilities enter the building, where's the generator going to sit on site, things like that were coordinated to allow that expansion. >> And are the um how many students per classroom? >> That's not for
039us to say. That's for the board of ed to make a determination on. >> Well, what what have the architects deemed as the classroom size? Because the classrooms at Fitch High School, the new academic area, the classrooms are very small. And I was curious, I know the state has limitations on the class size. Is that going to be influenced by the state? >> I believe the basis of the the programming was 24 students per classroom >> and >> just 24. Yeah. >> Mhm. >> Yeah. >> That's we also we also accounted for u contract maximum which I think is 27. Right. >> Correct. >> But the >> so they can accommodate up to 27 but you know the basis of our of our planning was 24. >> Right. >> And are there any culinary arts
040classrooms? Are there are going to be any stoves or kitchen area for students to access for class >> culinary arts classes? there's not a culinary arts program that um was in your edspec. >> Um so we responded directly to the edspec spaces that were um envisioned for the school. There are um there is a classroom that includes a stove uh refrigerator and dishwasher that's within the multi-isability room. >> Okay. So student access at that one location otherwise just faculty access >> and and another thing at the Fitch when it was built added on to um the handicap accessive parking was very limited and not in a good place. So is this are you addressing this? So, this school is being built ground up and I'm sure that when um adding on to Fitch, they were
041wrestling with some existing conditions here because it's a new building. Um all of the all of the the state standards will be met. The closest parking spaces will be those for handicap accessibility and to the correct percentage of parking spaces to handicap parking spaces that's required by the state. And will there be buttons on the doors? >> There will be buttons on the main entrance and the upper main entrance. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Sure. >> Andrew, exactly how far is it from the the new middle school to Fitch? >> Oh boy. [snorts and laughter] >> It's a good question. Um, it's probably about 800 feet or so. >> Let's just say about 300 yards. >> Yeah. So, You're pretty close. >> It [clears throat] looks much further away, doesn't it? >> Yes. [laughter] [clears
042throat] >> I have lots of questions. >> That's okay. >> Teaching things. So, I I grasp classroom space. Um, lockers, are they big enough? This is New England. There will be times when these kids come in with boots and hats and coats and instruments. Are lockers going to be big enough to handle the kids bringing stuff to school and leave it putting it in the locker? >> Sure. So small small instruments the students will probably keep in their lockers. >> Probably not putting a cello. >> The large instruments we have a large instrument storage room built in next to the band which is a very robust program. So we were very impressed with your music department. Um and you do have a large instrument storage room. Um, but the lockers will be um 18 in
043by 15 in and four uh 3 and 1/2 ft high. Um, so they're halfight >> half height. So traditional lockers when I was going to school were about 9 in wide, maybe 6 in wide. Um, but they were full height. And so what we find today, our kids backpacks are wider. Um, so it's uh nicer to give a more generous um direction width and depth and the height of the lockers are two-tiered so that there's up to 7 ft high total. And yeah, you'll see them here. >> Mhm. >> Right. I just wanted to make sure that the width and the depth you could fit >> boots and with your coat. So because I know at Fitch >> 18 by 50 kids don't put their coats in lockers. I have a middle school student who
044also doesn't use her locker, but that has nothing to do with whether or not it's provided. [laughter] >> Um, how many kids do we have per wave at in the cafeteria? >> You have three waves for the um cafeteria. So, I think there's about 325 students per wave, but it the seating fits 350. >> That's an insane number of children. It's a large space. >> It's a very large space. >> Back to just >> There you go. >> Um, you showed the tier seating that you can bring in and out. Um, what is it like to set that up? Is that going to be pull it out? >> Um, it's not quite. I mean, it's it's on legs. It's it's like um unfolding the legs of a table. Um but the the tears um are
045provided as a part of the project and so are those uh the carts that they can be stored on and stacked on. Um and we've also um assigned storage space. Um we have three storage rooms in the neighborhood of the studio theater. Um, some are designated for the props and the and the stage equipment and others are designated for those risers, extra chairs that um, so the chairs to the cafeteria will be shared by also for the theater seating and the riser seating. >> I promise I'm just going to get the the board in and then I'll have the board members recognize other people. Okay. Thank you. >> I'm I'm particularly excited. We talked about this earlier um about the black box and Fitch does not have one >> but Fitch will be able to
