Pell Committee Votes To Keep Elementary School Bridge

The voted 6-2 Monday night to maintain the bridge at the Pell Elementary School, rather than replacing it with two stairways as a cost-saving measure.

Fire Marshal Wayne Clark attended the meeting and said his personal opinion would be to keep the bridge as a level exitway. While Clark said he prefers the bridge, he was adamant that the Newport Fire Department be “silent” in their opinions and leave decision-making to the committee.

“From a fire-inspecting point of view, cost doesn’t come into play,” Clark said.

The bridge eliminates tripping hazards that would come with an alternative set of stairs, both for teachers and students exiting and for rescue crews entering the building. Handicapped students in wheelchairs and crutches would also have an easier time exiting the building with the bridge, he said.

“From strictly a code perspective, there are solutions both ways,” he said, regarding a possible plan of eliminating the bridge and adding the extra stairway.  “There are certainly choices.”

There will still be a convenience stair along with the bridge, HMFH architect Laura Wernick said.

“When Wayne Clark told me what his preference was, that’s what cinched it for me,” Superintendent John Ambrogi said.

Eliminating the bridge would have resulted in $55,000 of savings.

The committee also approved eliminating a planned soccer field and repurposing it as a general play field by getting rid of the goal posts and fences. Committee members agreed it was a logical sacrifice as there is already a playing field close by. The soccer field was not a part of the original design of the school, Ambrogi added.

The committee also voted for flattening the roof, generating about $60,000 in savings, and changing concrete to vinyl at the entrance to the school and cafeteria.

Wernick estimated the cost estimate would be done around Christmas, while a bid award would come around mid-February. Ambrogi said there would be a “shovel in the ground” by March 1.

Together, the proposed building changes amount to a reduction of nearly $2.8 million.

The next building committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 3.