Present were: Mark Malcarne, Jim Olsen, Rick Stebbins, Bruce Glowac, Kristina Martineau, Garth Sawyer, Dave Russell

Motion was made seconded and so voted to approve meeting minutes of 11/16/11

Discussion took place regarding the Mission and Purpose of the committee. B.Glowac reminded the committee that they needed to stay focused on the “facilities needs” and that details regarding moving the 6th grade to JW as well as publicity was the responsibility of the administration and R4 BOE.

Jim Olsen acknowledged that the “word” was already out and that he has already been questioned by town officials. He also stated that there was a recent article in the Valley Courier newspaper regarding the study.

B.Glowac handed out a Draft #3 list building needs. Discussion ensued regarding how to proceed from here. B. Glowac stated that concerns over existing science rooms at both schools was the primary change from earlier lists and that at this point the “absolute bare bones” principal concerns of the schools were as follows:
John Winthrop: 6th grade addition Renovate science rooms
Valley Regional: Connect Tech Ed Building to main building Renovate science rooms
Central Office: File Storage

Bruce suggested we contact Jim Lawler and direct him towards these “principal drivers” and make him aware of the many other concerns that have been identified and let him make recommendations to the committee regarding what would be logical to include in a facilities building project proposal.

Motion was made to request a facilities assessment proposal from C.J. Lawler Associates based on the above suggestion. Motion was seconded Voted and approved.

Discussion took place regarding School population projections and it was noted that demographic projections showed that the R4 School population would be relatively flat for the next few years and then begin a decline. Jim Olson noted the difficulty in presenting a school building project to the public with school population projections moving in a negative direction. Dave Russell stated that the current study and considerations were not due to population projections but were because of program changes. Moving the 6th grade up to the middle school and renovating existing inadequate science rooms. Additionally with the anticipated addition of full day kindergarten in the Elementary schools plus future pre-school needs, additional space will still most likely still be needed in the elementary schools despite enrolment projections? Moving the 6th grade to JW would benefit the elementary schools space needs with a single building project verses the potential of three separate building projects.

Rick Stebbins presented a letter from Bryant Ziobron regarding Synthetic Turf fields. The letter Pointed out the condition of many of the fields in our league and the fact that Valley’s field is in poor condition. B. Glowac stated that a study done for the R4 BOE some years back identified the fact that our field are blatantly overused due to the number of sports we offer and the limited field space we have. Soccer, Football, Field hockey, Lacrosse and even Phys Ed classes use the main competition field at Valley which means the field has virtually no resting periods. The Study had concluded that the most logical solution to the problem was to install a synthetic turf field. All members agreed to the need and to the desire by the community to have such a field. The question was raised, should it be included in a building project or should it be a stand alone project. No conclusion was reached.

Next meeting date will be Wed. January 25th Committee will meet in the JWMS lobby for a tour of John Winthrop followed by meeting in the School library.

Motion was made to adjourn and was so voted @ 7:33 PM

Respectfully submitted;
B. Glowac, 12/22/11