November 2023 Update
Dear Commissioners,
Here is an official update from the group of villagers interested in using the elementary school and grounds to provide a unique set of services to all villagers. Below the update you will find our overall goals and plans, some of which you will have seen or heard before. We ask that you enter this into the record, and if possible link it to our website, cotuitcommunitycenter.com, on the relevant page of the Prudential Committee site.
Respectfully yours,
George Foy, Patty Daley, John Havel
Update
Contractors have been contacted to assess costs related to maintenance of the building for the purposes cited. At this stage, we are talking about basic maintenance to prevent damage: the cost of fixing the roof, in particular, is estimated as being less than $10,000, but this is a rough estimate pending further examination. Conrad Geyser, a Cotuit contractor, is applying for permission to examine the building and provide a more detailed estimate: having a Cotuit resident involved in preserving the building fits with the overall goal of a community center. In the meantime, it's important to remember that allowing time for this purpose is not expensive; the town has maintained the school so far for $35,000 annually.
As you will have seen in previous meetings, feedback from villagers has indicated strong support for examining options, widespread admiration for the school's gym and other facilities, and lively interest in the possibility of a community center on the site. Village approval for approving time and funds for a robust study of options should be sought at the relevant meetings but indications are the community is in favor.
The CFD is the owner of record and the department's needs are paramount. However the CFD at the moment is commissioning its own study of fire department requirements, and how to retrofit the High Street property for future use. The possibility that some of the existing school facilities could be used by the Fire Department as well as the other town commissions is not to be discounted.
It is in the village's interest that all options for using buildings and property, including use as a community center as well as demolishing all or part of the structures, be thoroughly examined. We note that just under $200,000 has already been approved for this purpose and respectfully suggest that the necessary time and funds be allocated to that end, so that a decision vital to the village is not rushed, and viable options are not lost forever.
Goals and Plans
School Building’s Overall Feasibility:
The last town report indicates the building is structurally sound. There are of course repairs to be made, as with any building left unused for several years, but the town’s buildings manager has indicated it is in overall good shape. See below:Maintenance: The town estimates annual cost for simply maintaining the property as approximately $35,000 per annum—keep in mind that the key goal right now (November 2023) is to preserve the building until villagers can make an informed decision about what to do with it.
Costs: Estimates for full renovation of the entire building run to around $4 million: however this is for renovation as a school, which means the highest standard of rehabilitation. For a non-school building renovation would be considerably cheaper, since such items as asbestos in the crawlspace and lead paint can be isolated and mitigated, avoiding the great cost of removal and disposal. Not counting the cost savings to be garnered from having villagers volunteer for such items as general labor—and this is supposed to be a project that the whole village would back.
Alternative cost and possibilities: Demolition of the building was estimated last year as costing over $900,000; given the record of cost overruns on such projects, it is virtually certain that demolition, disposal and grounds rehabilitation will cost over $1 million.
Fire station: A previous idea, of using the school property for building a new fire station, has been largely dismissed as impractical and prohibitively expensive due to the need to extensively re-design the building for such a function. The fire department's needs can be accommodated by an add-on to the already-purchased adjacent property on High Street, which seems to be the preference of the Cotuit Fire Department at this time.
Funding plans: Our villagers’ group has set up a non-profit 501 (C) 3 corporation, Cotuit Community Center Inc., that could serve as a legal vehicle for soliciting grants and donations, and for eventual rental of the property. The group is planning several informational meetings, a publicity pamphlet, and ultimately fundraising meetings and flyers. It should be re-emphasized that the whole point of the Center is to provide services that will not take one dollar of taxpayer funding.
Overlap: It has been suggested that village amenities including Freedom Hall, library and church can fulfill and replace the functions of a community center. This approach ignores various problems:
Freedom Hall and the Cotuit Library cannot accommodate parking for popular services such as a farmer’s market or recreational facilities and don’t provide the flexibility of separate classrooms.
Leaving aside the issue of a religious organization controlling a spectrum of civic village events and functions, the church, however expanded, unlike the school has limited useful recreational facilities, nor the expanse of grounds needed for community gardens, a full-size playground, etc.; the same is true of the library.
