OPINION: Medfield Resident Encourages View WC Meeting Before STM

Medfield MA

04 November, 2021

10:30 PM

Description

OPINION... One thing that I believe all Medfield residents can agree on, is that we have a great Warrant Committee that are unbiased and do amazing work for this town. Since August, the Warrant Committee has worked tirelessly collecting information and meeting with all of the various groups related to the new school. There is little doubt that they are the best source for unbiased, fact-based knowledge on the new school project. On Tuesday night, this committee met and discussed every aspect of this vote and included all of the factual information. I have included a link to this meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJKRxobhJmc While it is a 2-hour meeting, I strongly urge everyone to watch the video in its entirety. Whatever your vote is on Sunday, it should be based on factual information, not the misleading information posted over Facebook. Given how important this vote is to this town, I truly believe that every voter owes it to the children of Medfield, and to their fellow taxpayers (especially those on tight budgets) to fully understand the facts of this decision before casting a vote. This meeting provides that information. While I hope as many people as possible can watch the entire video, I have included my own Cliff Notes below (still long, but not 2 hours). To start, I want to highlight a statement made by Ed Vozzella, Medfield Warrant Committee Member: "One of the benefits of having people against this location, was that they raised many questions that we had to answer… The potential issues were either not issues or could be mitigated. Despite the facts being presented, we continue to see misleading statements being given to the public and that is very disheartening. We finally have a long-awaited opportunity to take advantage of the MSBA financial contribution, we have historically low interest, and we can avoid future cost increases by doing this now. Let's get going!" A No Vote is More Expensive: If we vote no, the cost will be considerably higher in 3-5 years. Steve Callahan estimated that a 5-year delay would increase the cost by $29.4 million. This assumes modest inflation and interest increases, and it assumes that we are able to hit the lottery again with MSBA funding. So it could be much worse. This topic of a no vote being much more costly was raised many times during the meeting. But Steve's analysis starts at about the 48 minute mark. At 1:16:00, Kristine Barton says, "We are looking at a much more expensive vote if we vote no." Dale Location is Too Small, Would Not Cost Less, and Adds No Educational Benefits: Quoting at 00:40:50, Steve Callahan had the following to say about the Dale location, "My own due diligence of the facts around Dale Street, clearly show that Arrowstreet and the SBC struggled with the tight space, and designing for the parking spaces and open space, the site circulation for buses and cars, playgrounds, the fire rescue or access road. I personally don't think these issues will go away with a different architect or team." At 00:41:25, Steve continues, "The educational benefits and advantages of the Wheelock site have been well articulated. I have heard no such educational benefits or advantages of a Dale Street site put forward. So I do think that the SBC and the Select Board made the right decision for site selection." Furthermore, at 00:47:20 Steve Callahan concluded that the Dale at Dale options would not cost less than the options studied by the SBC. He also disagreed with the analysis that there was excess space at Wheelock or Blake to house the students during Dale construction. Kristine Barton also described the problems with the Dale location at the 1:09:00 mark. Her analysis includes the lack of space, the $5 - 8 million cost of the temporary modulars to house the kids during construction (which is not reimbursable by the MSBA), as well as the massive disruption to the kids during the lengthy rebuilding process. She noted that the rebuilding process at Dale would be longer due to the demolition of the existing building. Educational Benefits of Wheelock: The most moving moment of the night was when Sharon Tatro (at 1:38:00) shared her personal story for why the campus model is a must for special education. A quote won't do this justice, so please listen for yourself. Throughout the meeting, the members describe the enthusiasm that the teachers had for the Wheelock location. Kristine Barton describes this at 1:10:40. At 00:27:00, Ed Vozzella says that the Elm Street location is the best location for the students. Water Quality Improved with YES Vote: At many points in the meeting, members discuss how the added water infrastructure will actually improve the groundwater. Steve Callahan's quote was "The proposed design of the storm-water plan of the Wheelock site will significantly improve the quality of the groundwater and help to better protect our groundwater for wells 3 and 4." Steve discusses the water at 34:40. Kristine discusses at 1:10:00. It was also noted that the school is not being built on a well protection area. Size of School Per Student is Small: At 00:45:40, Steve Callahan said, "The square foot per student is one of the lowest among recently designed schools." Costs are In-Line with other Projects: At the 44 minute mark, Steve Callahan said, "We are not an outlier on cost per square foot or cost per student for recently approved projects." This is despite the costs of this school including water infrastructure (which is required with or without the new school) and the school being "net zero", which will save the town money over time. Larger Enrollment is a Relatively Cheap Investment for Long-Term Flexibility: Members of the Warrant Committee made the following points regarding the required enrollment: The MSBA mandated the enrollment and would not reimburse the $19.6 million without this enrollment size The extra size caused by the added enrollment is only 3-4 classrooms at a cost of about $3 million. So it cost $3 million to save $19.6 million. At 1:46:25, Sharon Tatro discusses why she is okay with this enrollment size. She mentions how Medfield is one of only a few towns that doesn't have full day kindergarten due to a lack of space at Memorial. She noted that this was caused by an earlier town decision to go with an option for a smaller school size for Memorial instead of opting for more space. She also discusses that enrollment goes in cycles so a larger school would prepare Medfield for a spike in enrollment. Finally she mentions that while there are 600 less kids in Medfield at present - that is spread across K-12. However, individual grade sizes differ and some of the larger classes require more space. Therefore, the $3 million is an investment that creates more flexibility for the town. The Future Use of Dale & Increasing the Vitality of Downtown: At 00:41:50, Steve Callahan says, "Potentially there are several uses for the Dale Street building. It can be demolished, senior housing, use by Park & Rec, or even a combination of those." He continued to say, "The building can always be demoed and abated for $1.9 million and I think it is appropriate to use that cost today in evaluating this article." In regards to Park & Rec moving into the Dale Street building, Bob Sliney said, "The vitality of the town center would be enhanced with a 365 day community center that is servicing the entire community." Open Space: Open space was discussed at 00:54:20. Ed Vozzella stated that the 4 acres that the school at Wheelock would occupy, only amounts to 0.12% of Medfield's total open space. Bob Sliney went a step further to say that Medfield's "Open Space and Recreation Report" does not even consider playing fields as open space. That report notes that an impressive 33% of Medfield is protected open space. None of that 33% would be used to build a school at Wheelock. To conclude: A memorable quote from the night was from Bob Sliney: "This school needs to be replaced and needs to be replaced now." (1:31:10) Whatever your vote may be on Sunday, let it be based on factual information. And thanks again to the Warrant Committee for their time and great efforts to provide it. Matt Biggar, 2 Jacob Cushman Drive, Medfield