“06880” intern and Staples High School Inklings writer Charlotte Berner was at Tuesday’s Long Lots School Building Committee meeting. She reports:
Westporters had a chance last night to comment on the future of Long Lots Elementary School.
The Long Lots School Building Committee has not yet finalized a plan to renovate the 70-year-old building, or construct a new one.
The first 15 minutes of last night’s Town Hall meeting were open for public discussion. A work session followed; then came another public comment period.
Long Lots Building Committee members at Town Hall. (Photo/Charlotte Berner)
The main focus of comments in the packed meeting room involved how the building plan may interfere with the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve. Both are located just south of the school.
Over 20 residents noted the importance of the gardens to Westporters, described the significance they hold for the town, and voiced concerns about the gardens’ fate.
”The community garden was really never called up,” Gardens Committee member Toni Simonetti, said. “We basically got wind of what was happening. There was no official communication with us.”
The work session focused on the feasibility report for the school’s potential reconstruction options. These options include renovation, renovation with a building expansion, as well as a complete reconstruction of the school.
At the end of the work session, attendees said that the project’s digital map of school building options all covered the current Community Gardens.
However, committee members stressed that the area covering the gardens was a temporary placeholder. So far, they said, they have only addressed the building itself.
“We were going through and only looking at the building,” LLSBC member Srikanth Puttagunta said. “We did not suggest anything about where the gardens go, or whether they stay or move.”
Long Lots Elementary School … (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
“This meeting was to review the written content of the draft report,” LLSBC chair Jay Keenan said. “It allowed us to give our comments back to the design team in order to edit the report.”
“Which options are there, or are there any options for building the school or renovating the old school that includes keeping the gardens preserved?” Simonetti asked.
Similar questions were raised by many attendees.
Keenan replied, “At no time during any part of our process have we proposed eliminating the community gardens from the property.”
The LLSBC hopes to make a recommendation for the school’s reconstruction to First Selectwoman by the end of the month. Further review would come from the Board of Education, Representative Town Meeting, Board of Finance and other town bodies.
“We understand the challenges that may be associated with relocating different activities or programs on the property,” committee member and vice chair of the Board of Education Liz Heyer said.
“But at the end of the day, all the needs have to be balanced between what’s needed educationally, what’s needed recreationally and what’s needed for other community aspects such as the gardens.”
The next Long Lots Building Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 8 (6 p.m., Town Hall), to review design plans for different options.
… and the nearby Westport Community Gardens. (Drone photo/Franco Fellah)
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Moments ago, the Long Lots School Building Committee posted this on its Facebook page:
On August 1st, the committee reviewed a draft of the Feasibility Report which, when finalized, will include:
1. summary of sites studies and building assessments
2. preliminary building design plans based on educational requirements
3. architectural engineering and construction components
4. site design plans for building concepts
5. sustainability enhancements
6. pricing and construction timelines
Focus of the meeting was to provide comments to the content of above items #1, 3 & 5 in the report. Public comments were shared at the beginning and end of meeting.
Next meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 8th at 6pm at Town Hall (location TBD) to review design plans for the different building options.
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AT THIS STAGE, ALL DESIGN PLANS ARE EARLY DRAFTS AND WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE
Design plans for the building itself are being refined for the different options.
Site plans for surrounding elements (circulation, parking, gardens and fields) have not yet been presented (any site design plans that have accompanied building designs are solely for purpose of allocating space on the site).
Preliminary site plans for surrounding elements will be part of the Feasibility Report submitted in late August, but note that both the building and site design plans will still go through many iterations.
Over the course of the project, changes to preliminary building and site design plans will occur due to natural design and construction processes (further site testing, architectural engineering and construction developments, pricing constraints).
WE APPRECIATE YOUR ENGAGEMENT – PLEASE APPRECIATE THE LLSBC’S MANDATE TO EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS
We are working hard to balance the needs of all stakeholders – students, parents, community gardeners, recreational athletes, neighbors and all residents, as we continue to develop preliminary design plans. We are exploring all options to design an educationally excellent, sustainable, efficient and beautiful elementary school, while minimally impacting students and programming during construction, as well as minimizing costs for taxpayers.
The gardens and preserve will not be eliminated. We do recognize the effort involved in relocating gardens. We are exploring multiple options to determine what will be feasible. We are also partnering with Parks & Rec to ensure we maintain comparable field space at LLS or elsewhere in town.
There will be plenty of opportunity for public comment at town governing body meetings (BoE, BoS, BoF & RTM) when the Feasibility Report is shared in late August. Public comment is also welcome at the beginning of LLSBC meetings.