046use the one in the middle school and it's for much more um intimate plays and things like that. This is one of the most exciting things because sometimes you can't fill the whole auditorium with people >> and actually vice versa. >> Yes. Yes. When when the middle school has large performances, they'll go to the auditorium uh and and as you say, >> for smaller smaller performances, plays and so forth, the the high school kids could use the background. >> That's it's great. >> To give you an idea, one of the things that we really had to wrestle with was finding out that each of the middle schools has uh music operation of a hundred kids each. Now, there is nowhere in any school in this district where you could get all 200 kids in the
047same place to do a rehearsal or anything. So, the the way that this was all worked out was to allow as many of them to work together in their primary space as they could. And then if there was going to be a whole orchestra type of situation, that would most likely go on up at Fitch. But just looking at, you know, 200 kids doing music was pretty amazing. It's like, how do you get the space to do that >> and the space for the parents to watch it? >> Yeah. >> So, I would like your hand has been up, so I'd love to recognize you for my term because there's some of us who are not going to be miked. Um, I'm wondering that once this if you could just paraphrase the question so that
048it can be picked up, that would be great. >> Sure. >> I'm just curious. 947 capacity. How does that correlate to the current total middle school population? >> That's not a question for me. >> It's a little bit It's a little bit lower. I think is Peter here. Oh, I did. I think there's about students right now. But when they say classrooms, could you talk a little bit about the total seats in the building that uh it it's for way more than 900 >> 1150 >> there there's seating for about 1150, >> right? So the the classroom seating will accommodate the entire student body or the design load of 947. But then with all the other spaces, all the other um specialty spaces like the art rooms, the maker space, the band rooms, the music,
049so forth, there are over 1150 seats in the building. So it can certainly accommodate a small increase in that enrollment. And as I mentioned earlier, the the design planning was based around 24 students per classroom because that's kind of an ideal, but they were sized to accommodate those classes to increase and size up to 27. >> I'd like to recognize Rachel. >> So, let me just get this straight. Slam is the architectural firm. Is that correct? >> Um, the state of Connecticut offers architectural plans. Was this based off of the plans that they offer or is this a complete new design? >> Right. >> So, I I think you're referring to uh the standardized building >> design plans. I'm not sure that they've been finalized yet, but I know that they are working toward something
050like that. These are not these are a unique design to this school and this site. Okay. >> Um as I was looking we have discussed at the council um issues regarding flat roof. Um so I had seen on there there was quite a bit of flat roof. Um is there any way to pitch it? Is it going to be pitched? I mean we've had there's issues with leakage and things of that nature when it comes to flat roofs. >> Okay. Um the the flat roofs that you see that are look like flat roofs, there's no there's no flat roof. It's it's all pitched at a quarter inch per foot towards interior roof drains. They also have uh exterior what we call scuppers. So overflow scuppers in case some of those drains get clogged. The the
051water would run off over the edge. And then that alerts the maintenance crew that there's an issue that needs to be resolved. Um, the roof has been specked to be warrantied for 20 years and uh that's part of the standard for for the state and I believe we have an alternate to maybe buy up to a 30-year warranty in the documents. So, um I think you shouldn't be too concerned about leaking roofs. It would be >> approximately just say 10 years in. If there's a leak in the roof, they're it's going to be taken care of under warranty. >> It's under warranty. >> Okay, great to know. Um how many classroom academic classrooms are there? >> Um there are nine academic classrooms per grade. So a total of 27 um math, English, foreign language and
052social studies. There are also eight science labs and then there are a number of uh additional spaces like the STEM related spaces like an engineering maker lab which you could use as a science lab. Um, so I think there's a lot of flexibility baked into the the design. There are a couple of um classrooms that are fit out with computers. Um, we suspect that most often those will be used for specialty software um like graphic arts design and the AV production studio has uh computers as well and the maker space engineering lab. >> And how many special ed rooms? So there are a number of special ed rooms of all different sizes. Um there are um the the three large classrooms that are um in multidisciplinary ABA and the academy. And then there are three
