Selectboard discusses STM planning
BELCHERTOWN – The Selectboard discussed logistical matters related to the Special Town Election on June 17, 2024, and Special Town Meeting on June 24, 2024, which will determine whether voters support the construction of a new Jabish Brook Middle School.
The election will be a referendum to determine whether to build the school and the meeting would vote on the same subject.
For the project to move forward, the election and town meeting would have to be in favor of the project. If the item fails in the election, the town meeting could be cancelled.
Town Manager Steve Williams said the town received a quote on renting a tent that can hold 2,000 people.
“Once everything is together, we’re going to come back to the table and try to come up with the best plan. From what I can say now, we’re still in that $40,000 to $45,000 range,” he said.
Selectboard Chair Ed Boscher said he had concerns about the clickers available to the voters and said they should consider going back to the yes or no cards.
Williams said the town is under consideration for a secret ballot.
“We have a card box, the only downside to that is that we have to count before people leave,” he said. “That will allow full accountability for all the votes.” Selectboard member Peg Louraine said she supported clicker use versus a secret ballot.
“It’s just weird to have people sitting there for hours, we’ve had elections with that number of ballots and election workers have been in the building well after midnight,” she said.
Jabish Brook Middle School building project status
The Jabish Brook Middle School Building project began with the submission of a statement of interest to be part of the Massachusetts School Building Authority program. The town was invited into the eligibility period in 2020. Should the project move forward, by the fall of 2027, the district would have a new middle school housing 475 students.
The town is eligible to receive funding from the state for the building in the form of reimbursement, which has been estimated at 30 percent of the building construction.
The cost of the project has yet to be determined as details for the design haven’t been finalized yet.
The district submitted its Preferred Schematic Report to the MSBA late last month, a report which details the district’s preferred building solution which the MSBA will vote on in the coming months.
Jabish Brook Middle School is 50 to 60 years old and faces issues like a roof replacement, remediation of hazardous materials, bringing the building up to ADA compliance, and others.
The preferred option is for a new building, which would house 475 students in grades six through eight, according to the PSR. This design would also have the least impact to students, faculty, and staff because construction will be taking place further away from the current building. It would have a three-story academic area, one for each grade.
One financial unknown is regarding the soils on the campus property, which are “good for fill but not for building on,” according to Lamoureux Pagano Architects Project Manager Christopher Lee.
Should the project get approved, the district will close Cold Springs School, which is the district’s most expensive school to maintain, according to Belchertown School District Superintendent Brian Cameron in the October Jabish Brook Middle School public presentation.