The synergy of grouping multiple activities in one place (ie. the school), is apt to generate interest across different areas and contribute overall to the heightened sense of community the center seeks to promote. The list of proposed services below are all unlikely to be offered by existing structures in the village.
Potentially Allowable Services:
Assuming, broadly, that public safety and health uses are allowed under the Fire District’s enabling legislation, (the latter including sports and recreation), the following list of potential uses may be allowable without changing the existing enabling legislation. According to Mark Lynch, a non-profit corporation would be an allowable vehicle for services not directly district-related (such as FD offices). The potential list is as follows:Public Safety: First Response Center, Barnstable PD Satellite, emergency shelter, OpenCape hub (as a utility that supports public safety), certification classes (CPR, etc.), “Village” center and large meeting space, boating safety classes
Public Health: Water Resource Center, cafeteria use, farmer’s market, farm stand + food pantry
Recreation: Basketball, yoga classes, nature walk, playground, exercise center, pickleball, open gym, sports field, PE classes, field day
Enabling Legislation:
The legislation defining what the district can and cannot do is relatively easy to change (it has already been changed twice) and especially for a project so clearly in the community’s interest; if village residents vote to seek to expand allowable uses, a legislative change would be spearheaded by Cotuit’s representative at the General Court, Representative Kip Diggs. For other services a revised enabling act could allow, see the Overall Concept, below.Overview:
The Cotuit Elementary School (approximately 27,000 square feet) and adjacent property (5.5 acres with the Town of Barnstable retaining control of 8.5 acres comprising the Main Street driveway and parking area) offer a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to endow our village with needed amenities, services and space that will allow Cotuit to enhance its traditions, attractiveness, cohesion and identity. Cotuit is already somewhat fenced off from the rest of Barnstable by Rte. 28: residents, from the elderly to working adults to young families and children, have often voiced a desire to have resources and services available locally and with a Cotuit focus. Alternative uses for the property seem less attractive: the fire department's needs (mostly ambulance-related) can be accommodated by an add-on to the already-purchased adjacent property; demolition of the school, as well as being ecologically difficult, would be exceedingly costly. The proximity of the well-field, plus proposed cutting-edge technology to deal with any waste-water issues and to set up a working model of what will be needed in the future to mitigate pollution, is a priceless complement to the project. The school buildings are in astonishingly good shape. Cotuit's demographics, and the proximity of donors, suggest that independent funding–which is essential–would not be hard to come by.Inevitable expenses that go with bringing the school building up to relevant standards will be cited as arguments against. We have seen the building, and this argument can be turned on its head, in that the building is (to repeat) in great shape, with mostly routine maintenance outstanding. The biggest task would probably be getting rid of the rotting modular structure on the southern end, but it's ready to go and eliminating it shouldn't be too onerous. Heating, and the mitigation of the existing, asbestos-covered plant, would be a big project, but needn't be addressed for now: most likely the first iteration of a community center would be in warmer months. A realistic breakdown of immediate expenses, and a projection of how to meet those, should counter the argument of "Omigod this is gonna be so expensive." Liability coverage for a center that is not a school or housing or child-care facility is affordable.
It is crucial to emphasize, at this stage, three key elements. First, this project would not require one cent of taxpayer money. If it isn't financially viable, it doesn't get off the ground. Second, this initiative is predicated on Cotuit residents being in favor of it. This will be determined by a vote at a yet-to-be-scheduled Cotuit Fire District meeting. Approving use of the school and grounds (except for the town areas) would happen only if that condition were satisfied: if village residents prefer another option, they should go with it. The support of relevant committees (Fire, Water, Prudential) would also be essential to the project. Finally, once in operation, the center would be run by and for residents only: the appropriate self-governance structures, from an operating committee to (in the case of a non-profit structure) a rolling, replaceable board of directors, would have to reflect that.
The Vision
General Objectives: A grassroots community center offering locally needed, independently funded, community-generated services that will serve as a focal point for sustainable, ecologically useful, self-governing and information-sharing activities for the area.
Immediate Objectives:
Informational website (cotuitcommunitycenter.com is already in existence)
Vehicle for fundraising (a 501(C)3 non-profit corporation, such as the Cotuit Community Center, Inc.)