053mediumsiz uh special ed classrooms, one per floor mixed in with the academic wing. And then there are um special ed offices and resource rooms. Um and so now you're really taxing me to remember the number off the top of my head, but I believe there are two resource rooms per floor if we go to the >> Yeah. >> So we have the multi-isability classroom and the ABA classroom on the lowest level. And we also >> that's associated with the um OTP room as well, separate room. And can I go back when you were talking about um academic classrooms, art rooms? Were those included in the numbers you were giving me? >> No, there are two art rooms that are um for um graphic arts. >> Okay. >> So, the resource rooms, you'll you'll see them
054on the um floor plan here. And I believe there are four of these. There might be five on one floor. Those are um there's administrative offices on the upper levels. >> Yes. Graphic art rooms. Graphic art. >> The academy classroom on the second floor. >> Excuse me. The third floor >> that's what she said. >> So special ed is in yellow as a place, >> right? Special ed's yellow. And so we have the resource rooms on each of the floors. So there are a total of six. These are small tutoring type rooms. student. >> And then we have um which one is this? >> That's the special ed classroom. >> Special ed classroom. >> And would foreign language be in part of the academic rooms? >> Yes. >> Part of the 27? >> Okay. >>
055All right. Thank you. >> Sure. I I think I think now would be a good time to mention that the the faculty work rooms are sized so that um in the event that a classroom is shared by more than one teacher, each teacher does have their own space in the faculty workrooms and there are uh faculty workrooms on each floor. >> Those spaces are also set up so that multiple faculty members could work together on projects that they were bringing into a group of classes. That's where you >> um I had two questions. What are the yellow stripes on the end of the building? >> Um that what are those? >> That's a shaft. That That's shouldn't be yellow because that's misleading. I'm sorry. >> Is it [laughter] special shaft? >> It's not. Is it?
056>> It allows for mechanical systems to travel from space from floor to floor. Um, I'm curious about um, uh, the potential for maybe solar panels on the roofs um, at some point. Is is that something that >> could be factored in? >> Absolutely. Um, solar is a great resource that can always be added. Um, and so, you know, there's a lot of space on this roof and and that can certainly be added at any time. >> And we're actually looking for infrastructure. We're going to put infrastructure in for the three groups area there. >> That could be >> they're they're >> facing south leaning south. So they're perfectly well suited for >> having gone to school there. Um there's a lot of wind. >> Yes. >> Is the potential for any sort of wind energy?
057Also, >> we haven't designed wind power into the current plans. Um but it's again something that could be added by the district >> um and supplement the energy that provided >> a number of alternate plans including geothermal wind. >> That was my >> that was the next one. [laughter] >> The the issue with all of those is the upfront cost. >> I'm sorry. The issue with with most of those is the upfront cost, especially with geothermal and the projections for return on investment were outside of the 20-year range that we're looking at with, you know, state reimbursement and whatnot. And most of those are not reimburseable as well. So, while we're trying as hard as we can to make the building uh something that can accept alternate energy possibilities in the future, um with the
058exception of of the ice and whatnot that we'll be using for cooling um that we've used effectively at Fitch at the moment, this is relatively standard. One of the things that um we are doing differently in this building and I'm going to mention it uh u we're using active chilled beams for the cooling and heating as opposed to active chilled beams. Um and so the heating and cooling should be marvelously more efficient and uh much more effective than what we've seen in many of the other buildings around. >> Sorry. >> No, there's a woman behind you. I had a question. >> Yes. My question was actually about the heating and cooling system. So [laughter] I guess just an add on to that were you able to realize any benefits by is that me by um
059you know it's its placement sort of within the hillside are there efficiencies there? >> Can you please sure I'll repeat the question. So um are there efficiencies built into the building because it's built into the hillside? Um and the answer there is is yes. Um and then also uh you asked about the mechanical systems and so as Bob mentioned the the chilled beams um will be heating and full air conditioning for the building. Um so it'll be quite comfortable and it'll be very efficient. Um there is ice storage on site. So, the chillers that cool the building uh for the air conditioning um you'll you'll make ice and store it and then the chillers utilize that ice um for cooling rather than a chemical. ice >> uh that you make the ice at night when
