By Sarah Opdahl

Parking at the high/middle school campus was the primary topic of conversation at a special meeting of the New Fairfield Permanent Building Committee (PBC) on Wednesday, August 2. The campus will be squeezed after school begins with construction still occurring in the exterior areas, plus demolition work on the old high school. With the clock ticking, the PBC was considering options as school resumes in less than a month.

PBC members were reminded of the options for parking with variations: to add mountable curbs to designated temporary locations with low stone and a back curb; to add mountable curbs to designated temporary locations, plus adding higher stone, top soil, and seed but no back curb; or to add a square temporary lot with a mountable curb on the East driveway with reinforced turf. They ultimately approved the second option above.

The Committee members pondered what the best plan is, given there are pros and cons for each option and the need for additional staff spaces could be as short as a few months. The mountable curbs were a favored option because they would remain for future overflow, and they are easy for the facilities crew to plow snow over. As some of the parking is adjacent to Gillotti Road, there were concerns about safety, but the PBC was assured that those spaces are intended for staff parking.

High School Principal Mr. James D’Amico offered his thoughts on parking at the campus, saying the square parking lot was not his preferred option as he hoped to preserve green space on the property. Though the square lot would be planted with reinforced turf, it would possibly have a regular flow of traffic. In the long term, he said, “we may never be able to have students park up top, depending on staffing changes, and that could be kitchen staff, it could be increased paraprofessional needs…there are a lot of things that go into tha t, year to year.”

The other topic discussed at the special meeting was the need for additional funds to purchase and install new security cameras for the new high school. Cameras were harvested from the existing school and need to be installed; however, far more cameras planned for the new high school than were installed in the old building. Director of Technology Mr. Paul Gouveia explained that the proposal from Stanley will likely need altering, as they quoted for a new $80,000 server, which he believes the school does not need. When Gouveia asked the company if the server was truly needed, it simply responded by removing it from the quote. He is pursuing confirmation, saying, “I’m fairly confident in my own reasoning why we don’t need it,” though he clarified, “it’s not my exact area of expertise and I want to make sure the schools are safe and taken care of.”

The next regular Permanent Building Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, August 22, 7:30 p.m. The PBC will also have met on Tuesday, August 8.