ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING
AUGUST 24, 2000
A Public Hearing was held in the Auditorium of Enfield High School, 1264 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Thursday, August 24, 2000. Chairwoman Strom called the hearing to order at 7:06 p.m.
ROLL-CALL Present were Councilmen Egan, Falk, Strom, and Vayda. Councilman Hall entered at 7:30 p.m. and Councilman Kaupin entered at 7:08 p.m. Councilmen Dodd, Fiore, Mangini McGuire, and Surapine were absent. Also present were Town Manager, Scott Shanley; Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki and Director of Finance, Gregory Simmons.
Present from the Enfield Board of Education were Roger Jones, Thomas Osborn, Lynn Scull, Nicholas Sinsigalli, William Thomson, and Mary Heidi Tibbetts. Theresa Clavette, Joyce Hall, and Kenneth Hilinski were absent. Also present were Superintendent of Schools, Dr. John Gallacher; Director of School Facilities, Arthur Pongratz and Enfield High School Principal, Thomas Duffy.
Present from the architectural firm Tai Soo Kim Partners were Richard Szczypek and Holly DeYoung.
Chairwoman Strom read the following notice of Public Hearing which was published in the Journal Inquirer on August 18, 2000 as follows:
TOWN OF ENFIELD LEGAL NOTICE
PUBLIC HEARING
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2000
"Notice is hereby given that the Enfield Town Council will hold a Public Hearing in the Enfield High School Auditorium, 1264 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Thursday, August 24, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. to allow taxpayers and residents of the Town of Enfield an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the following proposed resolution:
RESOLUTION TO APPROPRIATE $6,265,000 FOR THE EXPANSION AND/OR RENOVATION OF THE ENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY, CLASSROOMS, PUPIL SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATION SPACE AND TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS, NOTES OR TEMPORARY NOTES IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $2,367,000 TO FINANCE THE TOWNS PORTION OF SAID APPROPRIATION, WITH THE BALANCE FUNDED BY GRANTS.
Copies of said proposed resolution are on file in the office of the Town Clerk, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut open to public inspection between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
A tour of the Library and Administration areas will be available to the public beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Chairwoman Strom read the ground rules for the Public Hearing.
Mr. Szczypek stated he has made variations of this presentation to the Town Council, Board of Education and the Space Committee. He noted there have been revisions as a result of feedback.
Illustrations were displayed which showed the current layout of Enfield High School, in particular the library, main office and student services. He pointed out no additions have been made to this building since it was built in 1962.
Mr. Szczypek stated in 1995, the NEAC came to Enfield to do an accreditation review. He noted five areas need attention in order to maintain accreditation:
o Expand and move library
o Expand the use of and space for instructional technology
o Expand the curriculum and related instructional space
o Expand space for student services
o Improve security and community ADA accreditation
He stated space utilization at Enfield High is at 97%. He noted this number is too high because theres not enough swing time or prep time. He pointed out the recommended utilization rate is actually 85%. He noted Fermi High School is at 82%.
Mr. Szczypek stated that in working with the principal, they calculated full-time equivalency numbers at 66, and this means they take all the available instructional periods and count every full time and part time teacher and translate them to full-time equivalencies. He explained at any given time there are ten teachers who are not in an instructional space and are working in areas that were not meant for teaching space. He stated these teachers have to migrate from one class to another.
He stated since the 1995 accreditation report, the high school has been undertaking renovation work and attempting to improve the facility. He pointed out that in the fall of 1999, a referendum was approved for other school projects, including the Head Start Program. He stated the Enfield Head Start Program will be moved out of Enfield High School.
A proposed plan was illustrated which showed a two-story addition containing the new library and technology center. Also illustrated was the new location for the main office and student support services on the ground floor. Mr. Szczypek stated moving the main office to the ground floor will improve security. He stated the total new construction would total 11,090 square feet. He pointed out this plan would also enable them to recapture 12 classrooms.
Mr. Szczypek stated the current library measures 3,475 square feet, and the proposed library would measure 7,950 square feet. The technology area would be 6,370 square feet, and the recaptured classrooms equal 8,633 square feet. He pointed out whats being proposed is not excessive and falls right in the middle of the States guidelines.
He stated the projected cost is $6,265,000, with an anticipated 62% reimbursement from the state. He noted the cost would then be $2,380,700. He stated new construction costs are at $150 per square foot, and renovation costs are at $48 per square foot.
Chairwoman Strom then invited the public to speak.
Margaret Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated the per capita personal income for Enfield is $27,152. She pointed out that is a lot less than the per capital income for surrounding towns.
Ms. Jedziniak stated her belief the Town should conduct a complete audit of the Board of Education. She suggested the $475,000 surplus could have been spent on the library. She went on to question why new staff is hired after the budget is set. She stated her belief taxpayers have been very generous over the years.
She questioned if theres a different reimbursement rate for renovation work.
Ann Furey, 2 Glendale Road
Stated shes in favor of the proposals and feels this is long overdue. She thanked the Committee for all their hard work on this. She pointed out her high school children will probably not benefit from this, however, future children will. She commended the Town for thinking of the future.
