The snow hasn't all melted but at
least the ice on the sidewalks and driveways is gone.Guess that means it's
almost time to start outdoor baseball practice. Don Record '57 was my
baseball coach and he sent us outside in early March because that's the
way his baseball coach (Fuller? Nichols?) had taught him ;-)
Ken Gottry, '68
State of the Old School: The attached article about the
state and status of the "old school" is reproduced below courtesy of The
Eagle (http://www.theeaglenewspaper.com/).
A problem with the boiler last year resulted in frozen pipes and water
damage. The building has been vacant since.
CCS Virtual Tour: Last weekend I wandered the halls of CCS
with my digital camera. Visit the CCS Indians website and click on the
link to CCS Virtual Tour. Don't miss the buffalo head in the art room
where Marjory Ridler '65, teaches.
America's Queen of the Classics (in Cambridge!!): The Tour
of the Battenkill is the largest pro/am bicycling event in the Unites
States. That's not a typo, not local hype, but a quote from a national
cycling magazine. If you're into cycling and you were thinking of
returning to Cambridge for a visit, consider doing so April 18-19, 2009
and join the fun. Visit (http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com/)
for more details. Maybe we need to add a bicycle tour to Reunion Weekend.
Planning on Visiting Cambridge?: OK, you've been reading
these newsletter, reconnecting with some high school friends and memories.
Now comes the big question ... what would I do if I ever decided to return
to Cambridge for a visit? If you're like me, when you were growing up the
highlights of a weekend in Cambridge might be a pick-up ball game at
school, a shady rest in the Rice Seed bridge, a hitchhike to the lake to
get some ice cream at Thom Thumb dairy bar. And that was consider a *big*
weekend. Now, you're a sophisticated, well-respected member of your
community, go to the opera, dine in fine restaurants, have seasons tickets
to something. So you're afraid you'll be bored out of your mind if you
decide to return to Cambridge? As Betty Boop once said, "No, no, a
thousand times no." Cambridge is alive with culture, activities, and
dining. Check out (http://www.visitbattenkillvalley.com/index.html)
and see what your little hometown has to offer. Oh, and if you really just
want to come to Cambridge for a weekend and "hang out at the bridge",
that's fine. The Rice Seed bridge is still there ... and so to are the
initials of your first love that you carved into it.
School Board Hears Grim
Report on Old School Building
By Ashleigh Farrell
CAMBRIDGE – The outlook for the
revitalization of the old school building is grim. At their meeting
Tuesday night, the Cambridge Central School Board heard a report from
Bernier and Carr Associates, PC as a result of the study they have been
completing of the building. Registered Architects Pamela Beyor and Mari
Cecil, along with Senior Project Manager Michael Wood came to the meeting
to discuss the findings with the board. In November, the district had
asked them to look into the structural integrity of the old school
building and to research possible future uses for the site, Cecil
presented a report that included numerous costly repairs that need to be
done.
Part of Building
Condemned
In late December,
Cecil and Wood toured the site and upon that investigation found numerous
areas of deterioration, including significant deterioration of the
exterior masonry, concrete block failures, roof leaks, water damage to
ceilings and insulation, visible mold and ice in the interior of the
building, a non-working boiler, and most serious a portion of the building
near the boiler which had to be condemned due to a unsafe wall. Cecil told
the board that upon discovery of the wall issue she had sent a letter to
Superintendent Dan Severson advising him of the issue and the need for
condemnation, she attributed the instability to negligent removal or
damage of pilasters during the creation of the bus garage which were never
repaired. The wall is load bearing and Cecil thought it possible that
weight caused by water or snow could cause the wall to buckle or collapse.
Unregistered Fuel Tank,
Other Issues
Another potentially
serious issue was the possible discovery of an unregistered fuel tank
underground on the corner of the property near Memorial Drive. Cecil
stated that there is a vent pipe coming up from the ground which had a
gasoline like odor. She told the board that since there is no easily found
record of the tank, and no idea as to how long it has been there, she
recommended that the board should move ahead with the Phase 1
environmental study. Cecil also advised that further testing, such as soil
samples would need to be done, and warned that if the remediation is not
done, DEC can force the district to complete it and fine them for having
an unregistered tank. Two other tanks sit on the property, both
registered. Cecil stated that both tanks still hold fuel despite being out
of use and recommended that they are emptied before the fuel begins to
break down and becomes impossible to remove. Other issues needing
remediation are possible asbestos contamination in plaster and insulation
as well as lead based paint throughout the building, drainage issues, and
the need to decommission the old hydraulic bus lift.