060electricity is um off peak and so less expensive and then you would draw on that ice that's already stored during the day in the in the heat of the day performance >> and that um Connecticut high performance uh requires this building to be lead silver equivalent and so we're tracking that as we move through the whole design and as we progress through construction we'll continue to track that and we'll make sure that the building meets or exceeds the um Connecticut high performance standards and so um if you're familiar with the lead standards for buildings that's silver or above um is what's required um and we plan to exceed that and so we have a lot of features built in the other thing that I want to mention is uh the quality of the um the
061exterior of the building the the building envelope the amount of um uh insulation at the roof level and in the walls uh will really be your first line of defense and the way to maintain a very efficient mechanical system. Um so that's where we put a lot of our effort. >> Two questions. It's built into the side of the the hill. >> She's going to repeat the question. >> It's built into the side of the hill. Are you doing anything with the groundwater to redirect it so that we don't have water issues? And second, can you talk about the doors and the windows? Are they bullet resistant, heat resistant? >> You want to take the storm water? >> Sure. >> Question. >> Uh yes, there is. >> So if you can repeat the question. >>
062The question was by building the building into the hill, are we managing the groundwater? And then the second question was um how are we treating the windows and doors as far as uh force resistance andor hurricane resistance and we'll talk about both of those. So um yes the the site does have some fairly high groundwater. So we are managing that. Our geotechnical report has talked has given us guidance on what we need to do. So we will have full foundation drainage system as well as a subslab drainage system. So, we will mitigate any groundwater coming into the building. Uh, as far as the doors and windows, um, Amy can talk a little bit about the, uh, SSIC, which is the school security infrastructure council's guidelines on how we managed the security aspect of the doors
063and windows, but from the hurricane um, resistance, which we need to comply with by code in this region, uh, we've included that into all of the windows around the entire building. They are all hurricane resistant glazing. >> So that puts you um already with a step ahead in your glazing. So all of the glass on the building is laminated glass which is very durable and also um part and parcel to the security guidelines because it is um damage resistant. I can't say bulletproof because um it's not rated for that. U it hasn't been tested for that I should say. But um it will certainly delay someone trying to get into the building because a hammer won't do it. Um the doors and windows uh at the ground level um in particular around the entries are
064treated with uh a higher level of um glazing. And so I don't know how much detail I should get into in a public meeting, but they are treated. >> Question. Um, one of the things that I'm not seeing on the exterior is basketball hoops. That's uh I know one thing that at Westside they use a lot. Um, that was my first question. Um, and my second was currently the Fitch High School. It might be for other people utilize uh the Cutler Middle School baseball field for their freshman that's kind of in a lot of need of of help. And I see a softball field here, but I don't I'm not seeing a baseball field replicated. So, I'm not sure if that's there's room to add that or or they might answer when we when we
065uh remodel the elementary school. Maybe that's in the plan down there. Also, the structure, the materials, and the upkeep. Are these going to be able to be maintained by our current uh maintenance crew? I mean, the more sophisticated we get, we add scaffolds and all these soundproofing things. Um long-term structure and durability, also mold prevention, which is another uh major issue. uh making sure that the building uh can be maintained adequately um by you know an average district um that don't have the specialty um with all the climate control um things in place. >> So as far as durability goes, I'm going to answer that one quick first. Um we've worked with Sam and his his uh staff throughout the design of the project and um most of the materials are things that you're accustomed
066to uh having in the district. Uh there's a lot of brick. There's cast stone which is very durable. Uh and there are uh metal panels at some key locations where we show color for example on the building. Um but these are all durable materials that will last a lifetime. Um, and the, uh, roof, as mentioned, was is warrantied for 20 years, and we suspect it will last longer because, uh, we're also, uh, adding on an additional 10-year warranty. So, um interior, uh we've worked hard to either have abuse resistant chipboard, uh in the locations where there are, um chipboard walls, um drywall walls, and in other locations, um in particular in the gymnasium area, in the locker rooms, um they're concrete block which will be painted uh similar to other schools that you're accustomed to.
