Task Force Narrows Down Top Choices for Future Sandy Hook School

After discussion on the relocated site choices presented by building experts, a task force of Newtown officials decided to turn their attentions away from three of four as lead candidates to house Sandy Hook Elementary School students when they eventually return from Chalk Hill School in Monroe. That leaves only one -- a nearby group of tracts -- alongside Sandy Hook Elementary School itself.

The remaining top option, at 28 Riverside Drive, is on the other side of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company from the school building.

Members of the task force found what they considered flaws in property at Bennett's Bridge Road, Commerce Road and Fairfield Hills. The latter two are outside the Sandy Hook school district itself, and each presented their own problems, according to members.

"We heard more comments from people who wanted to keep their children in the Sandy Hook district than people who were afraid to go back to the building -- by a big percentage," said Legislative Council member Henry Waterbury during discussion on the Fairfield Hills property. "I don't know if that goes along with an engineering study, but that's a big negative."

Additionally, the Commerce Road property would require input from the Army Corps of Engineers, among other issues.

"You have to go way back in the far corner before you find any section that's usable, and you have to feel a whole ton of wetlands in the process," said Legislative Council member Mary Ann Jacob. "And I echo Henry [Waterbury]'s comment about it not being in Sandy Hook. For me, that's a dealbreaker."

Some members of the public murmured approval when First Selectman Pat Llodra suggested striking the Bennett's Bridge property from the running. The option -- the most expensive and time-consuming -- was favored by bus companies, according to land use officials. But the town would have to buy up to two tracts of private property -- including, potentially, a nearby sledding hill, which would be used to excavate dirt for the site. Plans also called for a water treatment plant on-site, which officials said could be difficult, and some worried the land's neighbors could be affected in other ways, including water loss.

"I think you would having a significant amount of conversation from folks who live in that neighborhood," said Legislative Council member George Ferguson.

Some members saw flaws in 28 Riverside as well, though they ultimately decided to continue study of the property. The road would have to be widened, and a nearby slope would have to be eliminated, possibly affecting nearby driveways.

"There's a series of little black marks," said Legislative Council member Paul Lundquist. "And I'm wondering if we're passing the tipping point of it being valuable ... It sounds like it's okay, but not ideal."

Old School Building Remains a Hot Topic

The one site that wasn't discussed in detail was 12 Dickenson Drive -- where the old building sits, unused since the Dec. 14 shooting. But it played a role in discussion nonetheless. Some members said they saw it presented as an inevitable top choice.

"If anybody spent any time on [the report], you're really funnelled to one solution based on the aspect of time," said Board of Finance chair and task force member John Kortze at the beginning of the meeting. "If you look at the chronology here, most of these other options, short of one, require either a site purchase or a demolition ... That's going to inject, whether we like it or not, a different time frame."

The report lists a $45 million, 17-month renovation of Sandy Hook School, relocating its entrance to nearby Crestwood Drive, as the least expensive option for the future. Some members said they would have liked to see building experts present a more basic, affordable renovation for the site.

Building experts cited a long list of reasons, including costs for modifying walls and replacing the roof, adding the cost difference between a renovation and a new building was not significant. Jacob asked moderator Rich Harwood to keep the issue on the table for a future meeting.

Additionally, plans to renovate or rebuild Sandy Hook School on-site would require the demolition of a nearby house unless the town opts to use Dickenson Drive as an exit, said Planning and Land Use director George Benson. He added the town is not currently in discussions with the house's owner.

First Selectman Pat Llodra said those discussions would likely not begin until after the task force sends recommendations to the Board of Education, and would be "inappropriate" before then. But she said some steps of the process could be done simultaneously, saving time.

"It's not a linear process," she said. "The construction schedule, whether it's renovation or a new building, is 17-21 months."

The Public Responds

"The school didn't cause the tragedy," said Joseph Borst of the Newtown Building and Site Commission and Sustainable Energy Commission.

"We've heard that the people in the Sandy Hook business section want that school back there because it is a business generator for them," he added. "We have to take into consideration that leaving the school or redoing the school on its existing site is going to help these people recover some of the economics of the area. Business is not doing well."

Borst said the residents he'd talked to wanted to see the school return. Resident Mary Kearns Clark agreed.

"I really would love to see Sandy Hook school come back and be completely renovated and redone," she said. "The other sites in tier one -- it seems like you all talked yourselves out of them already. You seemed to come up with something that's just not right [for each.] Sandy Hook school is the right place. It's the right site."

Sandy Hook Parent Jennifer Stoltz said she didn't have a problem with returning to the site, but some changes would have to be made first.

"I think that school needs to completely reorient and a new entrance needs to be made," she said. "I don't see any of those parents or those teachers wanting to go down that road again. I've been in meetings where Pat has said 'No harm done.' I would think that if any teacher or any parent has to go down that road, that's harm done."

The task force will return to the discussion May 3, with the possibility of renovating or rebuilding the school itself a main topic.