Ideas on Potential Uses
Cecil reported that
some potential uses of the building could be cold storage, development
into 8-10 two bedroom residential apartments, a youth or community center
or a small manufacturing plant. All of these uses would require numerous
upgrades and improvements on top of those repairs that need to be done in
order to preserve the building from further deterioration.
Cecil estimated the
cost of turning the building into cold storage at 2.5 million and the cost
of residential development at $5,384,000. She and Beyor discussed that
they did not include any potential education uses because of the
impracticality of the use. Cecil stated that they had considered using the
building as an auditorium but the project would not be state aidable
unless classrooms were also built and since all of the student population
is currently comfortably housed in one building it would be difficult to
convince the state education department that a new building and classrooms
were necessary.
Board member Debbie
Blanchfield asked about housing tech and vocational programs at the site.
Beyor told her that it would have to be a very substantial program since
the entire building would need to be brought to code in order to house it
there, and also stated that it would still be a very hard sell to the SED
to convince them that there was enough need to warrant the project. The
board also asked questions about the cost of possible demolition of the
property, Beyor and Cecil had not brought those numbers to the board
because they had not been asked to and did not want to be presumptuous.
Those numbers will be given to the administration as soon as they are
compiled. The architects recommended that the board consult their legal
counsel about the property but suggested they make a decision sooner
rather than later as the costs to repair the building will only climb
without work being done.
$100,000 Project Report
The Bernier and Carr
representatives also reported on the $100,000 project they were asked to
research. Seven ideas were originally floated for the project however
after touring the building and speaking to numerous people, three
priorities have emerged.
The first is the need
to repair or replace the domestic hot water and boiler system. Currently
the school is running on only one boiler, which was never meant to
function as a sole unit, if that boiler goes down, the school could have
no hot water which could result in the closure of school.
The second idea was to
expand the septic system; the system is too small to adequately handle the
output of the school since the numerous additions have been put on. The
project would add an additional 1000 gallon tank as well as a dosing tank
which would send the sewage out into the leech field.
The final project idea
was the repair of the center stairwell. Somehow the accumulation of
moisture caused by an undetermined source, seeped into the concrete base
of each stair causing expansion which in turn damaged the terrazzo stair
pans. Cecil reported that extensive rust is on the bottom side of the
stairs some of which is surface rust and some of which is penetrating. In
order to remedy the situation each stair would have to be repaired,
replacing the concrete that expanded. Cecil stated that if not fixed, a
stair pan could collapse causing a stairwell closure which may impact the
time needed to exit the second floor of the building in an emergency.
If all of these issues
were addressed in one project, the total amount would be over the $100,000
budgeted; however the board expects to include another project of the same
amount in next year’s budget. The associates from Bernier and Carr asked
that they be given the go ahead to move into the design phase of the
project and submit it to SED so that work could possibly begin this
summer. Their design will include alternate projects and will be for the
100,000 total. Since no decision will be received until after the budget
vote this spring, the design could then be altered to reflect the $200,000
total project allotment with which the three issues and other projects
could be completed within. The board agreed to give the go ahead to
Bernier and Carr.
In Other News
The Superintendent
search has been narrowed down from 15-16 candidates that applied to five
which have been interviewed. Board President Don Boyd stated that the
board hopes to have the field narrowed down to just two by the February 24th
meeting and a decision by the last week of that month.
The door cameras have
just been installed and training on their use will begin tomorrow. Signs
are up on the exits stating that the cameras are in place and may or may
not be recording.
Budget workshops are
scheduled for February 10th and March 10th and 16th.
The board welcomed back
Interim Elementary Principal Vincent DeLucia; he is filling the place of
former Elementary Principal Colleen Carroll who left at the end of the
year.
Appointed Maureen
Keyes-Roche to the tenure position of Secondary Social Studies teacher
Appointed Carol Lyon to
a 26 week probationary appointment as Business Manager and also accepted
her resignation as Business Manager effective June 20, 2009
Congratulations were
given by Interim High School Principal Dan Roberts to the 5 students who
participated in the American Legion Oratorical Contest. Three of those
five went on to the county level, where Cambridge student Laura Lanchantin
took home second place.
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