MSBA to determine needs of Agawam High School and Early Childhood Center

Feb. 18, 2022 | Lauren LeBel
llebel@thereminder.com

Built in 1955, Agawam High School requires necessary updates.
Reminder Publishing photo by Lauren LeBel

AGAWAM – Following City Council approval of a $1.25 million feasibility study for a new or renovated Agawam High School, local officials plan to work with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on their steps moving forward.

Mayor William Sapelli said that the town is currently in Phase I of a 270-day eligibility period triggered by preliminary approval, in August, from the MSBA.

By the end of this phase on April 28, the town will have to be done identifying its high school needs, setting a schedule to complete the project, and other tasks. Phase II is a formal feasibility study.

Days before their Jan. 18 meeting, City Councilors took a walk-through of Agawam High School, ultimately prompting the 11-0 vote to approve $1.25 million in spending on designs for a replacement building. This money will fund the feasibility study, schematic design and owner’s project requirements. Jennifer Bonfiglio, chief procurement officer, said the $1.25 million cost will be raised through short-term bonds.

City Councilor George Bitzas said local taxpayers will be on the hook for only $500,000, as the state will reimburse the rest of the cost.

Councilor Dino Mercadante added that the state will reimburse 60 percent of the cost of the feasibility study and design even if the town chooses not to proceed with construction.

Sapelli describes this vote as the “steering point” in the project. While this is the next step in the MSBA process, he said it does not commit Agawam to additional spending and they are “not locked into anything.” With this vote, the town can “progress to the next level and take a look at the need and what [possibly] some of the remedies for improving those needs may be. It may be a renovation, it may be an addition, it may be a rebuild.”

Last month, Sapelli estimated a new high school would cost about $125 million. He went on to say that town officials will make the decision on renovation or new construction, and whether to proceed with the project and how to fund it, in July 2023. The City Council will have to vote to approve those decisions.

Sapelli said the MSBA will look at the situation of all school buildings in town, not just the high school. He predicts this process will take about a year, before they come back with their findings. As a part of the feasibility study, the architect that is hired, along with the MSBA and building committee, will consider all options to see what construction is necessary.

Whether new construction or renovation, Sapelli said the school needs to accommodate roughly 2,000 students. The high school’s current enrollment is 1,027 students in grades 9-12.

Following the construction decision, the building committee will begin schematic design, which is the first stage of project design. MSBA typically funds about 60 percent of the costs of school construction projects it approves, however, Sapelli said they could receive more. The town is responsible for funding the remaining percentage.

“It’s a huge investment for the community and the state,” added Sapelli.

Over the past 15 years, Sapelli said, the town has applied to the MSBA for a new high school about three or four times, but was not chosen for state reimbursement. This time around, he said, about 40 schools applied and only 16 were accepted, including Agawam.

“We are appreciative to be accepted into this by the MSBA,” said Bonfiglio.

Agawam High School was built in 1955, with additions made to the school in 1980 and 1987. Sapelli, who is also the town’s former school superintendent, said everything in the building is decrepit.

Sapelli said the “interesting thing” with these additions is that the town never built up, but built out. The school currently covers 266,829 square feet, all on one story. He said the high school property at Cooper and Mill streets has enough room to accommodate construction of a new building, though some athletic fields would have to move.

Bonfiglio noted that last year, the town completed a $3.5 million project building new athletic facilities at the high school, including turf fields, concession stands and more. She assured that none of this would be touched if a new high school were to be constructed on the existing grounds.

Sapelli echoed her point. He said if the construction project has to displace athletic fields, the un-renovated grass fields will be used.

Aside from the high school, a building in need is the Early Childhood Center located at 108 Perry Lane. Sapelli informed Reminder Publishing that there are a number of issues with the existing building as it’s converted, and wasn’t originally designed to serve as a school. “The space is not set up ideally, [there is] heat and ventilation, air circulation issues,” and so on, Sapelli said. “It’s not an ideal building.”

Based on the structure of the building, along with the utilities inside, the MSBA will be making a decision within the year on what needs to be done. Sapelli predicts the Early Childhood Center may need to relocate.

Sapelli noted that these projects are “all important tasks. [They’re] expensive, but they’re tasks that need to be addressed.”

In Agawam, about 20 percent of people have children in grade school, along with some who may have grandchildren. While some may think these school projects are unnecessary if they don’t have children or their children are grown, Sapelli disagrees.
He said the older folks need public transportation, ambulance services, etc., whereas younger families need schools for their children. “You need to think of everyone,” Sapelli said. “We have to support everyone – that’s what a community is all about.”

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