Fact or Fiction?

Elementary school costs to be finalized

Early calculations during the ongoing planning stages of the structural design have been right on target up to this point. Christine Smith News Correspondent TEMPLETON — As detailed plans get more specific for the new Templeton Elementary School, a much closer figure on the actual construction costs will be calculated by the end of August, Architect Joel Seeley of Symmes Maini & McKee Ass­ociates told School Building Committee members on Wed­nesday. Seeley said early calculations during the ongoing planning stages of the structural design have been right on target up to this point, but planners are looking toward these final estimates that will come in as the design piece of the project nears its end stages, after construction and finish materials are determined, and as preliminary project bids come in. The overall project cost cannot exceed the total $47.6 million approved by voters last year. Of that cost, $22.7 million in funding has been promised by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, leaving $24.8 million remaining to be paid for by the taxpayers of Templeton. Plans include a three-story building that will house the cafeteria and gymnasium on the ground floor along with the prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first-grade classes, classrooms for the second and third grades on the second floor, and special education, fourth- and fifth-grade classes on the third floor. Art and music classes are planned for both the ground and third floors and a media room for the second floor. The building will be pushed back to a centrally located spot behind the current elementary school, with a sign and a flag pole near the granite curb and steps leading up to the entry on the South Road side of the building. The old elementary school and its concrete slab foundation will be removed during the beginning stages of the project. The Gladys Salame Play­ground will be relocated to the north side of the front lawn area, while a basketball court will be installed nearby, and new play areas will be added to the south side of the new school. School Building Committee members are considering the type of surfacing for these play areas, and they visit other schools in Massachusetts where synthetic materials were used before making their final decision at their next meeting on July 26. Parking will be incorporated at both extremes of the school site, with a larger lot extending the complete southerly side with access from both South and Wellington roads. Currently the project is being reviewed by the Planning Board, which has been looking largely at the treatment and release of the stormwater from the site as well as the footprint of the design. The proposal requires the Planning Board’s approval, and discussion on the stormwater mitigation, as well as parking and bus drop-off and pickup, will continue at the board’s hearing scheduled for July 26. Templeton’s Project Manager Tim Alex from Colliers International noted that road striping along South and Wellington roads to redirect traffic into a one-way pattern around the school will cost between $2,000 and $3,000. He said the purchase of new traffic signs and the cost of putting them up were priced at $3,500-$4,000, but school building planners are hoping that the Department of Public Works can install the signs and save some of this cost. A permanent widening of the radius at the corner of Well­ington and Dudley roads will require two trees near the edge of road and within the town’s easement to be removed, said Alex. Alex noted that planners will have to be sensitive to property owners’ concerns regarding the loss of these trees and work with them to come up with a solution that may involve planting of new ones farther away from the road. Final general contractor bids on the project are expected by late November and a contract awarded by December. Site construction is scheduled to begin in late December or January and should last about 18 months until completion. During the months of construction, funds for the project will be paid through a combination of short-term borrowing and reimbursements from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The town is expected to enter into a long-term bond agreement beginning in fiscal 2019, after the project is completed. The cost to taxpayers for the bond will be about $1.74 per $1,000 of assessed valuation of a home.