School looks at facility options in moving forward with master plan

    Four options for the Holyoke School District Re-1J master facility plan were identified for their potential as Neenan Archistruction representatives led a work session with school board members Tuesday, April 16.
    Deliberating benefits and drawbacks for all four options, a solid conversation took place for potential direction for the district.
    Company reps will return to a June school board meeting with clear details of last Tuesday’s observations and brainstorming sessions. At that point, financial details will be part of the conversation as the board weighs advantages and disadvantages in moving forward with a more specific facility plan.
    If the district should decide to proceed with a bond election this fall, the decision will need to be made in June, and Neenan Archistruction is working around that timeline. Neenan’s business development vice president Kate Sawyer noted that the actual master plan will be presented to the board in late July or early August.
    
Neenan group looks at district’s facility needs
    While in Holyoke April 16, the Neenan group looked at changes in the buildings seen since their company helped with the master facility plan in 2010.
    Senior architect David Kurtz noted that safety and technology concerns were key nine years ago. Plenty of those were addressed and changed, he pointed out.
    Now the group is guiding the district to look at the next steps with regard to facilities. The first detail is to make sure the master plan is up to date, said Kurtz.
    After looking at the district facilities Tuesday morning, the Neenan group held a community work session that afternoon to gain input with regard to an updated master plan.

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