WILMINGTON, MA — During last week’s Board of Selectmen’s Meeting, longtime School Committee member MJ Byrnes expressed concern with Town Manager Jeff Hull’s intentions on asking Town Meeting voters to approve funding for a $955,000 feasibility study for a new joint Town Hall and School Administration Building.
“As a board member and resident, I’d not be voting $955,000 from free cash to fund a feasibility study for a Town Hall,” Byrnes told the Selectmen. “We currently have [the Wildwood Early Childhood Center] falling apart around some of our most vulnerable residents — 3-to-5 year old children. THAT is a priority.”
Byrnes, who noted several times she was speaking as a private citizen and not on behalf of her School Committee, praised Public Buildings Superintendent George Hooper and his team for applying “band aids” to the school, but she stressed the building is in such a state of disrepair that it needs to be replaced.
“I’m going to tell you right now, our school administrators and central office team would work in a tent before they’d see kids in our community and staff continue to struggle in that building. It’s a health hazard,” continued Byrnes, citing an inadequate heating system, routine pipe bursts, a rodent problem, and a crowded special education department that is lacking in space, natural light, and legally-required privacy.
Byrnes is hopeful the town will receive grant funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), for which it recently began the application process, to eventually address the situation. She urges the town to put off a vote for a Feasibility Study for a Town Hall/School Admin Building until at least 2021, after the town knows if it’s been invited in to the MSBA’s program and receive significant reimbursement (up to 55%) for a school building project.
“The Board of Selectmen were pleased to recently partner with your committee and submit a letter of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority… with the Wildwood in mind as the top priority,” responded Selectmen Chair Greg Bendel, who agreed with Byrnes’s assessment of the school. “The fact that we have our youngest children wear jackets inside the school when it’s cold because there’s no heat is unacceptable. The fact that a steam pipe bursts on parent teacher night causing flooding is unacceptable. … I was appalled that our nurses office is housed in a men’s restroom. … I share your concerns about that building and that’s why it is of the upmost priority. We’re committed to try to secure [state] funding to move forward.”
Bendel clarified that while he believes a new Town Hall/School Admin building is not the town’s top building priority, he does support the Town Manager’s efforts to move ahead with a feasibility study for such a project.
“I think it’s a good move by the Manager to propose this because, whether we like or not, this [Town Hall] property is a huge piece to our larger puzzle going forward. There very well may be a Senior Center on this property in a few years. We may have to explore [freeing up this space],” explained Bendel.
Selectman Kevin Caira agreed with his colleague, and connected a potential new Town Hall/School Admin Building with a new Wildwood Early Childhood Center.
“My thought is the Town Hall becomes an important piece of the puzzle. I’d like to see the feasibility study move forward for the 2020 Town Meeting,” said Caira. “If we can build a Town Hall, and then the Senior Center, the current Town Hall becomes a place where the children over at the Wildwood could be placed in the interim while a new school is built. The Massachusetts School Building Authority process takes 5-7 years. This becomes a critical building in the future. Deferring a whole year for the town hall feasibility study may hurt the opportunity to get the kids out of there quickly.
Town Manager Jeff Hull sought to clarify that the Wildwood Early Childhood Center did not a pose a health hazard, something Byrnes had mentioned.
“I’d caution the suggestion that the building is a health hazard. We have had multiple instances where Superintendent of Public Buildings George Hooper has testing done at the request of the School Superintendent. Those tests have come back that there’s no evidence of air quality issues,” said Hull. “To suggest we’re sending kids into a hazardous building is just not accurate.”
Hull did agree with Byrnes, however, that the Wildwood Early Childhood Center is a priority and needs to be addressed soon, noting the school was identified in Wilmington’s 2018 Facility Master Plan as the school that was in the most distress.
“I think we’re in total agreement on that,” added Selectmen Chair Greg Bendel. “I encourage those who haven’t seen the building to take a tour.”
Byrnes also indicated she was startled that the Town Manager was even planning on proposing a feasibility study for a new joint Town Hall and School Administration Building.
“I was surprised by the memo regarding the feasibility study for a new Town Hall/School Admin Building,” said Byrnes. “Our board and the Superintendent weren’t aware of the [recommendation] you’d be making this evening. That’s certainly up to your discretion, but this is a collaboration. In the future, I’d anticipate that such discussion would be brought to the school district’s attention.”
Selectman Chair Greg Bendel responded that he did contact School Committee Chair Jennifer Bryson regarding the agenda item, but acknowledged the notification did not take place until the morning of the meeting.
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