Community Corner

A Q&A on the Mansfield School Building Project

Residents submitted questions, Mansfield officials provided answers.

As Mansfield residents continue to weigh their options regarding the school building project, town officials took questions recently on the project and answered some of the most frequently asked ones.

The town council is expected to approve a conceptual project and refer its decision to the Thursday.

The special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the council chambers of the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building.

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Below are a few FAQS. [A complete list can be found in the attached PDF file.]

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Budget

Q: When a new school is built is anything used from the old school or does the cost include all new contents and equipment?

A: Most furniture and equipment would be new and therefore the cost would be subject to partial reimbursement from the State. However, if there is equipment and/or furnishing in the existing schools that are worth keeping, they would either be brought over to the new school or possibly used at the Middle School. For example, newer computers might be used to replace older/outdated computers at the Middle School. However, the schools have not replaced and/or purchased much equipment or furnishings in a number of years due to the consideration of building a new school and in light of budget cuts. An estimate is included for furniture & equipment in the “Soft Costs” line.

Q: Why were demolition costs and the expense of removing debris of razed schools not factored into the expense of new construction?

A: An estimate for demolition costs was included for demolishing two of the schools, approximately $640,000 each. The third school will remain after two sites have been selected. The potential re-use of the remaining school is unknown at this time.

Q: What is the operating cost impact on busing of having two rather than three schools?

A: There would be no increased cost to bus students to two schools vs. three.

Facilities

Q: Have accommodations been made for preschool rooms in the proposed new school option?

A: The programming and planning for the two school option envisions 2 P-K and 4 Kindergarten classrooms in each school.

Q: Has a list, detailing all the work to the three schools, categorized as an alteration, repair, code improvement, etc. been presented by Lawrence Associates?

A: No. Such a detailed list has not been prepared by The Lawrence Associates because this option was not requested to be studied by the School Building Committee. The list of alterations, repair and maintenance items was based on information provided by the Town of Mansfield Maintenance Department giving consideration to equipment, systems and components that might become deficient in the foreseeable future.

Q: Is there a timeline that depicts the schedule of repair and replacement expenses to be completed at the three elementary schools over the twenty year period referred to by Lawrence Associates? Would you also please provide the formula that was used to calculate estimated expenses over this long a period of time? Would you please include how the value of each anticipated expense was estimated, (materials and labor included), for a time period as distant as ten, fifteen, and twenty years?

A: Mansfield staff prepared best estimates as to what would be repaired or replaced by year for the first 5 years. Years 6 – 20 are yet to be determined based on conditions at that time. Current estimates for each item/project were escalated to reflect possible market costs at the time of replacement. These are ballpark estimates.

“Renovate-Like-New” Status

Q: Do these three schools meet the criteria for “like-new renovations”?

A: The three Mansfield elementary school do not meet the criteria for “Renovate-Like-New.” To qualify for “Renovate-Like-New” status, not less than 75% of the building must be at least 30 years old. Within the past 30 years, the Town has renovated at least 25% of each of the elementary schools.

Q: Has the town considered applying to the state for waivers for non-reimbursable expenses such as new boilers? Have the expenses for renovations been calculated with these potential savings in mind?

A: No consideration has been made to apply to the State for waivers for non-reimbursable expenses since these are clearly defined items and historically not subject to negotiation or waivers. Calculations have not been made with any such potential savings in mind since they are never allowed.

Q: Were there discussions with the Bureau regarding the town’s ability to qualify for “Renovate-Like-New” status and the higher reimbursement rate?

A: Yes, on Dec. 22, 2011 a letter from Cherie Trahan was sent to Paige Farnham requesting clarification and confirmation of what reimbursement rate we could expect for each of the options being considered. On Dec. 28, 2011, Fred Baruzzi, Tom DiMauro, Rick Lawrence, and Cherie Trahan met at the Department of School Facilities in Hartford with Paige Farnham, George Semenec, Bud Salemi, Deputy Commissioner, DCS and Kevin Kopetz, Legal, DAS to have our questions answered. Paige discussed the fact that there was brand new legislation and guidelines for implementation which were not in place yet for how we could qualify for the higher reimbursement rate. The discussion revealed that due to the age of our schools and the most recent renovations, we are not eligible for “Renovate-Like-New” status and therefore would not qualify for the higher reimbursement rate anyway. Based on this meeting, we prepared estimates for all options at the lower reimbursement rate so that we did not over-state the cost to the town. We will continue to revisit this with the State.


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