At the second night of Town Meeting members once again approved every article presented. It was an especially good session for the school department with an important advancement for the planned Pollard project, a twofer funding win for a much-needed maintenance project at the high school and $1.4 million in funding for a “summer slammer” project to upgrade the playground at the Eliot School.
Pollard project receives required zoning changes
by Peter O’Neil
Town Meeting checked an important box on the Pollard Middle School project’s to-do list by approving zoning changes needed to go forward at the current Pollard site.
The current zoning does not permit the height, mass and parking required for the new school, which is expected to be about 75% larger than the now 146,000 square foot Pollard.
The Planning Board recommendation to Town Meeting presented by member Justin McCullen creates zoning that allows more density, more height and sufficient parking — doubling the required number of spaces for a building housing an additional grade-level and 750-seat auditorium.
“These articles are creating a zoning framework that allows a modern Pollard Middle School to be built on the existing site,” McCullen said. “The current SRB zoning does not allow the size and configuration needed for a modern municipal middle school.”
The new zoning, which applies to all Single Residence B districts, is specifically for the construction of a “municipal middle school.” Developers of a non-school project could not avail themselves of the far more generous capacity allowed under the new regimen.
The zoning raises the allowable height from 3 stories and 45 feet to 4 stories and 60 feet and includes larger setbacks designed to buffer the impact on abutters.
Any new building will be significantly taller than the current Pollard, which presents as a single-story structure when viewed from Harris Avenue. Proponents stressed the visual impact of the additional height will be mitigated by the building being located at the rear of the site. Its front will be 305 feet from Harris and more than 30 feet below the grade at Harris..
“This article was not simply about making the building taller,” said McCullen. “It is about making the building more compact and placing it a greater distance from surrounding properties.”
The changes were supported by both the Select Board and Finance Committee.
“This article does not fund the project, that will be a separate decision that will come at October Special Town Meeting,” said Select Board Chair Heidi Frail. “It is an essential component to allow progress on a major capital investment that’s been carefully planned within the town’s long-term debt framework.”
FinCom Chair John Connelly also mentioned funding in his remarks in support of the zoning change, emphasizing that its support for the zoning “does not mean the Finance Committee is recommending the Pollard project be approved by the town.”
“A lot will happen between now and then,” he said, citing FinCom’s concerns about cost and its hopes that the School Building Committee finds ways to reduce its scope and price.
Town Meeting member David Lazarus from precinct C expressed concerns that the zoning could end up having an impact on the High Rock School, which is also located in the SRB district. Both McCullen and School Committee Chair Alisa Skatrud emphasized there are no plans to convert High Rock to middle school use.
McCullen also responded to precinct D’s Holly Clarke’s concerns that abbutters had not been sufficiently consulted, pointing out the project managers and school officials held 11 community meetings, and “there were changes to the plan that were related by direct feedback received during sessions with the abutters.”
The zoning change received support from one of those abutters. Harris Avenue resident Allison McCarthy, who lives three blocks from the school site, spoke in favor of the zoning change, saying she believed it provided “protection for the neighbors.”
After less than 15 minutes of discussion, Town Meeting approved the change by a voice vote that included only a smattering of “nays.”
Eliot project phase-one ready
by Kay Matipa
Unanimous “ayes” from Town Meeting allocated $1.44 million of Community Preservation Act funds for Eliot Elementary playground renovations.
The playground project, one of three CPA articles discussed Wednesday night, is a joint request from Park & Recreation and DPW’s Parks & Forestry. The playground last saw a rebuild in 2003 and has since exceeded its shelf-life. Misgivings about maintenance challenges, playground safety and lack of accessibility drove conversations around remodeling.
“The site has been in continuous use, year-round, seven days a week,” said Community Preservation Committee member Keith LaFace in his Town Meeting presentation. “By Eliot students during the school year, by NEDP after-school students until 6 p.m., by Parks & Rec. summer camps, by Needham Baseball and Softball families, and by the surrounding neighborhood on evenings and weekends.”
