Linden Street Re-use Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
 

Members present:     Linda Henderson (Chair), Walter Pierce (SAU 16), Ken Lanzillo, Lionel Ingram, Helen Crowe, Keith Armstrong, Jeff Warnock, Donna Schlachman, Tracey McGrail, Lang Plumer, Chris Davies, Len Pichini, Joy Tinker, Katherine Miller, Keith Noyes, Mark Moeller, Sue Bendroth, and Lauren Chuslo-Shur.

Visitors:  Michael Favreau and David Briden-Exeter Recreation Dept., Lance Weed and Robert Burns-East Kingston Recreation Dept., Lorraine Petzy and Kathy Cook-Kensington Recreation Dept.

The meeting commenced at 7:08 PM.  Chair Henderson asked Lionel Ingram to present the report from SST.  Lionel highlighted the major points from the report (see Attachment 1)  Some discussion ensued regarding the SST’s future plans for expansion and how those corresponding costs will be shared with the others towns.  The Chair explained that the state will put forth the money for the expansion and that operating costs are shared between the towns and paid through tuition.  Other questions arose regarding whether SST pays rent to the SAU 16 and it was clarified that the SAU 16 owns and operates the SST and that a governing board oversees it.  Walter Pierce pointed out that we are unique compared to other vocational schools in the state because over 50% of the students come from towns other than Exeter.  The majority of the costs are covered by students outside SAU 16.  Chair Henderson stressed the importance of the SST report in that the enrollment projections show the critical need they will have for more space.  The question of who pays if SST expands into a building that the ERCSD paid for was asked and Walter addressed this by saying that a quid pro quo would have to be formulated to determine the allocation of costs.

Chair Henderson welcomed the recreation directors who were invited to present their thoughts and ideas about the use of the property.  Exeter representatives spoke first about their need for field space due to the exponential growth of their programs.  Mike Favreau pointed out that although there is talk of building fields at Simpson’s Pit in the future, it is still a number of years away and will take a lot of work to develop.  In their opinion, the opportunity to use the Linden Street fields, which will only need minor changes to accommodate their needs, is a much more feasible option.  They also have a critical need for gymnasium space and the shortage has prevented them from offering the programs that are requested.  Currently, they are using the gyms at CMS, LSS, MSS, and the Annex.  They pointed out that the indoor sports need more scheduling flexibility and more space would help them in this effort.  Dave Briden brought up the fact that the Parks and Recreation Department is continually asked about other programs which he termed passive recreation.  These include hiking, running, and cross country skiing in addition to dance programs.   He added that the land behind Linden Street could be developed into trails that could accommodate some of these requests.  If they had the chance to use some of the classrooms, they could have all their needs met. Chair Henderson asked if it was feasible, would they consider relocating their building.  They responded that it was a good proposition in that it is a perfect “one stop” location, but obviously it is not their decision to make.  The question of how the Travel Soccer league works with the Exeter Recreation Department was posed and Mike Favreau explained that he has met with them and because they require larger soccer fields, the recreation park is not conducive to their needs.

The East Kingston representative, Lance Weed, spoke next along with Rob Burns.  They prefaced their remarks by saying that their program is new and they have yet to determine their exact needs.  They do know they are running out of field space due to the growing soccer program (they currently only have one field) and that with the indoor programs such as basketball, soccer and the men’s league and one small gymnasium to use, they will need more gymnasium space.

The Kensington Recreation Department (Kathy Cook and Lorraine Petzy) began by saying that they currently have no gymnasium and hope to have one by Christmas due to the completion of the addition at KES.  The town of Kensington works with the Kensington Youth Athletics, a private organization that offers soccer and Little League programs.  There are 120 children involved in spring sports and a crunch for field space which is where their interest lies.  They said that in their opinion, parents would not mind driving to Exeter to utilize fields.

Some other topics that came up for discussion by all were the possibility of a swimming pool, classroom space for programs like cooking classes, a music program, and martial arts.  The recreation representatives were advised by Lionel Ingram to bring all their requests and ideas to their town manager and school board members as the best way to bring this to the next level.  The question of whether the School Board is interested in being a landlord or property manager arose, and it was suggested that we talk to a resource such a Buddy Vaughn who manages properties.

Stratham and Brentwood were not represented, although Ken Lanzillo, as a Stratham resident, commented that they have lots of teams, a new field and their own gym.  They also use the gym at CMS.  Chair Henderson thanked the recreation representatives, invited them to stay for the remainder of the meeting.  The representatives all left.

Chair Henderson asked Chris Davies to report on the interest of developers in the property.  Chris reported that he and Don Jutton spoke with a few developers who expressed a serious interest and the remainder of the meeting was spent discussing the pros and cons of asking developers to submit requests for proposals.  The result was a unanimous decision that the Committee should obtain an appraisal on the property (a suggestion was made that the SST, Annex, and the rest of the property be separated into three separate appraisals) first before approaching developers.  Chair Henderson asked Chris to investigate the appraisal process with Don Jutton.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15.

Respectfully submitted by:

Phyllis Kennedy

ATTACHMENT 1

Memo

To:        Exeter Coop Board Linden Street Use Committee

From:    SST Governing Board and Principals’ Advisory Team

Date:     October 27, 2003

            The Seacoast School of Technology’s highest priority is that it remain at its current site, 40 Linden Street.  The current facility cannot be replicated in the region without a significant cost, which would fall to the Exeter Coop School District taxpayers.  SST’s needs, identified first at the SST 1998 Future Search Conference, included:

1)       Central location to the six high schools (Epping, Exeter, Newmarket, Raymond, Sanborn Regional and Winnacunnet)

2)       Facility that supports and enhances a Career & Technical Education curriculum

§         Current facility was designed for this purpose

3)       Room for expansion

§         Anticipated growth for the next 15-20 years should enable SST to grow to a student population of 900-1200 students

§         Many current programs will need to double space (Automotive, Construction, Welding, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Health, Culinary Arts)

§         Flexibility to accommodate new programs and full day options to respond to industry needs

§         Space to accommodate prevocational courses

§         Outdoor storage for automotive, construction, and welding equipment

§         Separate school requires space for media center, cafeteria, expanded office space, student support services (nurse, special education), group space meeting (accommodate at least 400-500 people – Talbot Gym) – all currently provided by Exeter HS

4)       Expanded parking for students and staff to support flexible programming and maximum access to SST programs for all students

5)       Architect review of the current structure with an assessment of future space needs described above (in order to give a closer estimation of space needs) 

The Seacoast School of Technology will require the original 64,000 sq. ft. building, built by the State of NH at 40 Linden Street, plus additional space at the current Exeter HS site for program expansion, new programs, ancillary services, and parking.

In addition, the Governing Board of the Seacoast School of Technology strongly supports other community-based and educational programs to be located at the Linden Street site.  It particularly endorses the allocation of space for a Regional Alternative Education program to serve students from the same high schools as SST.