AMHERST – As money continues to be spent for the purchase of two modular classroom buildings that were rarely used at the former Mark’s Meadow School, Town Meeting members learned Monday that they no longer exist.
The two 28-by-28-foot modular buildings, each containing two classrooms, were demolished last year at the 813 North Pleasant St. site, which is owned by the University of Massachusetts, said David Ziomek, the assistant town manager .
UMass spokesman Larry Rivais confirmed Tuesday that the modular classrooms were demolished and carted away. “Relocating them would have been extremely costly,” he added.
Prompted by a question from Precinct 5 member Larry Kelley, who also writes a blog, Ziomek said that the portables were razed during a Mark’s Meadow renovation project undertaken by UMass, which owns the former school that had been rented to the town for decades, but closed in spring 2010 due to declining enrollment.
Ziomek said the cost of reusing these classrooms by moving them to another site was “cost-prohibitive.”
Town Meeting appropriated $275,000 for the classroom purchase, including borrowing $195,000 at the November 2007 Town Meeting. This year’s budget includes $27,250 for continued debt payments related to the portables.
At the time of their purchase, Mark’s Meadow had faced chronic overcrowding, though some Town Meeting members expressed concern about buying the modular classrooms with school enrollment dropping.
In the final school year, the modular classrooms were used for instrument lessons one day a week, as well as for an after-school program. They were never used for regular classroom instruction after budget cuts prevented that from happening.
While former Town Manager Larry Shaffer attempted to sell the portables prior to his retirement in September 2010, he acknowledged at the time that that there might not be a market for them if they had to be moved to another site.
Peter Hechenbleikner, interim town manager, said Tuesday that it was impossible to find a way to get the portables off the UMass property, either by sale or by moving them to a town-owned location.
Town Meeting member James Scott of Precinct 7 asked Monday why the town continues to pay the debt for the portables considering they have been destroyed.
Finance Committee Chairwoman Kay Moran explained that since the money was borrowed for the expense, Amherst is obligated to continue paying this back.
The renovation of Mark’s Meadow School was part of a $21.8 million project by UMass to connect it to Furcolo Hall. This project allows College of Education faculty and staff to work in one facility and includes office and classroom space for the college, as well as a cafe and common areas.
UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski said architects Perkins + Will of Chicago and construction manager Consigli Construction of Hartford handled the work.
“They did a great job bringing it into the modern age,” Blaguszewski said.
A ceremonial ribbon-cutting was held last week and featured speeches by Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst; Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy; UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Victor Woolridge; Provost Katherine Newman; and Robert Feldman, deputy chancellor and interim dean of the College of Education.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
