By Alice Waugh
As Lincoln girds for a second go-round on trying to get a school building project approved by voters, the School Committee is creating a School Building Project Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) and is seeking volunteers for that new group.
The CAC’s charge is to propose two to four possible pathways for addressing the needs of the school, describe the scope of each, and submit a report to the School Committee by October or November 2013, according to a statement issued by School Committee chair Jennifer Glass after its May 16 meeting, when it voted to authorize the new group. “Proposed pathways will be considered by the School Committee and a future School Building Committee as starting points for future design/project development,” the statement said.
The new group will have no funding or official role if the town is invited back into the process for seeking state design approval and funding for a school building project.
“This is really just our own creation,” Glass said in a phone conversation this week. “The thinking was that it’s important to have a composition that’s more objective and not tied to the school.” The group will also not have any members from the town’s Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee or Capital Planning Committee, she said.
Town officials submitted a new statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in April, and they expect to hear sometime this fall whether they’re invited to proceed with a feasibility study, which would result in detailed plans and cost estimates. While the town awaits that response, the CAC will “develop concrete suggestions” that the School Committee might incorporate into a new feasibility study, the statement said.
The CAC will consist of up to four community members with architecture and/or construction experience to be chosen by the School Committee; up to four at-large members appointed by town moderator Sarah Cannon Holden; and up to four members of the School Committee and/or the former School Building Committee. The CAC will select its own chair and schedule its own meetings, which must meet in public venues in accordance with state Open Meeting Law. The School Committee will announce the meetings and suggests that at least one to two meetings are held per month.
The Lincoln Campus Coalition, a group including several Lincoln architects and others, has already presented some ideas, including the L-shaped proposal that was ultimately denied funding by the MSBA.
In developing proposed pathways, the CAC committee will seek input from relevant boards and host public forums to consider topics such as:
- How will renovations support/improve education and position the school for the future?
- How can a renovated building support after-hours community use?
- How should a renovation address Lincoln’s green energy goals? (i.e., do we want to consider a solar canopy such as L-S is going to install?)
- What kinds of campus renovations are important for supporting both school and recreational use of the campus (fields/parking/roadways)?
Anyone interested in serving on the CAC should submit a letter of interest by May 30 to Jennifer Glass at schoolcomm@lincnet.org and/or Holden at sarahcannonholden@yahoo.com. The School Committee will review applications and make appointments to the CAC at its next meeting on June 6, Glass said.