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The meeting opened with the architect from the Lukmire Partnership (architectural firm) noting that the conceptual plans had changed little since the Dec. 2nd DAC meeting. The Project Manager reiterated his desire to use the site planning to ensure that the new school fits into our community. The height of the stair tower was briefly addressed again. The architect mentioned that the stair tower has been reduced another 2-3 feet. The height is approximately 3 stories. In order to keep the day lighting for the main stairwell/entry, the tower will need to remain.
MNCPPC and MCPS met at the site on December 15th to address the stormwater runoff problems. The committee encouraged MCPS to get the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Permitting Services involved at the beginning of the design. Mark Wallace for MNCPPC was at the DAC meeting to address what was accomplished on the December 15th meeting. MNCPPC recommended installing an additional stormwater drain near the end of the hiker/biker trail at Channing. The residents on the committee were concerned that the sediment in the stormwater runoff also needed to be addressed. We didn’t want to see the county address the stormwater runoff problem by simply getting the muddy stormwater into Sligo Creek as quickly as possible. The county should look to using the wooded buffer to clean the storm water rather than bypassing the buffer with a new stormwater drain. Mr. Wallace acknowledged the stormwater runoff problem and offered to get the maintenance crews to come ou! t and deeply aerate the ball field.
The issue of the school parking lot being closed to the public was also addressed. To reduce the impact of ball player cars being parked in the neighborhood on the weekends, MNCPPC will issue a permit for only one of the ball fields.
The committee also addressed sustainability. The architect indicated that one of the new options being considered was using geothermal heat pumps. Geothermal heat pumps use the mass of the earth as a source of cooling and heating. This option would require closing down the ball field while wells holes are drilled. It was noted that the dates on which heavy equipment is on-site at the ball field would be an ideal time to re-grade the ball field to correct the stormwater runoff problems caused by the sloping of the ball field. Operable windows are also being considered. The committee requested that passive solar be considered in the building design.
The tear-down of the school was originally scheduled for July 2004. This now appears to be in limbo. If funding is not approved for the construction of the new school, the tear down may be delayed. The residents on the committee expressed their concern about the possibility of having a vacant building in the community for an extended period of time.
The meeting ended with a vote on the conceptual plans. The DAC voted to accept the architectural schematic plans and proceed to the next phase in the project. The next steps are as follows: