Mansfield P&ZC to Continue School Building Project Talks Next Month

After nearly an hour of discussion Monday night, Mansfield's Planning & Zoning Commission decided to continue talks about the town's school building project referral in August.

Members of the town council and Mansfield Board of Education attended Monday's meeting in an effort to address the concerns raised during the .

The commission must now report back to the council by August 20 in order to meet the statutory requirements for reporting within 35 days of Monday's meeting, according to Linda Painter, Mansfield's director of planning and development.

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The council's :

• Renovations to the Mansfield Middle School;

• Construction of two new elementary schools on the Goodwin and Vinton sites, including demolition of the existing buildings and the acquisition of adjacent property if necessary; and

• Closure of Southeast Elementary school, the future use of which is undetermined at this time, according to town records.

"With a net cost of $35.9 million and state reimbursement rate of 45.4 percent, the town council and board of education believe that among the many options that were considered, the proposed project would provide the town with the best return on investment, particularly for the long-term twenty-plus years," Mansfield Mayor Elizabeth Paterson told the commission Monday.

"The project would allow the school district to maintain the scalable student-teacher ratio and to enhance the curriculum while realizing the significant savings in energy, administrative and maintenance expenditures," Paterson said.

Some members of the commission, however, were not convinced.

"I find it very hard to believe that you can build a school during the course of the school year without it being disruptive to students in school," said P&ZC member Barry Pociask. "I think you should attack one school at a time," Pociask said. "I think that's the best thing to do."

P&ZC Chair Jo Ann Goodwin told those in attendance that she was "having problems" with the council's siting selection.

"Southeast seems to be a very logical site," Goodwin said. "The roadway is probably the best, traffic is the lowest, the fields are there, the library's there...," she said.

Paterson then explained that the locations were chosen based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, population, the number of single family homes in those areas and each site's surroundings, but the council's proposal was ultimately put on hold.

The commission's next meeting will be held in August at a date yet to be determined.