September 2005 News

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Classical Building and Air Quality Determined to be Safe
By Jill Gadsby, The Daily Item of Lynn, Friday, September 30, 2005

LYNN - Repairing the settling Classical High School could cost well above $10 million, could take up to 18 months to complete and faculty and students cannot be in the building while the repairs are ongoing.
That news, given by Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan, was met by whistles and gasps from the audience during a joint meeting of the City Council and the School Committee Thursday. The majority of the audience was made up of students and staff of the school.
"We don't know when or if there will have to be some clearing of the building for some major repairs, but we do have major issues concerning the long-term viability of the building," Mayor Edward J. Clancy said. "Let me make it clearer - without major work, there is no long-term viability of that building."
Clancy also made it clear that nothing is "cast in stone" until an engineering firm hired by the city issues its final report.
"There are no firm answers until we see that report and the specific conclusions contained within," he said. "We came here tonight to clear the air, no pun intended."
 Councilor At Large Loretta Cuffe O'Donnell asked that the community be kept informed on any possible closures of the school.
"If Classical High School is closed down for renovations, it's very important we know as soon as possible when this will happen," she said. "Second to safety, it is very important to come up with a time table."
At Councilor at Large Timothy Phelan's request, Clancy, Donovan and two engineers who tested the building as recently as Wednesday stressed that the building remains safe for occupation.
"I believe the answer to your question is the building is safe," Clancy said to Phelan.
 Donovan agreed.
"Yes, the building is safe," he said, adding later in the meeting, "Just for the record, I am a parent of a child at Classical High School, so I have concerns and I don't take this lightly."
 To further his point, Donovan introduced Jim Ash, of GEI Consultants in Winchester, who essentially said air quality in the school was healthier than it was outside. Donovan said the firm will continue to test air quality once a week.
"This will give us a baseline - is it changing, is it always the same," he said. "That will provide us with the information to know without a doubt, is the air in the school safe?"
The damage caused to the 6-year-old building is due to the settlement of the slab-on-grade configuration built on a solid waste landfill.
Among the damages are crumbling walls, two-inch gaps where one part of the building has pulled away from another, buckled ceiling tiles, cracked and lifted floor tiles, shattered trophy case glass, misaligned doors, and jagged floor-to-ceiling cracks in the walls.
With the intentions of recouping the cost of the repairs, the city filed a civil complaint this winter against 11 companies that played any role in the environmental assessment, architectural services, site preparation or remedial services on the $40 million project.
Assistant City Solicitor George Markopoulos said the trial is currently scheduled for spring 2007.
"They have all been served, they have all filed answers and we are now in the process of exchanging discovery back and forth," he said.
Phelan voiced his displeasure with work completed by the companies named in the lawsuit.
 "(When I think about this) I get very frustrated and borderline angry," he said. "I agree with the mayor's statement that the architectural firm and geotechnical firm failed miserably and should be ashamed of themselves. I really want to use language that I can't use in a public forum."
City Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Richard Fortucci said the city has found legislation used by the city of Everett in a similar case that would allow it to borrow money and not repay it until a resolution is reached in court.
"We can borrow that money and not have to pay the principal or interest until such time that things are settled," he said.
 At the close of the meeting, Council President James Cowdell made sure two things were clear.
"We do have a serious problem, but at the same time, nobody is at risk," he said.

 

Classical Boys Soccer Team Looks to Fill Some Holes
By Joyce Erekson, The Daily Item of Lynn, Wednesday, August 31, 2005

The Classical High boys soccer team has some big holes to fill with the graduation of several key players, but with seven starters returning, coach Ken Norris has reason to be optimistic.
 The Rams lost a lot of firepower with the graduation of leading scorer Peter Koimene (24 goals, 7 assists), but Norris is hopeful Koimene's younger brother, Nathan, will pick up some of the offensive slack. The younger Koimene is a junior forward. Norris is also counting on returning halfbacks Nick Pitsas, Devon Dupuis and Dave Waldron, and veteran defenders Andrew Richard, Steven Delvecchio and stopper Sergio Eleta, to form the nucleus of this year's team.
Classical finished 9-8 last year, which was good enough for a trip to the state tournament. The Rams lost that game to Dracut, 5-2.
Norris is also looking for a new goalie to replace Ludwig Ardon, another graduate. Several underclassmen are contending for the spot, with sophomore Eric Silva, who played on the junior varsity last year, a strong candidate. Norris said the numbers at the preseason practices have been on the low side (about 24 players), but he's hoping they'll improve once school gets going.
Norris has been encouraged by some of the things he's seen so far in practice, particularly with the team's passing.
"Our passing ability's going to be our strength," he said. "We do need to work on moving the ball. I think that's going to be our goal this year, to move the ball better. The cluster we had last year moved the ball pretty well."
Classical will open the season next Wednesday against St. Mary's, the team the Rams beat at the end of last season to make it into the state tournament.
"I'm just looking for a positive outcome this year. Our goal is to put the ball in the net. That's always been our goal, just to keep rolling," Norris said.
 

Officials declare Classical safe
By Jill Gadsby , The Daily Item of Lynn, August 12, 2005

LYNN - The engineering report outlining the settling of Classical High School should be available in 30 to 60 days, and in the meantime, the school has been declared safe and secure.
Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan told members of the School Committee Thursday that the necessary repairs to the school have been made and the building will open as scheduled in September.
"I want to make one thing clear - the safety of the school and this report have nothing to do with each other," Donovan said. "We've already gone in to troubleshoot the school and find the areas that weren't safe and we are in the school once a month checking (for safety issues). All this report is going to tell us is why it is sinking. My son goes to that school too and I have no concerns sending him into that building."
Donovan made the assurances after Vice Chairman Patti Capano expressed concern over rumors surrounding the closure of the building.
 "Since April, I have been inundated with more rumors," she said. "I can't keep up with them. I think it's imperative that we say and re-say that the school is safe and will be open in September because people are truly concerned and are questioning the safety of the building."
Superintendent of School Nicholas Kostan reiterated that the school is safe.
"The School Department rumor mill is like no other and when these things get started, crazy comments get thrown around," he said. "In (Donovan's) words, the school is stable and safe for occupancy in the fall and we anticipate a great year there."
Until then, school and city officials await the engineering report that will outline the damage caused to the 6-year-old building by the settlement of its slab-on-grade configuration built on a solid waste landfill. The report will also offer repair options.
Among the damages are crumbling walls, two-inch gaps where one part of the building has pulled away from another, buckled ceiling tiles, cracked and lifted floor tiles, shattered trophy case glass, misaligned doors, and jagged floor-to-ceiling cracks in the walls.
Donovan said one reason the report has been delayed is a third round of settlement has occurred since the engineering firm last collected data, and the new damage had to be documented.
"The settlement is quite severe in the library," he said. "It's about 4- 41/2 inches and all told could be as much as 10 inches."
 It is expected the report will play a major part in the civil complaint filed this winter against 11 companies that played any role in the environmental assessment, architectural services, site preparation, remedial services, contracting and construction of the $40 million project.
Mayor Edward J. Clancy confirmed that Thursday. "We intend to be aggressive, once we get that report, in litigating," he said. "We feel that the construction has not been done properly, but, again, that can't be answered until we get that report in. We want to make sure we know what we're talking about in Superior Court."
The School Committee also unanimously approved the fiscal year 2006 budget, following a public hearing Thursday. No one came forward to speak in favor or against the $112 million budget, which was later approved without any discussion from School Committee members.

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