Kim Knapp, 13 Roland Street
Stated shes in favor of this referendum. She stated her belief a lot of young families would be driven out of Enfield knowing that the school their child would be attending was not accredited. She added her belief safety is a major concern today, and she feels its a good idea to move the main office to the ground floor.
Ms. Knapp concluded questioning what this will mean to the taxes if this referendum passes.
Frank Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated his belief not all the space in Enfield High School is occupied. He noted Enfield High School was built for 1600 students and only 900 students attend this school.
Theresa Duston, 42 Meadowlark Road
Noted her high school son was not allowed to speak since only taxpayers can speak. She read from his notes as follows he feels the library is rundown and too small. Theres a severe shortage of classrooms, and some classrooms are overcrowded As concerns comments in the newspaper about Enfield High School being better than Fermi High School after the projects, he stated Fermi is in better condition than Enfield High School. He pointed out education comes first, and he urged the Council to support this.
Mrs. Collins, 25 Gordon Lane
Noted her son went through the Enfield School System during double sessions and overcrowded classrooms, and he did well. She questioned how many students are in Enfield High School; why werent these problems learned earlier; if 41 highly paid teachers retired and 41 new lower salaried teachers were hired, where is the resulting surplus.
Robert Tkacz, 1300 Enfield Street
Stated his belief this was an excellent presentation and agreed these projects are long overdue. He stated hes in favor of this.
Mr. Tkacz stated theres a severe population loss in Enfield, and projected birth rates are low.
He stated when he was on the accreditation committee, it was mentioned that wireless technology may be the trend in upcoming years.
Kathleen Thomson, 24 Duff Street
Stated shes appalled that there have been no major renovations of Enfield High School since it was built.
Ms. Thomson stated her belief the administration should be on the first floor for security reasons. She noted the current guidance area is very small. She added her belief the library and technology areas should be updated.
Mr. Duffy stated the population at Enfield High School is 936 students this year. He noted Head Start currently occupies six classrooms at Enfield High School.
Chairwoman Strom stated since the high school was originally built, classrooms have gone on to be used for different purposes.
Mr. Szczypek stated the reimbursement rate for renovation work can be less if the State Department of Education deems that the work is being done as deferred maintenance. He went on to explain that if renovation work is being done to satisfy a programmatic need, the reimbursement would then be the same as for new construction. He pointed out the proposed renovation work for Enfield High School is for academic purposes, and they expect the reimbursement to be the same as for new construction.
Mr. Szczypek stated Enfield High School may have been built to serve 1,600 students at one time, however, the educational climate has changed. He noted he is standing by his professional opinion that Enfield High School is falling behind.
Chairwoman Strom questioned what the projected effect will be on taxes. Mr. Shanley noted some figures can be provided.
Margaret Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated her impression Head Start is a social services program and questioned why they would take over six classrooms at the high school.
Theresa Duston, 42 Meadowlark Road
Stated she would like to know the maximum capacity for students at this time.
Frank Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated his belief the Board of Education should give the taxpayers some concern in light of the fact that there are five or six town projects currently underway. He concluded stating his belief its unfair to have this public hearing at Enfield High School. He feels it should be held on "neutral ground."
Robert Tkacz, 1300 Enfield Street
Referring to proposed prison expansion, Mr. Tkacz suggested letting the state know Enfield needs to expand the Enfield High School library as well as renovate the Higgins building. He suggested turning a negative into a positive.
Chairwoman Strom stated the Public Hearing was held at Enfield High School so that people could have a tour of the school to explain the proposed projects.
Mr. Sinsigalli stated the Head Start Program is designed to take young children and provide them with some of the things that may be missing in their lives. He noted theyre taught motor skills, colors and all the basics they will need in kindergarten. He stated additionally, the children are taught how to associate with each other and how to treat each other. He pointed out the Enfield Head Start Program is the best in the State of Connecticut. He noted they just received a grant from Boston to help with the expansion of this program. He explained the awarding of this grant was based on the grounds that
Enfields Head Start program has excelled in what theyve been trying to accomplish with young people. He explained the reason the Board of Education opted to bring the Head Start Program into their facility was because at that time they had rooms available and it was and still is a critical program for Enfields young children.
Ms. Jedziniak questioned whether this program is servicing surrounding towns or only Enfield. Mr. Sinsigalli responded right now theyre serving 72 students, and theyre all residents.
Chairwoman Strom questioned the maximum capacity of the school. Dr. Gallacher stated the fire marshal does place class sizes on each classroom, i.e, 35 to 40 students. He noted theres the question whether 35 to 40 students per classroom is desirable, i.e., in a foreign language class. He pointed out Enfield Public Schools strives for up to 25 students. He noted it also depends on the type of class.
Chairwoman Strom requested that once the figures are known as to the effect this project will have on taxes, that information should be forwarded to Kim Knapp, 13 Roland Street. She added they will get that information to the public as well.
As no others wished to speak, Chairwoman Strom closed the Public Hearing at 8:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeannette Lamontagne
Secretary to the Council
By Suzanne F. Olechnicki
Suzanne F. Olechnicki
Town Clerk
Clerk of the Council