Clarksburg Select Board Accepts School Roof Bid, Debates Next Steps
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Select Board last week accepted a bid by D.J. Wooliver & Sons to do the flat roof on the elementary school.
Wooliver was the lowest bid at about $400,000 but cautioned that the cost may rise depending on the conditions once the work started. The work will depend on town meeting approving a borrowing for the project and a possible debt exclusion.
But how much borrow and whether the work will be worth it has been a conundrum for town and school officials. The condition of the school has been a major topic at meetings of the board and the School Committee over the past few months.
Town officials are considering putting the question to the voters — try to piecemeal renovations or begin a new study on renovating or building a new school.
In the meantime, the leaking roof has prompted an array of buckets throughout the school.
"Until they actually get in there and start ripping everything up, we won't really know the extent of all the damage per se so it's really kind of hard to make a decision," board member Colton Andrew said at last week's meeting, broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television.
Board member Daniel Haskins wondered if it would be better to patch until a town made a decision on a school project or do a portion of the roof. But Chair Robert Norcross disagreed.
"I really feel we should do the whole thing," he said. "I wish we knew what the future would bring ... I feel until we know we should stay on the same track we are because the kids are still going to have to go there for at least the next couple years no matter what happens."
Town Administrator Ronald Boucher pointed out the school was a town building and it was up to the town to maintain it.
Resident Thomas Bona, who has been a resource for smaller projects undertaken at the school, thought the price for the roof was "honest." "I think do the whole thing, not piece it," he said.
Supertintendent John Franzoni, who also attended the meeting, said there have been more problems in recent weeks. Officials are looking to have someone come into the school to provide and assessment of what needs to be done.
He also noted that the local enrollment has been risen and school choice declined significantly over the past few years. "That warrants taking the time and effort to take care of the building," he said.
The board voted to accept Wooliver's bid to replace the flat roof (not the roof on the 1970s addition) and discuss how to pay for it at the next meeting.
The Select Board also voted to focus on the school for the next Americans with Disabilities grant application. ADA Committee has twice unsuccessfully applied grants. Norcross said they advice they'd gotten back was to focus on one building rather than three — Senior Center, Town Hall and school. He recommended making the bathrooms at the school accessible.
Andrews and Haskins were unsure because discussions on the future of the school complicated decisions. Norcross agreed it was a catch-22 but is a town building. Boucher pointed out it would not cost the town much more than the match.
In other business, the board voted to provide a letter of support for the next grant application for the ongoing Municipal Vulnerability Program. Planning for the town field and the four corners to address wetlands and public use was completed in the first phase.
• The board had a discussion with members of the Briggsville Water District, a private water provider that supplies homes and buildings along a stretch of River Road, including Town Hall.
The district is under a consent decree to hire a qualified operator, which it has been unable find, and undertake other actions. It recently was awarded a grant toward a reservoir system. It is asking for help from the town and was asked to come up with a plan that can be presented at town meeting.
