Last week, the Long Lots School Building Committee voted unanimously in favor of “Concept C.” The plan — one of 6 proposed for the elementary school project — includes construction of a new building on the site of the current baseball field.
A new diamond, in turn, would be developed where the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve are now located. A new garden would be built behind the site of the current school.
Long Lots Elementary School Plan C. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
Gardeners and their supporters say it is impossible to reconstruct the 20 years of work and growth — not to mention the soil itself — that’s been put into the 120-plot garden.
Why, they wonder, did Building Committee members — many of whom spoke fondly of the gardens — not consider “Concept C-Alt”? That option would build the new school in the same place as C. However, the garden would remain (with a new soccer field next to it).
Under “C-Alt,” the baseball field could be built behind the present school. The diamond could also be moved to a different location elsewhere in town, if one could be found.
Long Lots Elementary School Plan C-Alt. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
“06880” asked all 7 LLSBC members why they favored “C” over “C-Alt.”
Two responded. They said:
Liz Heyer: “As the Board of Education representative on the committee, I believe that option ‘C’ meets both the requirements and spirit of the educational specifications and will deliver an exceptional new elementary school, while balancing the impacts of all other considerations on the property.
“The challenge with ‘C-Alt’ is the incremental project cost, and the risks associated with placing the field in an area with extreme variations in topography and existing drainage.
“I love and value the Community Gardens. However, as a Building Committee member responsible to Westport taxpayers, I can’t presume and recommend that taxpayers should incur an additional $2.3 million on an already costly project, especially given the many capital projects on the horizon.
“Ultimately, the town governing bodies are responsible for deciding what is in the best interest of the town. And as stated at the meeting, the feasibility option is a work in progress, not a final design plan for construction. Aspects of the project can and may need to change in the design stage.
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Don O’Day: “Concept C keeps every field and the Gardens, but in a rebuilt form. I am not insensitive or unaware of the impact of a do-over for the Community Gardens after 18 years of work. The Gardens are truly impressive, and a rebuild does mean destruction. I get that, and I’m sorry for it.
“Concept C-Alt does show the Gardens in the same place, with a multi-purpose field in the area behind the old school. This cost to build such a field is approximately $2.5 million, and its success is not certain given the topography of the area. It is easier to build a new Garden in that area, as the need for total space and for the land to be almost entirely level is less than that for a field.
“Importantly, all fields and the Garden will be closed for 2 years and certainly subject to damage. That concept doesn’t seem to be accepted but it is the result of building a new school on a relatively small footprint while maintaining the existing school for 600 children and staff.
“It is an objective decision for the greater good, in my opinion. So, that’s why I chose C over C-Alt.”
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(Click here for the full feasibility study.)