|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
SPENCER/EAST BROOKFIELD – The David Prouty High School Building Committee decided to embed the salvaged center court logo into the floor of the lobby and postpone addressing an exterior Panther head sign until later in the project.
At the April 15 meeting, board members talked about a few options, including an earlier proposal totaling $37,680 to take the salvaged center court logo, frame it in metal and bolt it into the concrete wall at the gym.
During a brainstorming session, teacher Tab Bassett suggested putting it in the floor of the gym lobby rather than hanging it.
Options include doing a scan of the item and setting into the floor ($10,000) or embedding the actual logo into the floor “perfectly flush with the new tile floor going in there” ($27,000), said Kristian Whitsett of Jones Whitsett Architects.
He said the logo would be treated with finish just as you would with the rest of the wood floor.
School Committee Chair Jason Monette said he preferred the idea of having the “actual salvaged piece,” in the floor rather than a scan.
Interim High School Principal Sara Kinnas said a picture may not “carry the same nostalgia,” as the preserved logo.
Superintendent Paul Haughey noted his concern has been about the heavy weight of the object and whether bolting it would be sufficient to hold it long-term.
“It’s smarter to lay it flat to be safe,” Haughey said.
Although the committee voted that option at $27,000, members preferred to postpone a decision about an approximately $35,000 exterior sign for the gym.
Building Committee chair Mike Ethier said they would be better off waiting to see if they could afford the exterior sign.
Haughey said he wanted the committee to re-visit the idea in the future because the Panther head sign made of aluminum cast is something the students wanted to see happen.
Ethier agreed they would address the sign, adding he wanted “due diligence with the renovation project first.”
The committee also proofread what Whitsett jokingly called “the most important decision of the entire project,” the plaque to be put at the entry vestibule.
The plaque lists the School Committee and Building Committee members and is made of etched stainless steel mounted on a Plexiglas back with a graphic of the school at the bottom.
A time capsule will be placed behind the plaque.
It was noted that both former principal Nate Malone and current interim principal Sara Kinnas are listed as Building Committee members on the plaque.
In other business, the committee approved $273,504 worth of change orders. The larger items included $186,562 right of way changes required by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT). The scope of the work along route 9 is expanded, Whitsett said.
He explained it requires more mill and overlay pavement in front of the entire high school and adjacent sidewalk layout and curbing. The price does not include night shift work that MassDOT may require, he said.
Other larger ticket items were $30,837 for added millwork on upper cabinets at the pre-K section; $11,045 for four additional building management system (BMS) control panels; and $12,182 associated with salvaged light fixtures. It was found that the circuitry is different from the voltage of the new building and this amount covers just phase 1, the architect said.
In late April, early May, high school students will tour the school in groups of 100. Monette said an earlier middle school walk through helped changed the minds of some kids who were thinking of going elsewhere for the older grades.
The next meeting will be held on May 22 at the Wire Village School/Zoom at 6 p.m.
