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09/06/2022 02:15 PMThe Academy Renovation project, which was passed by voters in a referendum this past February, is beginning to ramp up as the Academy Community Center Building Committee has formed and initiated its work. According to the Chair of the Committee Joe Ballantine, the project is on track with a project manager expected to be hired in the coming weeks.
The Committee is charged with the hiring of the necessary experts to handle the construction including project manager, architect, and the general contractor. Though on the surface the Committee may appear like just another faceless town government entity slogging through a maze of administrative bureaucracy, Ballantine said the Committee is a dedicated force of experienced residents working hard to ensure that this project is transparent and providing the critical guidance necessary to manage the large and potentially complicated construction.
“Any one of the people on the Committee could have been chair. There are some incredibly talented people up and down the Committee. There are people experienced in environmental health and safety, people experienced in contracting, a former Selectwoman, people with accounting experience and folks with construction experience. So, there is a big cross section of talents,” said Ballantine.
For close to two decades a decision on what to do with the vacant building, site of the former Academy School, was in limbo. Several administrations studied and debated the issue but not until February of this year was a proposal finally hammered out and brought to a vote for residents. The measure passed, with $15.9 million in bonding, and the charge of completing it by 2025.
That cost was lowered substantially with four million in funding from the State earlier this summer, and according to town officials, they expect to be able to procure even more funding as the projects develops.
According to the current plan, both the Beach and Recreation Department and Madison Youth and Family Services will be find new homes in the building once completed. The proposal will divvy up the more than 43,000 useable square feet of the building providing most for public use, including a gymnasium that can double as a performance space and a 125-seat auditorium.
The first step for the Committee, according to Ballantine is selecting a project manager, who ultimately will be responsible to the day-to-day oversight of the project. The Committee has interviewed several candidates and will be making their recommendation to the Board of Selectmen this week, said Ballantine.
“We have a rather broad charter, but ultimately our job is to bring the project in on time and under budget,” said Ballantine.
According to the Chair, the project manager will take on the bulk of the work including scheduling and assisting in hiring the architect as well as the hiring of the general contractor.
“The project manger is key to all that, and the Committee is there to have oversight and ensure it all happens,” Ballantine said.
The Committee is a crucial component of the project, according to Ballantine because it will be able to focus solely on the project and any issues that arise.
“The whole town Selectmen dynamic really isn’t the best model for detailed oversight like this. They have more than enough to do already,” said Ballantine. “They put this Committee together and there are several committees involved with the project, but our mission allows us to pull talent form the general public who live and work here in Madison and allows us to utilize that talent to focus on the details of that project. And not just the construction, there is a second committee involved in the use of the building and we will be working hand in hand with that committee as well.”
The responsibility the Committee feels to the town is reflected not only in the choices made in seating the members, but also those member’s connection to the building, according to Ballantine.
“Three of my four children went to school there. My wife was a substitute teacher and worked there. So I have strong feelings about the building. It’s been part of the fabric of our lives here in this town. In some respects, it’s a shame it took this long to get to this point, and we do not want to mess it up. The Committee, I think, understands how important this is to the town and we are truly excited that it is finally underway. We are going to make this work,” Ballantine said. “We are really looking forward to it. There is going to be a lot of people visualizing what it’s going to look like, and everybody is going to have a different vision, so, pulling all those visions together is exciting.”
The project is slated to develop the design through 2023 with construction beginning by 2024 and completed sometime in 2025, according to Ballantine.
The Academy Community Center Building Committee meetings are public and anyone may attend. Ballantine encouraged residents to take part in the process. Their next meeting is Monday, Sept. 19 via Zoom.
A schedule of their meetings is available on the town website. The full charter of the Committee can also be found via the site.