067And the corridors are either brick um lockers. So the lockers protect the walls um or abuse resistant drywall just around the doors. >> One of the nice things about this is because of the HVAC system that's in place, we're kind of anticipating that mold is not going to be an issue. the the ambient controls are going to be such that that the the building will remain at a particular uh humidity and temperature for most of its existence. >> And the basketball hoops the exterior >> that's on the list. We're we're also developing a list of items that don't necessarily fall in the educational specifications, but would be nice to have items. Um, that's one of the things on the list at this point. >> Could you speak to the size of the gym? How large
068is the gym? Is there any seating capacity in the gym for spectators? the plan. >> Please repeat the question. >> Yes. Uh the size of the gym and and seating capacity. Uh the size of the gym is a middle school gym. >> It's I'm sorry, fulls size high school gym. So it's it's got a full-size high school basketball court with 10 ft on all surrounding sides. And there are bleachers for 250 spectators with telescoping bleachers. Andrew, >> I have I have two questions. >> It's okay. I have two questions. One is really for clarification. I couldn't have heard you say that there's no art room. Did I hear that? >> Oh, no. There are two. >> You did not. >> There are two art rooms. >> I heard two graphic arts, but I didn't hear
069two art rooms. >> There there are two uh what we would term general art rooms. >> General. All right. Okay. >> With storage. with storage between >> and here with storage in between >> and a kllin room. >> I I misheard that's fine. >> The graphic arts room is up here. >> One thing that's not on this plan is uh there is also an outdoor area right here outside the class the art classrooms. So there can be like an outdoor studio as well. It's a small patio area. >> That's my second question. >> You can see it. >> Can you speak to that please? So these these windows here are the windows that are associated with the two art rooms. And there's a nice little patio area. Sorry. Sorry. So these these two window sets
070uh are related to the two art rooms. This is the the in between room for maker space. And there's a patio area out here that can be just this is all windows. So they have a lot of light, a lot of visual stuff. And in nice days they can take the easels outside and draw and do whatever else they might like to do there. Um there is no garage door. [laughter] >> But my question then my follow-up question is I wanted to I think Rita mentioned the the U outdoor spaces. How it how I know this is a public meeting but how on earth are you going to protect kids when they're outside drawing or whatever they're doing out there? That's a a legitimate question and I'm not sure that the kids will ever actually
071be out there, but the space is available for the light to come in and and visually see what's going on. It's it's a difficult question. I mean, one of the nice things about this site is that twothirds of it is wooded. I would definitely love to see some trails in there so that the kids in biology could take, you know, walk through the paths that some of the ponds and the the trees and make use of the space that way as well as a learning center. Um, and I guess, you know, that'll come down to the superintendent and board of ed determining how they can safe safely do these types of things or if they can at all. And I'll just add to that um that there's a the door that accesses the art rooms
072is really off of the corridor and it is uh controlled by card reader lock. So um the appropriate staff will be badged to go in and out there but otherwise that door remains locked. Um that's the same condition that would happen for um PE classes when the students go out to play on the fields. So, in an oversight condition, you know, it's up to the district to determine how they want to handle that. But, um, you know, you have that example happening in your PE classes every day. Um, and so why not in art, you know, so >> recess, recess. Yeah. >> Recess in school. Well, not at all. >> Not in middle school. [laughter] Yeah, >> I want to go back to >> outdoor time is >> think they should have. >> But as
073a part of the security um as a part of the security features, you also [clears throat] have a lot of electronic security built into this school. So, there's video surveillance uh at the entries on the site as well as at the doors. And then within the school, there's video surveillance. Um, is there a place for um, security to keep an eye on all of that video? >> Yes, there is. There's a there's a room built into the administration wing. Um, it's a actually a protected room. Um, so that in the event of an emergency, someone could uh, actually run the situation from there. >> We also have an SRO >> assigned to the building. Yeah. And that's his office or hers. question here. >> Um, your classrooms or any room teaching, but the sun comes
074this way and that side of the building is really hot. Do teachers have the option of you know picking the heat or is it just standard and you can't open windows and so therefore you so there um the windows will be fixed in this building and that's um really in assistance to the mechanical system. Um it's very important to not have uh humidity in the building when you run an active chilled beam uh as your mechanical system. Um but there will be um controls um which again it's going to be up up to the district how that's run um and who can access the controls but usually within like 3° up and 3° down um the individuals can have control. So, can I [clears throat] just ask real quick off of her question, are there