Reconstruction of the playground is part one of a two-phase plan that aims to rebuild Eliot’s existing recreational space. Original proposals to the CPC featured one project and a price tag of $3.5 million. With other major projects in line for funding, Eliot became a multi-phase effort, asking $1.4 million to complete the first phase. Funds were approved under “recreation” — one of four categories eligible for CPC dollars. The project’s second phase, revamping the neighboring athletic field and basketball court, is slated for future discussion.
The $1.4 million approved on May 6 will be used to purchase 23 new pieces of play equipment, recondition 17 existing pieces, create accessible pathways around the playground’s perimeter, add shade structures and picnic tables and replace wood fiber surfacing with 10,000 square feet of poured-in-place rubber.
The rubber, by far the project’s most costly element, is industry standard for playground accessibility and safety. Town Meeting member Kathy Raiz of precinct E, a member of Needham’s Plastics Reduction Team, questioned the environmental and health effects of the poured-in-place surface. Both the Moderator and LaFace responded that those concerns will be kept in mind for later discussions focused on the specifics of construction.
When Nordo Nissi of precinct E proposed partnering with Eliot’s PTC to co-fund playground renovations, both LaFace and Prerna Saluja Bhargava of precinct A noted the PTC is not in a position to contribute financially, but expressed strong support for renovation efforts as an Eliot mom.
“My daughter is eagerly waiting at home to see if this will pass,” she said. “So there is a lot of engagement and interest in the community to see this move forward.”
Although playground reconstruction was originally scheduled to wrap up before the new school year, equipment delivery times pushed completion dates from August into September.
HVAC overhaul to be continued at NHS
by Kay Matipa
A second unanimous vote set aside a cool $2.13 million for aging HVAC units and an accompanying section of roof at Needham High School.
Presented by Select Board member Kevin Keane, the HVAC upgrades were one of seven capital spending articles on the table for FY27: one-time, high-cost purchases with long-term benefits.
“Who amongst us hasn’t had to fix a leaky roof, only to find out that the two-and-a-half ton HVAC on the top of your house is in need of replacement as well?” Keane asked Town Meeting members, prompting chuckles. “So, too, the Needham High School. To the pessimist, we have two problems. To the optimist, we can fix two problems at once.”
In a tight budget season, when many projects are being deferred, this project has been moved forward out of necessity, Keane explained. After the Swale Rain Garden was withdrawn from the Town Meeting Warrant, Keane said the Select Board “cannibalized” $120,000 in Free Cash from the deferred project, reducing the amount of borrowed dollars needed for HVAC upgrades in “a move that will put a smile on everyone’s face.”
The current rooftop units were installed in the early 2000s, when DPW director Carys Lustig was still a student at NHS. These units, the oldest at the high school, predate the major NHS renovation in 2009. A design study found the roof section supporting the units was also in need of replacement.
“When you do replace the unit like that, [it’s] much easier to replace the roof first and then replace the unit, as opposed to doing them as two separate projects,” Lustig told the Observer.
The upgrades are part of a multi-year effort to replace aging HVAC systems in Needham municipal buildings. Two large projects have already been completed at Eliot and Broadmeadow schools, whose systems had passed the 20-year mark.
“Different schools sort of have a different design system,” said Lustig. “So some of them can be done sort of more piecemeal, some of them have to be done all at once.”
A few more units are left at NHS, with High Rock next in line for HVAC improvements. These improvements will help Needham steward their money and their school buildings well, Lustig added, noting that with limited opportunities from the state for maintenance subsidies, all the benefit lies in reconstructing schools.
“We want buildings that last 50 to 100 years,” she said. “And just like somebody is maintaining their home, it requires periodic upgrades to make sure that everything is functioning as it needs to as opposed to waiting for failure.” Upgrades will also be “critical” to maintaining future investments in the NHS theater.
“Greater efficiency, lower operating costs, greener technology and a roof that doesn’t leak is enough to make us all optimists,” Keane concluded.
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