Key Council Decision On 5/6 School Due Next Week

By Steve Bigham

Last week, the Board of Education and its supporters turned out in numbers to urge the Legislative Council to act quickly to approve the $2.6 million in architect fees for the proposed 5/6 school. Timing is critical in this matter, they explained, adding that they needed the council’s approval by the council’s next meeting January 19 in order to get the project moving.

But council leaders this week indicated they may not be ready to make any final decision by next week, especially with the proposed school being tied in with decisions on so many other large capital projects – Fairfield Hills, Edmond Town Hall, Town Hall South – now imminent and critical.

 In addition, council members are concerned that the final site for the school is still undetermined. The school board has advocated the Watertown Hall site along Wasserman Way, but a final decision will not be made until the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills is resolved.

“We’ve been working toward this day for a long time,” noted Legislative Council Chairman Pierre Rochman. “I’m not sure if by the 18th or 19th we will have had enough time to make a decision on the school.”

According to Superintendent John R. Reed, the architectural firm of Jeter, Cook and Jepson of Hartford could perform its work without being site-specific for the first 30 to 60 days. After that, however, site design work would begin and an actual site would need to be determined.

“Approving the architect fees is in effect a decision on the schools, and saying ‘yes’ to the architect on the 19th is saying ‘yes’ to having the school at Watertown Hall,” Mr Rochman added. “I don’t think the council should make that kind of decision yet. We won’t have the answers as to whether we can build at Fairfield Hills within two months.”

Of course, putting off the decision would cause delays that could prove costly to the town. The plan is to have the school open by September, 2002, and that would be improbable without council approval this month. Once the council gives its okay, the $2.5 million issue must then be approved at a town meeting, and possibly at a referendum, as well.

Approval of the overall school construction project would come sometime later. But the school board wants to be ready to go once that approval comes. It also wants to be ready to break ground as soon as a final site is chosen.

“I don’t know if our school system can wait until we have a verdict on Fairfield Hills,” Board of Education Chairman Elaine McClure said last week. “I think we have demonstrated very strongly the need for more space.”

And it can not wait for a decision on Fairfield Hills much longer. If no decision is made by mid-February, the school board plans to go forward with the Watertown Hall site. Cochran House on the Fairfield Hills campus had also been considered as a 5/6 school site, but has fallen out of favor in recent months with the Board of Education.

Much of what happens on January 19 will be determined on the 18th when the finance committee will get an even stronger grasp on the town’s financial obligations. It will be a critical meeting and one that should generate a large audience.

Finance Committee Chairman John Kortze is concerned about the town’s debt ratio, which continues to hover around the limit of what is considered prudent for a town.

“I’m definitely in favor of a school, but I’m in favor of building the school within our fiscal means,” said Mr Kortze. “The thing I’m worried about is knowing the capital projects we need to do. I think we will end up doing them all, but we may not be able to do everything as proposed. We may end up having to decrease the total amount for each project to fall within our guidelines. My guess is we’re reaching points that we don’t want to go beyond in terms of debt.”

 Mr Kortze believes it is critical to present all capital spending costs to the town at once. He fears that, if presented individually, a proposed project stands the chance of being turned down by the voters.

“If we can do it all together, I think everybody has a chance of getting what they want,” he said.

School supporters may not like what they hear from the council next week. The approval may not come as soon as they had hoped.

“We run the risk of getting in over our head very easily here. We’ve tried fervently to plan and manage for this, and we’re certainly not going to stop now,” Mr Kortze said. “The Board of Education may need to have a plan B.”