Build It Right, Now, Not Wrong, Later

To the Editor:

I would like to express my gratitude for all the hard work so many people have put into the high school expansion project. It hasn’t been easy, it never is. I would also like to point out one thing about the most recent comment referring to an alleged “backup plan.”

The fact of the matter … there is no practical Board of Education High School Expansion “backup plan.” With all due respect, that appeared to be a “take cover” comment. The reality is, it’s the currently planned expansion or wait two years and build a smaller expansion for more money. You can’t cut the stadium because of the ADA requirement. Moreover, the stadium turf replaces the lost practice fields the expansion is taking away. And, irrespective of the ADA (American Disabilities Act) you can go to referendum 1, 2, 3...10 times but without the stadium it will never pass. (A cut of $1.2 million out of $41.8 million (two percent) is of hardly sufficient impact to offset the hundreds of justifiably angry and absent sports and recreation voters). Likewise does anyone truly believe a $400,000 (less than one percent) reduction of environmental options will change the outcome?

Board of Education member(s) should have responded as follows: “There is no backup plan because this is the most optimal and financially efficient plan, intended to be built once and built right. If the taxpayers want us to build a structure that is not optimal and not cost efficient, i.e., build a smaller structure for significantly more money, and one that is likely to not satisfy our needs, then they will have to tell us that at the polls. In good conscience we cannot recommend such a wrong plan. This referendum is it...we either do it right, now, or wrong, later. We hope the voters will tell us to do it right on April 22.”

Moreover, presently, the plan is with the state in a time-sensitive expedited process; timewise redesign is not an option.

I believe that unless this one-shot option is made clear to the public the expansion is lost. Voters will be misguided into thinking that there will be multiple referenda on the expansion this spring.

Yes, the economy is soft now, but it is not even penny wise (and it is certainly pound foolish) to build an expansion years later, that is smaller, more costly, not large enough, and construction costs soar when fewer builders are competing for more projects, i.e. during an economic expansion. To me, it comes down to simple economics, build it right, now, not wrong, later. Thanks for listening.

 (Please note, though I am a member of the Board of Finance, these are my own opinions).

Jim Gaston

18 Main Street, Newtown                                                  April 8, 2008