Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facilities Referendum Architect topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District outlines $110 million facilities plan; board approves architect agreement
Summary
Superintendent presented conceptual designs for Meadowbrook, Greenbrier, Northbrook Junior High and Westmore as part of a $110 million plan tied to a $95 million referendum; board approved an architect agreement with DLA Architects and staff outlined a communications plan for the referendum.
The Northbrook SD 28 superintendent told the board on Jan. 28 that the district has placed a question on the ballot tied to a facilities master plan that, together with a district contribution, totals about $110,000,000. "This gets us to that $110,000,000 which is the 95,000,000 in the referendum plus the district contribution," the superintendent said.
Presentations from district staff and the architects showed conceptual designs aimed at addressing multiple facility needs. At Meadowbrook the plan includes a new gymnasium sited adjacent to the existing building so it could be connected to a replacement building if the board proceeds; the superintendent said the gym will be designed to serve as a storm shelter and "will withstand an f 5 tornado," consistent with current code requirements for school storm shelters. Greenbrier's plan would move former basement programs to the first floor, add a cafetorium/performance space, expand restrooms and add an 11-classroom addition behind the gym; the proposal calls for flipping a playground to add roughly 20 parking spaces. Northbrook Junior High's proposal includes a larger kitchen and loading-dock access, which the superintendent said could enable the district to prepare hot meals at the junior high and ship them to elementary schools if the board chose to do so in the future.
Terry, district communications staff, described a referendum outreach plan that includes direct-mail brochures and postcards, a referendum webpage with a tax calculator, email updates to subscribers, short social media messages, two community meetings at the Methodist Church (one afternoon, one evening), a short 2-to-3-minute explainer video with 30-second social clips, displays at the public library and building-specific podcast episodes.
The board later considered and unanimously approved an agreement with DLA Architects to provide architectural services for the projects. Board members asked about the architect’s compensation model; staff said the architect will bill based on a percentage of each project. The transcript does not specify the percentage used in the contract.
Board members said they would return to buildings-and-grounds discussion and to detailed design choices with building staff and administration if the referendum is approved. Westmore remains under design and the superintendent asked architects to consider a cafetorium option there as well.
Votes at a glance: - Motion to approve architect agreement with DLA Architects: approved unanimously. - Communication plan: informational item; no vote recorded.
The board will bring more detailed designs to future meetings and will use the approved communications plan to inform the community about the referendum question that has been placed on the ballot by the county.
