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How will the overall project benefit the South Portland community? |
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The Proposed Project will: |
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Develop a community campus encompassing the state of the art auditorium and community center with an updated high school building. |
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Provide much needed additional gym space and multi-use fields for high school and community athletics. |
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Provide library access for students and the public after school hours and on weekends. |
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Improve the traffic flow and circulation on Mountain View Avenue and Highland Avenue providing continuous emergency access around the campus. |
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Library Spaces |
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A new library will be constructed within the new classroom wing, and will replace the current library adjacent to Mountain View Road. |
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Unlike the existing library, it will be located within the heart of the new school to optimize access for all students and faculty. |
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The new library will be served by the new Night Entry for convenient public access after school and on weekends. |
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Performance and Music Facilities |
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The existing auditorium is the cornerstone of the performing arts program at the high school. |
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The scope of the proposed renovations is intended to improve the operation of all aspects of these departments and related instructional spaces. |
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In order to better serve the proposed high school expansion, new construction has been proposed in locations that alter the current day-to-day operations, such as existing lobby space and deliveries of materials. |
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It is the intent to offer equal or better access to all performing arts spaces. This will include expanding the existing main lobby for public use after hours, as well as improving access to the new cafeteria as staging for performances, and for intermissions. |
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The proposed renovations include money to improve air quality within the existing auditorium. |
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Why renovate the high school and not the middle schools? |
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The state school construction application criteria were examined. |
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Area district schools approved for state funded construction were compared to the criteria and to the South Portland School Department projects at the middle and high schools. |
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The SSFC determined that a greater probability of some state funding existed for the middle schools. New applications for this project cannot be submitted at least until late 2007. |
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For the high school project it was determined that any state funding was highly unlikely and that to wait would only severely increase construction costs. |
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What happens if the voters do not approve the project? |
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High school accreditation will be impacted. |
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The cost of the eventual renovations will continue to climb. |
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Over the next five (5) years, more than $6,000,000 will need to be invested simply to address deferred building needs. |
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Other Impacts to the School and Tax Payers: (this work MUST be preformed even if the referendum fails): |
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Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permitting, site design, and site improvement projects to meet current storm water management regulations. |
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Investigate and correct existing ADA deficiencies. This will be very costly, and will involve renovations to bathrooms, locker rooms, elevator additions, changes to exterior entrances, and new signage to name a few. |
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Replace obsolete mechanical systems to improve air quality and correct code deficiencies with the electrical and life-safety systems. |
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Continued asbestos abatement associated with annual maintenance projects. |
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Remove and replace the existing Beal Gym bleachers. The gym will no longer be able to hold the entire school population due to the reduction in seating capacity to meet ADA and life-safety requirements. |
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The inefficient old buildings will remain costly to heat. |
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Student learning needs will be negatively impacted by the lack of adequate space, facilities to accommodate curriculum needs, and technological enhancements necessary to prepare the next generation. |
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Why build now vs. later? |
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Renovations and additions are unavoidable. |
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The building project must be realized as soon as possible as the costs climb dramatically if the project is deferred to a later date. |
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Fiscal and educational stewardship require immediate action. |
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Why are we adding a new gymnasium? What will happen to the Beal Gymnasium? |
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Existing Beal Gym Deficiencies |
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The original Beal Gym was constructed in 1956, and is largely unchanged with the exception of life-safety systems (means of egress, fire alarm system, and sprinkler system) annual maintenance. There are two levels-the first floor housing the basketball court, concessions and offices, and the lower level housing locker rooms, public bathrooms, storage spaces, offices and mechanical spaces.
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Barrier-free access to the lower level is currently achieved by a “wheelchair lift”. This method is no longer acceptable to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
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There are many functional and operational problems with the old gym, along with the challenges of supervising an athletic facility on two levels.
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This 50-year-old building is in need of substantial renovations. In most cases, all building systems need to be removed and replaced entirely.
