Talk on new school specifics delayed

Talk on new school specifics delayed

Christine Smith TEMPLETON — Word on both the preliminary plans for the site layout of the proposed new Templeton Elementary School Building as well as how engineers will incorporate the treatment of stormwater run-off after construction will have to wait at least another two weeks. Only minutes into the meeting, Planning Board members agreed to continue the public hearings on both issues until July 12 after learning that the town’s contracted engineering firm Whitman & Bingham Associates had been unable to review the engineering specifications and would not be in attendance. According to Planning Depart­ment Assistant Carl Giacobone, engineers for both the town and the Narragansett Regional School District are in the midst of final reviews of the footprint of the new school building in relation to playground, parking and drop off and pick up areas on the 3 acre site located between South and Wellington roads. The town’s Planning Depart­ment is hoping the engineers will come to some agreement concerning the layout before the July 12 meeting. The state Department of Environmental Protection requires a plan for all properties over 1 acre for addressing water-run off. Giacobone said most large-scale projects of this size seek to direct all water run-off into the ground where it can disseminate into the water table below. The $47 million school building project received voter approval last November and in March of this year the town agreed to spend $500,000 to begin work on the feasibility studies and schematic designs for the site. The existing 12,450-square-foot Templeton Center School building was  constructed in 1941. A study conducted by the Massachusetts School Building Authority in July 2015 pointed to problems with overcrowding and small classrooms, accessibility, and a lack of fire sprinklers, as well as issues with heating, ventilation, plumbing and electricity systems. There were also documented problems with Baldwinville Elementary School, which will also be replaced by the new school. Actual designs for the new school building are expected later this year.