School property cleanup issues aired

By MECHELE COOPER
Staff Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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HALLOWELL -- The Property Committee on Monday recommended that the city pay a contractor to haul away the concrete piers and cement blocks that once supported the portable classrooms at the old primary school.

The school has been vacated and students moved into the new Hall-Dale Elementary School on Winthrop Street.

Maine School Administrative District 16 is handing the property over to the city of Hallowell. As part of the agreement, the School Board has agreed to pay Ellis Construction Inc. of Farmingdale $11,400 to fill the concrete foundation in with dirt.

But residents who inspected the site with committee members on Monday said they wanted to see the cement foundation removed.

They were concerned that the land wouldn't drain properly if it was left under the fill.

Steve Vellani said his basement has flooded ever since the portable classrooms were installed five years ago.

In addition to the $11,400 the district would pay for fill, the city would have to come up with $10,200 to have Ellis haul away the concrete.

"If it's developed or if it becomes a park, somebody's got to take this out," said Tom Ward, a resident.

"Is it cheaper to do it now? If (the land) gets passed on to a developer then I don't care. It will come out of his pocket."

Acting Mayor Andrew McPherson, an engineer by trade, said he saw no reason to remove the cement. He said Ellis would bulldoze the cement piers and cover the area, which is less than an acre in size, with dirt and loam then seed it.

"If it's a park and this is a lawn, there's no reason for it to come out," McPherson said. "It won't affect drainage, but if the committee wants to do this you have to call a special council meeting next week to authorize it and come up with the money before Ellis fills it."

Jim Goulet, the director of buildings and grounds for SAD 16, said it was the intention of the School Board to restore the area to its original state, although he said part of the school property had at one time been a dump.

Before the portable classrooms were installed on the north side of the school, he said workers had to remove up to 50 truckloads of leather remnants from the property along with some junk cars.

"Obviously we don't want to restore it to that condition," Goulet said.

"A lot of old foundations are buried and never, to my knowledge, ever caused any problems," he added.

"With the buildings removed there's less impervious area. All the water's going to drain."

The filled in area would have a pitch to it so it would drain properly, he said.

Goulet said School Board members wanted the work done as soon as possible because of liability.

There are a lot of children in the neighborhood who could be hurt, he said.

Also, he wants to get the portable classrooms sitting in the back parking lot hauled away. They should be gone by the end of the week, he said.

Children have been seen playing in them.

Councilor Phillip Lindley, who serves on the Property Committee, made the motion to recommend hauling the concrete away and Councilor Cynthia Murray-Beliveau, chairwoman of the Property Committee, second the motion.

A special meeting has been scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 27 at City Hall so the committee can present its recommendation to councilors.

"In the meantime, we'll talk with Ellis and see if we can get a better deal on the job since we've combined both jobs," Murray-Beliveau said.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com