PEABODY — Peabody residents had their first public opportunity to learn about the proposed Welch School building project this week at the first of a series of planned community meetings hosted by the Welch School Building Committee.
“It’s an amazing project and is a long time coming,” said Beverley Griffin Dunne, the chairman of the building committee. “This began originally as a repair project focused on the windows and heating system, but once the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority) checked us out and put us in the Core Program, this project became something with a bigger benefit of not only fixing a building, but also doing it for the educational benefits.”
The Zoom meeting, which included representatives from designer DiNisco Design and Project Manager Dore & Whittier, provided an overview of the project and information about schedules, educational goals and existing conditions.
Project Director Michael Burton of DiNisco, said the “54 percent of eligible costs for 390 students will be paid by MSBA” and the project consists of eight “modules,” the first five of which were going to be part of the presentation. Module 6 (complete design), module 7 (construction) and module 8 (completion) will be discussed at a future community meeting.
“We are in module number 3 right now, which is the feasibility study phase,” Burton said, adding that a Preliminary Design Proposal (PDP) will be submitted by Dec. 20 and a Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) will be submitted in February of 2021.
“Those basically document the district’s selections and recommendations of the most cost effective education-appropriate solutions along with multiple other options,” Burton said. He said a more detailed schematic design will be submitted as part of Module 4 by September of 2021 with an MSBA vote expected on Oct. 21.
Burton explained that Module 5 represents the funding stage and that the city has 120 days following the MSBA vote to secure funding.
Education Programmer and DiNisco President and Principal, Donna DiNisco, outlined the educational goals of the project.
“Grades need to be clustered together as it is important to provide students with equal opportunities to learn,” she said.
After the meeting was opened to the public, Burton addresses concerns about the details of the actual construction process.
“It’s a little bit early at this phase to talk about construction and scenarios where it would be possible to start as early as the summer of 2022,” Burton said. “But with so many close abuttors, it will be important to bring in a lot of these people and make them aware of what’s happening so they know what to expect. I can assure you that as we get close to that, there will be ongoing community meetings that will be open to anybody.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala read a message posted by a resident asking whether or not there will be an opportunity to get involved with the project.
“Absolutely, if anyone has any questions they can reach out to (Principal Michelle) Massa’s office, to my office, to the school committee and city council members as this is an open and transparent process,” DiNisco said. “We have a great project here and a great design team, so we are really excited about this project.”
In response to a question on whether kids will have a chance to participate in the brainstorming regarding the outdoor and indoor space, both DiNisco and Dunne said there would be.
“As we define the program and the scope of the work, we will include any committee member whether it be teachers, parents and even students,” DiNisco said. “Students have such incredible imaginations and they know what they like, especially when it comes to play structures, so we certainly will look for that.”
“That’s one of the fun parts of these projects,” Dunne said. “We will be pulling people in on everything from choosing paint colors to looking at floor tiles and play equipment. There is a committee for every detail on this project.”
Dunne encouraged residents to reach out to committee members who will be able to provide answers to their specific questions about the project.
“We have a lot of community members and staff at the Welch and neighbors on this committee as well as two city council members, so it is a nice, connected group,” Dunne said. “Tonight I think we covered everything that we wanted to and are open to suggestions.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].