075shades like if there's too much sun coming in? >> Absolutely. There are shades in every room. >> And the the windows do have a glazing on them so that you know the ones that are up high and whatnot are going to be a little bit darker. The other thing about that is it makes it a little bit more difficult for anyone to see into the rooms to see what's going on from outside. >> That's a great idea. There's also a a clear film or or clear gas uh lowey glass um gas in between the two panes of window glass. So um the high performance uh building system um that's required by Connecticut uh also requires us to have a certain level of um insulative value on all of the exterior walls and the windows do
076contribute to that. Can I have one question >> too? Um in terms of um you know the Prometheium boards that we have at the high school, what type of um AV equipment will be in the classrooms? Is that part of your job or >> So um in this portion of the project, we've designed in the infrastructure for the technology. Um so that will be bid and um be built by the contractors. And then in the next phase of our design work, um we'll we'll discuss with your personnel um the AV technology that they want to implement for this school. So uh we understand that the district um uses Prometheium right now. Um but when the school opens, we want to make sure that we're using the technology that like them. Yeah, >> I think >>
077um I have a question just looking at the design of the entrance coming in from Graasu and the entrance coming in from Fitch. >> Um thinking of it from a security aspect. >> Um three large buildings looking at almost 4,000 people, students, staff on one corner of a the whole town on one hill. Um using two major arteries going in and out. If there wasn't an ever an emergency evacuation, my concern is effectively getting people off of that that quarter of the of the town considering staff students of three buildings using two major arteries. So now you're overlapping there. Um that's a bit concerning to me a little bit just that just that's three schools in one area kind of a lot going on. >> I just mean I can let someone from the town
078talk about the site. We were given the site when we were hired. But I can say that >> don't even go back to that. [laughter] >> I'm just looking at other thought into considerable. >> There's thought and I I think you will be sharing buses. >> So the convenience to evacuate students will be better. >> If if you look if you look at the way the building's constructed along with the Grassotech, Grassotech now has another means of egress from Grasso Tech school. They could either go down the hill, up the hill, through the high school if there happens to be an emergency. If we have an emergency at the middle school, they can go down the hill, they can go through the high school. There's there's that. Plus, when you get out on Grant Longpoint
079Road or um Route One, you got two directions to go out on Route One. So, a traffic study was conducted. >> They looked at the traffic. Um we still need to get approval from the state, which we don't think is going to be an issue. But um they looked at the traffic counts and they're not significantly higher than than what they are right now. >> One of the things that you may not be aware of at the moment is there is a plan for both the high school and the middle school to start at approximately the same time. So there'll be one less wave of buses traveling the roads, saving somewhere on the order of what $100,000 a year in buses. Um, so that's one of the the pluses of having these collocicalized. Um, it
080it'll make your mornings a whole lot easier as parents >> talking about these being uh evacuated from them. The schools are designed to be areas of refuge for a hurricane or something. They're >> built to withstand that type of situation. Right. >> Right. >> There's some I got two. >> And then but I would like to give new >> just going to your point about the the buses. Are we going to have sixth graders on the same buses as seniors in high school? >> Hope not >> potentially. >> Which would allow the high school kids to start later. That's one of the driving forces. But we we we really have to do a demographic study. I certainly don't. That would be my dream. But uh I'm I'm I'm not sure we could actually uh do
081that. But that would be that that would be one aspect that we would take a look at. >> Many thankful place started later. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> I also think it's a plan that we haven't the board ourselves has haven't even grappled with. So to kind of have a long conversation about that seems a little bit premature to the conversation. >> Oh no, I just said the potential. I didn't say it. >> Just wanted to say that >> just to be careful. >> I looked around and even myself I don't can't see myself like we haven't had even had that thought process yet. So >> that's okay. My question was whether we all be moving up to the early high school time. So >> well we we anticipate your your questions. extremely fearful of that.