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There is a lack of gym time, both within the school and with the Parks and Recreation Department, and students frequently finish their activities very late in the evening.
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Existing Beal Gym Bleachers |
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Based on a preliminary ruling by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the original bleachers must be removed and replaced as part of the overall scope of renovations. This will reduce the current seating capacity by 20-25%, and will add substantial cost to the scope.
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Space requirements for modern bleacher systems will reduce seating capacities in order to accommodate the proper rise and run of steps, exit aisles, wheel chairs and companion seating, and new guardrails. The existing bleachers do not address any of these requirements.
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Scope of Beal Gym Renovations |
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The goal for the Beal Gym is to undergo extensive renovations to meet the 40-year life span consistent with new construction proposed for other parts of the project. However, based on the magnitude of deficiencies, the cost for renovating Beal Gym is very high and nearly equal to the new construction costs.
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In order to meet spatial deficiencies, new additions to the rear of the gym are necessary and add to the cost.
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Early studies included an elevator and other ADA upgrades, roof replacement, structural upgrades, and the replacement of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. This was a very expensive solution.
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The Secondary Schools Facility Committee is committed to providing an end product that will meet current and future educational needs while balancing costs. Based on the deficiencies and high renovation cost, it was decided that a new gym facility would better serve the students and public.
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The existing Beal Gym will remain an active facility, and an historic structure within the neighborhood.
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The upper gym level will undergo only minor renovations, and the lower locker room level will remain unchanged and will be converted to storage. |
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As a benefit to all users, Beal Gym will function as a secondary gym support space, primarily for physical education classes, after school practice, and for general community use.
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Benefits of a New Gym |
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The new Gym and supporting spaces will be located closer to the outdoor playfields, and locker rooms will have on grade access without having to cross busy public access drives. |
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It will be located adjacent to the new cafeteria and kitchen to support half-time or intermissions, and have a new dedicated night lobby entrance for after-hours use. |
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The gym and supporting spaces (locker rooms, team rooms) will be constructed on a single level when compared to the Beal Gym that has two levels. This improves the day-to-day efficiencies of use, and is better monitored by staff. |
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It will also be equipped with modern, energy-efficient systems that will result in better air quality, and cost savings with heating and power usage. |
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The entire new gym facility will be designed to meet current state, local and federal design standards specific to handicapped accessibility, building and life-safety codes. |
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New bleachers will accommodate the entire school population, town meetings and graduation ceremonies. The additional gym space combined with the existing Beal Gym would allow student activities to end earlier in the evening. |
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How will this affect Parking? |
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Parking will be improved and better organized as requested by the City, and will meet local criteria for parking space sizes and aisle widths.
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New lots will be redistributed to better serve all users, including visitors who require barrier-free spaces near the new main entry.
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Why replace the Annex Wing? |
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The original North Annex constructed in 1960, and was designed to connect the Original Building to Beal Gymnasium.
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The structure is three stories, and is home to science labs, computer rooms and classrooms.
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Buildings from this era are very light structurally, inefficient, and inexpensive.
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To date, the building requires very high level of maintenance, and has outlived its intended lifespan. The school district spends considerable money and resources annually to address leaking wall systems, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems.
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In addition, many parts of the building do not comply with current barrier-free design and life safety requirements.
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The goal for the Annex is to undergo extensive renovations to meet the 40-year life span consistent with new construction proposed for other parts of the project. To do this, an extensive analysis was performed. The analysis included review of structural deficiencies, soils and ground water infiltration, building systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing), life safety, handicapped accessibility, exterior wall systems, insulation, and interior components (doors, finishes, casework).
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A detailed estimate of probable cost was performed comparing renovation costs to new construction. Based on the quantity and magnitude of deficiencies, physical limitations within the existing building infrastructure, and related cost to upgrade these systems, it was less expensive to demolish and rebuild the North Annex than to renovate it.
