'Sticker Shock' Over $400,000 Greenhouse

At about $400 a square-foot, the cost of the proposed Newtown High School greenhouse had members of the Public Building and Site Commission shifting in their seat during a Tuesday meeting at Reed Intermediate School.

"I don't feel comfortable," chairman Bob Mitchell said. "Four-hundred-a-foot is a lot for a greenhouse in this day and age."

The proposed greenhouse, which would be used for classroom research, is part of the educational specifications for the new high school addition, so authorizing its construction shouldn't require more approvals or even to seek additional bonding. What it did require from the commission was authorization to dip into the high school project's contingency fund for money to build the new greenhouse.

Designers had originally believed they could reuse an old greenhouse at the school but when workers went to move it, the deteriorated structure fell apart, officials said. That prompted them to figure out what a new one would cost. So a bid request was sent out, and the response that came back estimated the work to be more than $400,000, including for foundation and other work.

Commission members said they were in "sticker shock" over the cost, particularly because in the private sector, building something like that could be done for much less, several members said.

Officials said the project was different from the private sector because in order to be eligible for state reimbursement, there were added requirements, which in turn added costs.

Mitchell said while there was money in the project's contingency fund to pay for the greenhouse, he felt like he needed to seek the approval of an elected official first.

"I don't know if we're allowed as non-elected members to say 'Let's spend $400,000 on a greenhouse,'" he said. "If it was in the 100,000 range, we could push it through…but we're well over that number right now."

Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson, who attended the meeting, said the greenhouse was an important offering at the high school that many students were counting on.

"There is a significant number of students that this impacts," she said. "I've got teachers waiting to get in there."

Joseph Costa, a representative for Fletcher Thompson, an architectural firm involved in the high school project, told the commission to not under-estimate the importance of having a research quality greenhouse.

"It's as important a program as culinary arts," Costa said, adding that the culinary arts program also has state-of-the-art equipment installed in two rooms. "There is millions of dollars equipment in those two rooms…This is no different than those two rooms."

The project also is eligible for more than 30-percent reimbursement from the state as well as other credits, officials said. The greenhouse is part of the building's education specifications, which was approved by the town.

"It was something that was reviewed  by the Board of Education," Mitchell said. "This was included in the overall appropriation. It is within the bonding amount."

Although money would have to be taken out of the contingency fund — depleting it by about half, according to Mitchell — it did not require the town to go out for more bonding. Also, officials have not had to dip into the contingency much, and with the high school nearing completion, those funds could be used without fear it would jeopardize project finances, Mitchell said.

In the end, members delayed making a decision on the appropriation, saying that they wanted to check with town officials first.