ROCKLAND, Maine — A new vocational school for the midcoast area is needed at an estimated cost of $25.5 million, according to a consultant hired by the regional board.
The Region 8 Vocational Center Board meeting to review the report has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Monday because of this week’s blizzard. Schools around Rockland were canceled Wednesday.
“Given the age and condition of the facility, as well as the obstacles that the existing facility poses on the educational delivery, there is very little justification for renovating the facility,” the report from Lavallee Brensinger Architects states.
Mid-Coast School of Technology Director Beth Fisher said Monday there were no surprises for her in the report.
“The building has outlived its usefulness,” Fisher said.
The technology school provides technical and career education for students from Oceanside High School East in Rockland, Oceanside High School West in Thomaston, Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, Vinalhaven, North Haven, Islesboro, and Lincoln Academy in Damariscotta. About 400 students are served both at the facility and in cooperative programs in the sending schools.
The report was the culmination of a process that began early last year with the creation of a Visioning Committee that looked at the condition of the facility at 1 Main St., at the townline with Owls Head. The committee also examined the programs offered at the school.
A series of meetings were held last year with the public, including business leaders. Lavallee Brensinger Architects of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Charlestown, Massachusetts, was selected last spring to do the assessment. Engineers also were hired to assess the building’s condition.
The 57,000-square-foot building was built in 1968 as a marine repair shop. The Region 8 Cooperative Board purchased the property in 1976 and the vocational center opened for students in 1977. The property is located on 7 acres and has harbor frontage on the rear of the lot.
The architects state that the “dedication and ingenuity of the maintenance staff has kept the facility operational despite the failing infrastructure. The ‘band-aids’ and ‘patch work’ is not sustainable for the foreseeable future and, as detailed in the attached engineering reports, major building components are ready for replacement.”
The cost of doing nothing will be significant, the architects state, concluding that all the major building components from the foundation to the roof fail to meet current building code standards. Air quality, lighting, acoustics also are cited as deficiencies in the building. The lack of parking and traffic flow, as well as the storage buildings being located a distance from the main building are other reasons cited for replacing the facility.
The architects say a new school could be built on the site. At a maximum size of 90,000 square feet, a new school would cost an estimated $25.5 million. The consultants pointed out that building costs would rise as the economy strengthens and that interest rates are also expected to go up which means the regional cooperative should act soon to set a timeline for the project.
The proposed timeline in the report calls for a referendum in all the communities served by Region 8 in June 2016. That schedule would allow sufficient time to update the public through a series of forums. Construction could begin in the spring of 2017 and the building could be completed in time for the opening of school in September 2018.
State funding for the project is uncertain. The report points out that the last time applications were filed with the Maine Department of Education, the Mid-Coast School of Technology did not place within the top 30 programs considered for state aid. About five schools are added every two years to a list of schools slated for state-funded construction projects.
In terms of programs, the report states that “defining the desired career or educational paths that students are interested in pursuing and defining what skills and professional proficiency are required by local business or future industries evolving in the region is critical.” A modern facility would attract more students, the report concludes.