Oak Point architects reviewed a draft of the concept design for the proposed new school in Jefferson with school board members, members of the Building Committee and town citizens on Feb. 4.
They showed the schematic of where the main school building might best be located on present school grounds in relation to ball fields and parking areas. Oak Point President Robert Tillotson described how the school could be placed on the existing Jefferson Village School site. The back half of the gymnasium would be buried, he said, and would have a lot less impact visually. The location of the middle school playground can go in a couple possible areas.
The bulk of conversation revolved around the design of the two story building itself. Tillotson showed areas on the black and white schematic where various classrooms might be in a plan that shows 55,230 square feet of space.
The first floor plan shows the library on the right side of the front door in the center of two wings pointed slightly inward toward the bus drop-off and parking lot. The plan shows the cafeteria and gymnasium in the back with a stage in between the two large rooms with the kitchen in the far rear of the building. On the left hand side of the front entrance is the administration office. Tillotson said this location is good, so school administrative staff can see everyone who walks in through the front door.
In response to requests for a larger library, Tillotson said the plan was just on paper and rooms can be moved around fairly easily.
“Brick and mortar is not so easy, but now it’s wicked easy,” he said.
The architects addressed public comment on the location of bathrooms, maintenance closets, school equipment, heat and materials used in the building of this proposed new school for Jefferson.
Tillotson suggests a multi-layered wood floor for the gymnasium. He said other materials can be used on the floors, as well, and much of these decisions rest on the shoulders of citizens.
Public comment drew concerns over the school having a flat roof and the recent leak in the roof of the Damariscotta Hannaford supermarket. Tillotson said he didn’t know what happened with the Hannaford roof, but knows that the codes for new flat roof construction are very strict.
A flat roof for the new school would have a warranty of roughly 20 years, he said. He added that flat roofs are not completely flat, as they have a slight pitch to allow water to flow into drains. The roof design is well insulated and he said the entire exterior of the building would be airtight. This design also includes an air ventilation system that brings in outside air and modifies it to certain temperatures.
Tillotson recommended a masonry and metal exterior. Brick holds up a lot longer than a clapboard exterior, which he did not recommend. An island school used clapboard in the construction of the exterior walls, largely due to the high cost of shipping brick by ferry.
Much of these brick-and-mortar issues still being worked out on paper depend not only on citizen input, but also on what the state will fund. This first draft the architects presented at the meeting represents a design based on the projected student population eight years from now. School Union 132 superintendent Francis Boynton said much of the concerns regarding materials used to build the proposed new school would be addressed during the design phase of the project.
There will be at least one more public forum on the concept design for this state funded new school project, followed by a straw poll possibly in April. The next forum will be held on March 4, during the regular school board meeting at the Jefferson Village School at 6:30 p.m.
