By K.B. Sherman, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Officials expressed some reservations and concerns at the July 8 Board of Selectmen meeting regarding a proposal to expand and rebuild the Montessori School on Oak Street.
“Personally, I feel that this project may be like trying to put 15 pounds into a 10-pound bucket,” Town Manager Daniel Morgado said.
In a plan previously presented to the board, this meeting's discussion regarded more definitive plans by the school to buy an adjacent 0.6-acre parcel of town land to use in a complete rebuild and update. Presenting for the school was Margie Smetana, head of the school.
Morgado's remark was the general consensus of the board, as Smetana, accompanied by the project architect, made her presentation. According to Smetana, the school needs to be updated to current building code, and in order to do that, she presented a plan to acquire the adjacent land and totally replace the current wooden structure and improve its access to Oak Street. In so doing, she asserted, the school's physical needs would be met for the next 30 years.
Selectman Chair James F. Kane first noted that the site, even with the additional half-acre or so, is too small for what is being proposed and too close to the road and nearby structures. Increased danger of vehicle collisions could be expected, he said.
Morgado commented that town departments had yet to get back to him with their opinion of the plan, and that he, too, considered the plan too much for the land intended. He also noted that some town buildings are also not up to current building code.
Selectman Maurice M. DePalo, when asking if the bigger school would have more students, received a “yes” from Smetana, bringing Kane to question if this added capacity might only further worsen traffic conditions around the school, as it sits near the town's Oak Street School, at 45 Oak St.
Selectman Moira Miller noted that the town has been extremely conservative when asked to sell land to private owners. Selectman John I. Lebeaux asked Smetana what benefit the town would get from the proposed rebuilding of the school. Smetana replied that such an improvement to the school would benefit the town and its population in a general way by improving local education.
Fitzgerald then added that he had previously believed this plan was a renovation to the existing school, not a complete replacement, and wondered where the school would conduct its business during the time the construction occurs. Smetana replied that some other location would be used, adding that, if this plan is not approved, the school will seek a new location someplace else.
In concluding the meeting, Kane requested further information on how arrivals and departures from both the Montesorri School and the Oak Street School affect traffic and street congestion and safety, and to be provided with an accurate measurement from the Oak Street School to the proposed new Montessori building. The meeting ended on this note, with further meetings and hearings yet unscheduled.
