REGIONAL - Voters in District 18, which encompasses the towns of Old Lyme and Lyme, will soon decide the fate of a controversial proposed $53,963,000 project that would transform the Old Lyme High School.
According to the April 2007 Focus on Education newsletter, the project would renovate the school’s existing auditorium and gymnasium, build a new classroom wing so that the current classroom wing can be demolished, redesign the school’s access road and parking, and rebuild the track and athletic fields.
The high school building committee believes it is necessary to build a new wing since renovating the existing 1979 building would cost an additional $7 million.
The cost is the result of renovating 142,000 square feet which would be 10,000 square feet larger and 8 feet taller than the proposed project, the newsletter states.
If the classroom wing were renovated, all that would be left is portions of the steel frame after warn-out components such as exterior and interior walls, roof, windows, and the heating system are removed, the committee concluded.
A schematic of the proposed two-level building includes the creation of twenty-three general purpose classrooms, six science labs, five special education classrooms, two computer labs, one therapy classroom, a cafeteria/multi-purpose commons area, a technology education area, separate rooms for the band and music departments, seminar room, media center, and an outdoor plaza.
The plan shows administrative offices would be located near a single main entrance and the creation of a 400-meter paved track, a second baseball field, and an observatory building.
District 18 Board of Education Chair Lynn Fairfield-Sonn said renovations to the auditorium and gymnasium will allow both to meet current fire safety and handicap accessibility codes.
The auditorium will be redesigned with new seats with more leg room and a better line of sight while the gymnasium will be larger through an adjacent auxiliary gym.
Regarding the project, Fairfield-Sonn said, “It’s the right thing to do and it’s the right time to do it.”
The project will include the installation of an energy efficient roof, walls, windows, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems along with a new fire alarm, fire sprinklers, and security systems.
“If money were no object, this (project) would be terrific,” Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold said.
The committee estimates that in the worst case scenario, those owning a home in Old Lyme assessed at $300,000 would see an average tax increase of $396 per year over a 23 year period.
Lyme residents with assessed homes at $300,000 could see an average tax increase of $306 per year.
Griswold said the committee factored in a 35 percent state reimbursement, a factor which is expected to soon decrease.
A watchdog group called “Get the Fact$” believe the state reimbursement will be 27.65 percent or less creating an even greater burden on taxpayers.
The reimbursement only covers portions of the project.
Several residents have indicated they will be forced to leave town if their tax bills increase by that amount, Griswold explained.
Those feeling the increase the most would be young people who are new homeowners struggling to make ends meet and older people on fixed incomes.
Lyme First Selectman Ralph Eno questions the projections since they do not factor in each town’s debt service and finances from the undesignated fund balances.
Students from Lyme make up approximately 20 percent of high school students while 80 percent of students live in Old Lyme.
Griswold questions why it is necessary to demolish a 28 year old building and said “there has to be a less expensive way of doing this.”
Architect Stephen J. Joncus, who originally built the school, said he was “appalled at the dishonesty of the presentation” held on Mar. 27 where officials spoke of issues with the building.
Specifically, Joncus argued against the myth that the building was not built to code at the time while stating that “the main concern about current codes seems to revolve around the mezzanine level which opens into stairwells directly.”
Other issues include smoke and heat detectors, fire alarms, and the emergency backup for the elevator.
However, Joncus said these issues “can be solved without demolishing the building.”
This is not the first time voters will choose whether to improve the high school, voters defeated an original $54 million proposal in 2000 to renovate all schools as new.
Later, voters approved a $34 million project renovating Lyme Consolidated and Mile Creek with $2 million spent on campus-wide water and septic systems to meet the needs of Center School as well as the middle school and high school.
Residents from the watchdog group Get the Fact$ criticize the fact that $1.4 million of the project will go toward a separate building which will house district administration offices.
They stated that if those offices relocated to the renovated Old Lyme Town Hall, it would cost $800,000.
Fairfield-Sonn said the building will also house maintenance services and a boiler room and states the town hall would not have met the district’s needs.
It is not unusual to have a separate district administration building, Fairfield-Sonn said, pointing to Old Saybrook and District 4.
Griswold criticized the Board of Education for not having a back-up plan should the referendum fail while Eno commended the board for its decision in not creating such a plan.
More information about the project can be found at www.lolhsproject.com and http://www.getthefacts.us/.
bra href=”http://remodelinggrandrapids.blogspot.com/”Remodeling Grand Rapids/a