082>> We are with you on that. >> I think it looks really nice though. >> Yes, absolutely. >> I just want to ask about um technology aspect and the Wi-Fi throughout the building. I assume it's going to be hardened and everyone's going to have a really good signal no matter what part of the building they're in. >> Yes. [laughter] Okay. Thank you very much. >> All right. I have a question. >> After five and a half months of looking at this building, what do you folks think about the design? >> It's gorgeous. >> It's very nice. >> What's nice is that it blends well with what the Fitch's um edition is. Yes. >> And so it really gives a campus feel. So I'm sure that was intentional. Um but it really does help um to
083really kind of show that we have a campus. Um because a lot of a lot of it when I looked at it, I'm like, why didn't they giving us a picture of the Fitch building? And then I looked and I realized [clears throat] it wasn't. So I I'm I'm very appreciative of that. Um, I love the idea of how much um how you incorporated the first and second floor. So, we do have two kind of distinct entrances. Um, and I I love the ability of the fact that we have a full-size gymnasium and for those of us who are in wreck and always looking for spaces and stuff, I'm I'm very appreciative of that. on the on also on the other side. I am um really appreciative of the design, drama, music spaces um because
084we just have an incredible music program um on all levels, our elementary, middle school, and high school. And for that to allow to continue to flourish is um exciting. >> I think it's beautiful. >> I'm just going to weigh in to to have a softball field on campus is is a huge factor as far as I'm concerned. We we ship our softball team all the way across town and and the Blackbox Theater. Well, we talked about this for hours. We we just we just think it's terrific. And if you notice, the Blackbox Theater opened up to a stage and the stage opens up to the auditorium. The auditorium opens up to the band room. So that was very intentional and the the architects worked really hard because we we started with chicklets and we were
085[laughter] we were moving stuff around all over the place and [clears throat] the fact that it's only been uh five and a half points is is really a testament and there was a little bit of a hiatus in there if if I remember correctly. [laughter] Uh so to to to start and stop and and and go I I think it's just a really remarkable great job. One of the things that they've done a phenomenal job with is is allowing for flexible use of some of these rooms. I mean the as you heard the the STEM classrooms could be used as science classrooms. There's a a movement studio that can be used for yoga that could be used for dance that could be used for any of a number of uh gymnastics capabilities. U there's just
086unbelievable flexibility in the spaces that have been designed here. J such an opportunity for a middle school working with Whoops. >> It's going to be caught on the cable almost every single way. >> There's such an opportunity for the middle school kids and high school kids to be working together. It's developing a broader community of learners. So, it might be drama, it might be music. It's just such an opportunity to expand learning and the ability to get along with each other and um support each other in terms of age groups. >> The same could be said for the faculty too because you could have all sorts of interesting interactions. We want them to get along. [clears throat] [laughter] >> Well, and you just mentioned that in at our art exhibit, the parents were a few
087parents had come up to me and talked about things like a fencing club at the middle school robotics. And just imagine that we could actually grow pathways, you know, in this setting. I think the thing that um you know, being part of this process, one of the things we were talking about is efficiencies. Like a cafeteria is usually empty except for lunchtime. It's such a waste of space. Um gyms are usually used, you know, full throttle, but we really looked at opportunities to use our space, our classrooms, our open space all the time during the day. So I think it really um you know was a good process and I think that we were creative with those efficiencies. >> I can I have one. >> Could you tell explain to me um the pathway from
088the middle school to the high school? How wide is it? Is it paved? >> Tunnel. >> It's a tunnel. It's a tunnel. [laughter] >> A shuttle. >> We can get Eli Musk in there. [laughter] There is a sidewalk alongside of the driveway. Um, and it's six feet wide. >> Six feet wide. >> Okay. >> The driveway for cars is a full two-way driveway. >> Oh, great. >> But the the six feet is the is the sidewalk. I'm sorry. and recognize what you're asking. >> Um, I just wanted to say for me the thing that excites me is to see Graten all under one building like it should be. Growing up here and having three middle schools at one point and seeing the demographics, the diversity diversity and the social economic separations was so dynamic that
