Three community center schemes finalized for December vote

The Community Center Building Committee on November 15 eliminated one of the two 75% options that had been under consideration and will present the three final plans (100%, 75% and 50%) for a “preferred option” vote at the Special Town Meeting on December 2. 

Whichever option wins will be sent on for developing more detailed plans and cost estimates ahead of an Annual Town Meeting and ballot box vote in March to approve bonding to fund construction.

Until last month, there were two options priced at about $18.75 million (75% of the maximum price of the earlier $25 million estimate), one with two stories and the other with just one. The committee voted to discard the two-story 75% option and asked ICON architects to develop a second 75% option that would include renovation of the LEAP pod.

On November 14, architects presented the latest versions of the four options, and the following night, they removed what was being called the “75% B” option from consideration. That scheme was eliminated largely because it would have moved the play area that’s now behind the pods farther northeast into the hillside. The architects and committee members agreed that the “75% A” option was better because it allowed for more green space. 

The 100% and 50% design schemes are essentially unchanged from earlier meetings. The 50% option has no activity room, and the multipurpose and fitness rooms are smaller than in other options while the mechanical room is larger because there isn’t any attic space.

“When I look at the 50% plan I kind of cringe — the square footage for the community center is so shrunk. I don’t see how anybody can truly enjoy the space because everybody would be tripping over each other,” Lori Leo said at the November 14 presentation. Leo is the director of Magic Garden but is not on the CCBC.

On December 2, the option that wins a majority after a ranked-choice voting procedure (first by ballot then by standing vote) will advance. The vote to fund the project in March must win a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting and a simple majority at the ballot box a few days later.