Council looks at school updates

Debate focuses on Columbus’ future; Rowayton, Kendall, NHS plans move forward

NORWALK — Plans for updates to multiple schools were advanced by Common Council this week, while decisions on others will be coming in the next few weeks.

The council approved the preparation of drawings for the Rowayton Elementary School asbestos abatement project, and gave the Board of Education permission to submit a grant application to the state for the work.

Kendall Elementary School will get upgrades to its dishwashing room and school store, after the council gave approval for Mayor Harry Rilling to enter into a contract, not to exceed $51,100, with Southport Contracting for the work.

Renovations to Norwalk High School’s media center/black box theater, library and security system also advanced. The Board of Education can now submit a grant application to the state for it as well as move ahead with schematic drawings.

However, two of the bigger projects — the new building of Columbus at the Ely site and the options for the current Columbus building on Concord Street — were not on the agenda yet, as the city’s Planning Commission will be reviewing the plans Tuesday, as one of their main duties it to review and recommend action on projects in the city’s capital program.

The debate over whether or not to renovate the existing Columbus building, which will become home to the Norwalk Global Academy, or to tear it down and build a new school on the site, has continued over the past few weeks.

Board of Education member Bryan Meek thanked the council for its support of

school projects so far, but asked members to choose to build it as new when it was their turn to vote.

“I would also like you to think at the same time about what a $3 million additional investment might mean over the life of a new school building,” Meek said.

“When you look at what you get for it — a brand new school versus running into these problems that we’ve been running into at the old schools — I look back at the West Rocks windows project, which was estimated two cost $2.5 million, ended up costing $5 million after we found contaminants.”

The council’s Land Use and Building Management Committee voted in favor of renovating the school as new to keep the historic

building in place and save approximately $3 million in costs of building a new one.

“Everything’s been over budget. I’m not attributing fault to anybody, but everything’s been over budget,” Tom Livingston, council president and committee chairman, said at the meeting.

But a few days later, the city’s Board of Estimate and Taxation voted to supply funding for the new building option, in case the

council decided to go in that direction.

At the meeting, Board of Education Chairman Mike Barbis voiced his support for constructing a new building.

“To me, it’s a logical decision,” he told the board.

Rilling also was seriously considering the brand new building to avoid anything unexpected that might pop up with an older building.

“If we’re talking a building that’s over 80 years old, to me that makes a lot of sense,” he said. “We’ve seen it happen over and over again where we get into a project and we find a surprise.”

The items will be in front of council for a final decision soon as the applications for grants must be sent to the state by late June.