HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-29 Middle School Fields Improvement Committee Minutes Meeting No. 15 Minutes March 29, 2018
Middle School Fields Improvement Committee
Meeting No. 15 Minutes
Date: March 29, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: North Andover Town Hall, 120 Main Street (In 1 st Floor Conference
Room) North Andover, MA
Attendees: Committee Members: Amy Mabley, Terry Holland, Rick Green, Rosemary
Smedile, Todd Dow and Ed Pease
Public: None
Minutes Recorded By: Rick Green
Copies To: Andrew Maylor, Rick Gorman, Joyce Bradshaw
Item No. 1 Public Input
• No public comment.
Item No.2 Introduction of New Committee Member
• Rick Green introduced Ed Pease to the committee who was appointed by the
Town Manager.
Item No. 2 Revisions to Final Conceptual Layout
• Rick Green presented revisions that were made to Conceptual Layout Plan 3
which was prepared for last year's Town Meeting.
• The location of amphitheater was moved to the northeast side of the
playground so that it is closer to the Middle School and will be built into the
side of the natural landscape. This comment came from the meeting with the
School Committee and School Administrators.
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Meeting No. 15 Minutes March 29, 2018
• The existing basketball court by the cafeteria of the Middle School was
previously shown to be reconstructed. This proposed construction was
eliminated due to the future planned expansion of th Middle School in this
area. A half-court basketball court was initially moved to the location
proposed for the outdoor classroom. The outdoor classroom was repurposed
based on comments of school administrators and members of the Middle
School Fields redevelopment Committee as the existing one at the Middle
School is underutilized. The half-court basketball court was relocated next to
the playgrounds on the Rte 125 side of the recreation complex to allow easier
patrol by the NA Police and move it away from the abutters. The bocce court
was moved to the location of the proposed outdoor classroom which seemed
to be more appropriate adjacent to the picnic area and would be less likely to
be used at night.
• Abutters on the south end of the parcel in the area of the proposed softball
field are concerned with foul balls being hit into their property. A safety ball
netting system is to be added behind the backstop and along the first base
line (similar to what we have proposed for McEvoy Field).
• The construction of the project in a single phase was discussed with the
benefits of eliminating additional phases with respect to reduced costs for
preparation of construction bids and contracts, less disturbance to the
schools and abutters, as well as the less change orders due to
overlapping/adjacent construction contracts.
Item No. 3 Proposed Project Phasing and Funding
• Rick Green described the funding proposed by the Town Manager to be able
to construct the project in a single phase. Initially, a request was submitted to
the Community Preservation Committee for$3 million this year with the intent
to submit another$3 million next fiscal year for the project. The Town
Manager thought it was best to revise the request to $6 million and construct
the project in a single phase with additional funding coming from other
sources to meet the estimated project cost of$8.75 million. The additional
funding aside from the $6 million from CPA includes $1.5 million in free cash
from the Town, $500,000 from the sports groups and $750,000 from
corporate donations. This approach utilizes funding from different user
groups and private entities rather than just CPA and Town funds.
Item No. 4 Renaming of Project
• Renaming of the project was raised by a member, Mary Beth Soucy of the
Community Preservation Committee at one of their meetings in which there
was discussion on CPC funding $6 million towards the project. She felt that
the words "Middle School" should be removed from the project title as this is
a community project and not just for the school. There was discussion in this
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Meeting No. 15 Minutes March 29, 2018
meeting about renaming the project, and the committee will consider
rebranding the project with a new name.
Item No. 5 Other Business
• Information from the meeting at the Atkinson School that was underway with
the Atkinson School principal and school committee members concurrently
with this meeting was communicated to Amy Mabley, who is also the Chair of
the School Committee. Concerns raised in this meeting included the size of
the proposed Atkinson School playground, a hard surface for students to use
and the location of the 2- 5 age group playground. The size of the proposed
playground was scaled off the conceptual drawing and was approximately
150' x 95'. It was noted that this playground was not part of the
redevelopment of the Middle School Fields complex but was part of the
design of the kindergarten building. The proposed paved area between the
proposed playground and existing Atkinson School scaled off approximately
150' long x 20' wide. There was discussion on the 2-5 age group playground
that it could be moved if necessary.
Item No. 6 Next Meeting
• The next meeting will be scheduled through email.
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