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Why is the Work needed on the High School? |
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Simply stated, the buildings are at the point in their life cycle when they need significant renovations and upgrades |
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Original Building - 1952, 55 years old |
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Beal Gym - 1955, 52 years old |
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North Annex - 1963, 44 years old |
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Library - 1989, 18 years old |
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Auditorium - 1996, 11 years old |
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Most systems last 20-40 years depending on type and maintenance given. |
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Long time since building met codes |
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Don't have appropriate space for our educational programs |
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Security |
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Traffic flows for cars, busses and pedestrians poor |
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Is a new High School going to be built on the current Mahoney site? |
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No. The Mahoney site is only 3.7 acres and could not possibly accommodate a high school of a size that is necessary for South Portland.
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Were other sites within the city considered for a better locastion for a new school? |
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An exhaustive search for a new site yielded no viable alternatives to the current site. Neither Wainwright nor the Golf Course are available as school buildings sites. |
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Wainwright Fields |
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Factors imacting the use of Wainwright fields as buildable land were the poor soil quality and the land being needed for recreational use. The SSFC has been informed by the City that Wainwright fields would not be an available site for the High School. |
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Golf Course |
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There are actually a number of issues that impacted the consideration of the golf course as a potential site for the High School. |
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The consideration that the golf course revenues offset city budgetary items. The city manager has indicated that it is one of the only true revenue providers in the city. The revenues are used to support recreation expenditures. The city does not support eliminating the golf course as a revenue source |
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The concern of congestion on that end of South Portland is a major concern. Skillin School is our largets elementary school with over 400 students. Adding a 1200 student high school and potentially a 700 student consolidated middle school would locate over half of our school population in a one block area. Just the traffic issues in the area indicated this would not be a feasible location. |
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The issue of the original funding was a consideration. The original funding was supported through a Land and Water conservation grant. The repayment would actually be around $200,000. while that in itself would be a "good deal" to purchase land, the other issues and the projected cost of a new construction, around $60-65 million for square footage similar to the proposed plan, forced us to disregard the golf course as a potential site. |
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The plan that is proposed while certainly expensive, is actually our most fiscally responsible option. |
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What are the issues with the existing Site Topography? |
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The site is host to considerable grade changes. The existing grade changes approximately 45 feet from its highest point its lowest. This makes drainage, building and site development costly and in some locations, impractical.
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How will this affect public access to and from the site? |
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Access to the site will remain largely unchanged. |
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The main access drive to the site adjacent to Beal Gym will continue to feed the site for public access, service and delivery vehicles. |
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What are the environmental permitting issues on the site? |
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The new impervious areas of the proposed High School equaling approximately 8-acres will require a DEP Site Location Permit, including the adjacent Community Center.
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Will the construction require the use of temporary classrooms? |
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Temporary classrooms will be needed for a portion of the construction period. |
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The total of temporary classroom count is low, and will be needed for only one school calendar year. |
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The portable classrooms will be located conveniently near the Original Building entrance, and will incorporate heated connections to the main body of the school. |
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How will storm water runoff be treated on the site? |
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By the new 2005 DEP rules, stormwater treatment is governed by water quality more than quantity. Any new treatment pond designed to capture and treat new surface runoff must also be sized for any existing surface runoff (both paved and grass) that happens to enter it. Therefore, it will be important to separate the runoff from existing and new surfaces, as much as possible. |
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In addition, the impact of the new High School development and the past Community Center development on the downstream Portland Pipeline Company land will need to be evaluated in the DEP permit. |
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The existing detention pond near Nutter Road could likely be left in its present condition, according to DEP, as long as it is only used to treat the storm water from Highland Avenue and from any pre-1975 existing High School or Recreation Center impervious areas. |
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This will require providing additional storm treatment for the Community Center’s 1999 impervious areas. A new 1/3-acre wet pond could be built east of the baseball field near Nutter Road, to treat the new tennis courts, field hockey, pavements, and the easterly section of the new school building. This seems to be the only sizable area where a treatment pond can be located. |
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A significant amount of ledge blasting and removal will be needed for this pond construction. |
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