Further study of innovative techniques to enhance Cotuit’s groundwater resources (see below)
Further village informational open-house meetings
Fundraising and grant-writing drive to raise seed capital
Possible Services with Enabling Legislation Amendment:
Recreation (basic gym, basketball), using the grounds (pickleball?) and also the excellent indoor gym
Affordable housing advice (perhaps for victims of winter/summer rental whipsaw effect and/or for advice to build an accessory dwelling unit under the town’s recent ordinance)
Child-care advice and coordination
Health-care and senior-citizen advice or workshops – the county does this in Barnstable but for older residents of the area a local focus would likely be welcome
Adult-ed classes (nature, subsistence gardening techniques, writing, self-help, yoga, first aid, tax and finance assistance, etc.)
Community garden
Farmers' market (indoor and outdoor)
Local extension service for gardeners and also self-help food growing
Food pantry, food co-op and/or referral to other food pantries, even transport ditto
Water resources center and/or water resources and local ecology education node
Community information center, online and physical: this could also work as clearing-house for information on rentals and other housing, which is desperately needed locally
Exchange center for local services, cash- and barter-based: this could have both an online version and a physical swap shop
Kettleers meeting room, museum area (Kettleers management appear to support this)
Health insurance and health care classes and advice
Sustainable design, architecture outpost / courses
Grassroots newsletter (online and maybe printed)
Local maritime center, including CMYC, Peck's (interested), Oyster Company, historical society advice and initiatives aimed at increasing community use of waterfront
Local business support - outreach to local or nearby self-sustaining businesses and organizations: Cotuit Solar, the Coop (Cotuit Fresh Market), Kettle Ho, Elder Law, Mashpee Tribal Council, etc.
Initiatives related to learning about and preserving the village's natural preserves and wildlife: Eagle Pond, Bell Farm, Cordwood, Crocker's Neck, fishing and shellfishing resources
Outreach to local self-sustaining businesses and organizations: Cotuit library, historical association, Cotuit Oyster Company, Cotuit Solar, Peck's Boats, Elder Services Law (Main Street), the Coop, Kettle Ho, neighboring Mashpee Tribal Council, etc.
Workshops on, for example, how to plan, build small self-sustaining carbon-neutral housing
Free volunteer car service for center-related activities
Water Quality / Sustainability
The Elementary School property is located in a wellhead protection area of the Cotuit public water supply. This means that the groundwater underlying the site flows to one of our wells and ultimately to your home. The protection of the groundwater at the property is of the highest priority and must be carefully considered in any re-use project.
Careful site planning and the integration of sustainability principles can enable a broad range of uses of the property. Perhaps most important is the discharge of wastewater on the site.
The potential use of the Community Center will generate an estimated 1000 gallons of wastewater/day. This is estimated based upon 50% of Title 5 design flows. If a standard Title 5 system were used this would generate approximately 49 kg of nitrogen per year that would be discharged to groundwater and flow to the nearby Cotuit Water Department drinking water well.
A new generation of innovative and alternative (I&A) septic systems has been developed over the last decade. These systems utilize woodchips as a bioreactor to convert wastewater-derived nitrogen to harmless nitrogen gas emitted to the atmosphere. Current test data indicate that these systems will remove 80 - 90% of the nitrogen (as well as other wastewater pollutants). Utilizing one of these systems at the Community Center would reduce the nitrogen load to 5-7 kg/year.
To offset the remaining nitrogen load associated with the Community Center a "fertigation" well could be utilized. Fertigation refers to the combination of irrigation and fertilization. The fertigation well would pump groundwater underlying the site onto the recreational fields associated with the Community Center. Groundwater in this area is estimated to contain 3 mg/liter from nearby Title 5 septic systems. According to estimates provided by the Cape Cod Commission turfgrass can update and attenuate approximately 80% of the nitrogen applied. By utilizing the ambient nitrogen in the groundwater instead of commercial fertilizers this would result in a reduction of nitrogen of approximately 8.9 kg/year.
Combining the two innovative treatment strategies the Community Center would have a net nitrogen reduction of 2 - 4 kg/year. This would serve as an excellent example of sustainable development that could be applied to other properties throughout the Cotuit area.