Monday night brought a unanimous City Council vote authorizing a bond for construction of a new Clark Avenue Middle School, with a total project cost of $57,332,407. The state School Building Authority (SBA) is expected to cover approximately 65 percent of the expenses.
The approval followed roughly two years of meetings, design charrettes, and financial analysis.
All 10 councillors supported the bonding authorization to move the project forward. Councillor Joe Perlatonda did not participate in the vote but has previously backed the initiative.
Councillors Chris Cataldo and Brian Hatleberg worked extensively with the School Committee and School Department throughout the interim period to develop both the design and financing strategy.
Both councillors emerged as strong advocates for the project.
“fblikebutton_button” Hatleberg stated, “This is the big one. We have capacity to borrow all of the local share, but there are some options we’ll likely take advantage of to make it cheaper…While I’m discouraged about the cost we have to bear the burden of locally, it is what it is.”
Cataldo expressed gratitude to all officials and councillors involved in advancing the school to this stage.
Chelsea’s last major school project occurred nearly 20 years prior.
Councillor Calvin Brown remarked, “fblikebutton_button” “This project is just as important as any project we’ve talked about in the last 10 years. If we want to provide the highest quality education for our kids, we’ll make sure this gets done soon.”
Councillor Dan Cortell also expressed support, stating his backing despite the financial commitment required.
The local share totals $19.7 million, while the state will contribute $37.6 million.
Design work currently stands at approximately 50 percent completion.
Construction will proceed in two phases. The initial phase involves demolishing the older section during summer break, followed by an 18-month construction period for the three-story classroom wing along Crescent Avenue. Subsequently, the remaining structure will be torn down during the following summer vacation, leading to a one-year construction phase for the gym, cafeteria, and administrative offices.
Students will be organized by grade across the three floors, requiring movement only for library, gym, or cafeteria access.
The facility will accommodate 670 students, representing an increase of approximately 120 from current enrollment. Planned improvements include:
- 28 general classrooms
- 4 science labs
- 2 ELL Classrooms (not currently at the Clark)
- 20 Small Group/Reading Rooms
- 1 Art Room, 1 Music Room and 1 Band room
- 2 Technology rooms
- Gym (same size)
- Performance Space (1.5 times larger)
- Library (2.5 times larger)
- Cafeteria (4 times larger)
- There is, however, no parking
Margaret Wood of Pinck & Company, serving as the City’s project manager, noted, “fblikebutton_button” “It’s going to be a longer construction period, but we expect kids to be in the new building in the fall of 2018.”
A separate consideration regarding project financing need not be resolved until the following year.
The City possesses the capacity to bond the entire local share while maintaining annual debt service payments of just $1 million. Treasurer Bob Boulrice referred to this approach as the “”fblikebutton_button”$1 million Plan.”
Assistant City Manager Ned Keefe emphasized that Chelsea’s position is distinctive due to its minimal debt levels and additional borrowing capacity.
Keefe stated, “fblikebutton_button” “We have $24 million outstanding in General Obligation bonds right now. This will add to that debt, but the good news is our debt load is extremely low for a city of Chelsea’s size.”
However, bonding the complete local share would result in total costs exceeding $30.9 million when interest is factored in.
Boulrice proposed incorporating Free Cash annually to reduce expenses. By allocating $2 million yearly from Free Cash or Stabilization Funds during construction, the City would reduce borrowing by $5 million, bringing the total cost with interest to $19.6 million.
Boulrice added, “fblikebutton_button” “I can also say there are even better plans than this. Based on what happens in the future, there are even more savings we could have…If things hold as they have held and revenues hold solid, the contributions you see here can go forward and the levels we want to see in the Stabilization Fund can be held…It looks good, but a new administration may come in and want to do a lot of new things.”
School officials indicated that upcoming priorities include completing detailed construction documents and scheduling asbestos removal from the older building section during the next year.