MSAD #51 District Newsletter - February 4, 2025

• Construction documents are being developed for the new PK-1 school in preparation for bids going out this spring. The Building Committee has been working with the architects since September in overseeing all aspects of the One Campus project. 
• The Turf Field Committee completed its work last Fall and the Board approved a final turf field design that does not contain PFAS, infill products, and is recyclable. To learn more: Turf Field Info Page.
• In January bids were publicly noticed for the first two phases of the One Campus project, the new Facilities building and Turf Field. Bids are due for both projects within the coming week. 
• A bond anticipation note of $16,000,000 was sold on January 22 to begin the project. Five bids were received with the lowest being BNY Mellon Capital Markets at 3.04% interest. We had estimated a rate around 4%, so this will yield significant savings based on our original project budget.
• The Cumberland Planning Board will hold a public hearing regarding the One Campus project on February 18 as a follow up to an initial presentation back in December. The architects submitted a full application to the Planning Board for approval.
• The school campus has a long history of containing arsenic soil given that much of it was inhabited by an apple orchard until the current middle school building was constructed 20 years ago. Though remediated and encapsulated per DEP requirements at the time, the soil on Hutchins Field must be moved to make room for the new turf surface that will be installed later this spring and summer. After several options were explored, including removing it from the campus altogether, the most viable option is to bury the majority of the soil underground and leave a small berm 5-6' above grade that runs along the abutting tree line behind the GMS field hockey field. This berm would again be encapsulated per DEP standards with minimal impact to the GMS field.
• About 20 residents from the Main Street and Tuttle Road neighborhoods attended an invitation by the district to provide feedback on possible turn lanes and other traffic-related issues involving the school project. As a result of this meeting, the Town of Cumberland is recommending to MDOT that turn lanes are not necessary and actually could cause safety issues in doing so. Instead, the focus will be augmenting/adding crosswalks and enhancing signage/flashing lights to improve safety along this stretch of Main Street. No alterations to Tuttle Rd. are proposed, either, except for expansion of sidewalks.

To stay up-to-date, visit the district's One Campus project webpage.

Regards,
Jeff Porter

Board Goes Back to School at MIW.

Superintendent Porter took a picture of GHS Principal, Karl Francis taking a picture of GHS students taking a picture during the Board Goes to School visit at GHS.