089uh I'm excited to see all that under one roof and see one strong PTO in Grten in the middle schools. Excited to see all the resources pulled into one building. So what this building brings to me is hope for Grten and that chance for students to get together at an earlier point in the academic spectrum before they get to the high school. One of the other positive things that I saw on this diagram was the color per floor. Really thinking of children with special needs uh you know getting off and realizing you know some people relate to color and things like that. I thought that was really genius uh uh in doing that. So uh this this this brings hope to me I think for the town. I think it's it's long overdue. >> Thank
090you. Thank you so much. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> So, I know that you guys have your timeline, but just to remind the board, so um if if you leave here and you are up in the middle of the night and go, "Wow, I have a really important question." Um probably don't call Dr. Grineer um at 2:00 in the morning. Um but but jot jot down um and that your questions um and so that he could then um get the answers to he might have them or he might um contact um these fine um folks um about that um so that we can have another discussion um about it next week um and that we can also before we go to vote on the 7th we we can have we can have another discussion
091before the vote. So once again, this allows this is our this is probably going to be our time to look at the designs. Um unless um there's enough burning questions um that people have that we need to have maybe Bob and um Rick come back with the designs and and just to kind of have us um have another conversation. Um so once again um this is not going to be our only exposure. We're going to we're going to be talking about it next week, but if you have questions in between, please make sure that you get your questions to Dr. Grineer so that we can get answers so that that can enrich our conversation. And then on the 7th um once again from the 17th to the 7th if you've got questions let's get them
092to Dr. Grineer and we'll go back and we'll have a um vote. Um and it looks like that's our piece which is um on the 7th. Um and I'll let you guys go from there because that ain't me. >> So before I turn it over to Bob, I just want to say thank you for the opportunity. This has been great. Thank you >> and thank you for all the the positive comments. We're really excited and we can't wait for the groundbreaking ceremony. >> And as far as questions go, if you can filter them through Dr. Griner at some point and you can either get them to me or or Jack. We're colllocated there at the at the site, so we'll >> I think we I think we're going to follow I think we're going to
093follow protocol and that that I'm going to ask for Dr. Grineer to them to the funneled through the superintendent's office. >> That's what I just That's what I just said. >> Yep. [laughter] >> Yep. >> I think I just Okay. And on behalf of the permanent school building committee, I've got to thank all of you because I'm just flabbergasted that so many of you came to see this. I'm really psyched about that. Um, thank you. Thank you. Um, going forward, we're going to be at town planning tomorrow night. >> Tomorrow night >> and and assuming that that you know, we have answered all their questions. Um, as as you pointed out, on January 7th, the the board will have its chance to vote uh to approve the building as they've seen it so far. Um,
094and then following that on uh the 10th, the p the permanent school building committee will certify to the town that the plans do meet the requirements. The plan will be presented to the office of school construction grants and review or Oscar as we call him. and if they find it uh appealing and approve it, that will authorize the town to go ahead and bid this project. That will occur sometime between the 1st and the 20 or the 15th and the 25th of January. We'll put bids out as soon as we hear from the state that we can do that. And theoretically, contractors will be mobilizing and construction will begin on the 25th of March. >> This is one tight schedule, guys. Sometimes it takes me two months to get out of my house. So, and
095[laughter] I don't have a big place. So, wow. >> So, if there are no further questions, um I'm going to give us a five minutes if you guys want to see the beautiful p um photographs. Um but then I would like us to come back like in the five minutes and then we're going to finish the rest of our meeting um and be done. Thank you. Thank um and also once again thank you to all the town people um from our other colleagues from our other um RTM and the town councils and our town manager. Thank you for coming. It was really good to see you all. Thank you.