Lyndon Keck, an AIA and LEED certified architect with PDT Architects in Portland, presented a revised sketch for the new Caribou school and asked the council last week if they would let him move forward.
Though Keck assured the council that the state of Maine will pay for the new facility, there were concerns that the Department of Education may later inform Caribou taxpayers that they need to pay for some aspects of the project.
“How can we sit here and make a tentative decision without some real assurance as to what this will or will not be?” Council member Philip McDonough II asked.
“This is my concern as well,” added Mayor Gary Aiken. “I don’t think there is anyone here who does not want to see a new school in Caribou. Should it be at Teague Park? It quite possibly should be if everything can be worked out and if the taxes won’t go up as a result of fees incurred by the city and so on. If we say we go along with this tonight, and then all of a sudden it comes back that the Department of Education is telling us to cover certain expenses ourselves, then some of us may not be in favor.”
“I don’t need a formal vote from you,” said Keck, “I just need a consensus at this early part of the process.”
“I don’t mind moving forward,” added McDonough, “but I’ll change my mind real quick if we don’t get the assurances we’ve been asking about.”
Keck presented the council new sketches during the Oct. 13 meeting based on feedback from last month’s session.
The earliest sketch envisioned a new preK-8 school where Teague Park now stands, with baseball and soccer fields on the other side of the road. The council questioned the safety aspects of this plan during their last meeting, as it would require children to cross the road on a regular basis. This feedback resulted in a second sketch which includes all fields on one side of the street.
Keck then explained how the second sketch quickly led to an enhanced third sketch.
“My business partner very quickly realized after he had drawn scheme two that if we own all of this school land, we can slide the building anywhere. It gives us, as architects, tremendous flexibility.”
That flexibility includes the placement of parent and student drop-offs, among other important components. The improved sketch also lets Teague Park and Caribou Middle School students attend classes uninterrupted while architects build the new preK-8 school. Once the new building is complete, students can enjoy the new school while the State of Maine pays to demolish the two older buildings.
“When we drew this particular plan,” said Keck, “we turned Park Street into a private drive as a drop-off for parents for the school. In this particular sketch, all the teachers and visitors would park here and walk across the private drive.”
“I don’t think that Teague Park should be used to build a school on,” said Caribou citizen Larry Pelletier. “The simple reason for this is that it was donated to the kids and the people of Caribou. The stuff we have in the park now is gonna have to be moved, and that’s gonna come out of our taxes. I don’t see where you are going to get the taxpayer money to pay for that. We’re already maxed out as it is when it comes to taxes.”
Keck answered this question by explaining which parts of Teague Park were donated via grants, and how that fits into the current plan to construct a new school.
“The first grant dates back to 1974,” said Keck, “when the town received $7,000 to build two tennis courts. In 1992, the town received another $31,250 grant to build a gazebo, a multipurpose grass field, a volleyball court, and a playground. There are approximately 2.3 acres that were part of the 1992 grant when the National Park Service drew a line on what is now RSU 39 land. So [Caribou] has an encumbrance from the national park service on Teague Park, but the RSU 39 also has an encumbrance of 2.3 acres drawn around the playground.”
Keck tells the council that he recently spoke with Doug Beck, who represents Bureau of Parks and Land in Augusta and administers National Park Service grants, and is also responsible for administering the two aforementioned grants.
“They are open to the notion that the granted space they are trying to protect can be moved,” said Keck. “We shared plan 3 with him, where Teague Park is moved across the street. [Beck] said it is important to obtain a Yellow Book Appraisal of the dedicated land as well as a Yellow Book Appraisal for the new parcel of land. He also said that, in moving the park, we wouldn’t necessarily have to rebuild the improvements item for item. We could invest in other improvements on the National Park Service grant land. We are not obligated to build the two tennis courts, gazebo, or basketball courts.”
Keck said that, based on his meetings, the state of Maine would pay for the costs to demolish both Teague Park School and Caribou Middle School, and also to relocate Teague Park. However, he added that he “cannot speak for the Department of Education” and that he “does not know what their final decisions will be.”
Mayor Aiken asked Keck if the process of moving Teague Park would require an application from both RSU 39 and Caribou.
“I think there would have to be,” responded Keck, “so RSU 39 has to demonstrate to the National Park Service how they are going to protect 2.3 acres of land.”
