Walpole School Building Committee approves $3.58 million package for sidewalks, parking and field upgrades

The Walpole School Building Committee voted Feb. 11 to proceed with a combined sidewalks, roadway and athletic-field package for the middle school project totaling $3,581,000, approving work that includes roadway safety improvements, parking along East Street and a suite of field upgrades.

The package funds two related components: $1,450,000 for paving, granite curbing, sidewalks and roadway safety improvements managed by the town Department of Public Works (DPW), and $2,131,000 for field work that includes a $2,022,000 field construction estimate plus a $34,000 construction-administration allowance, according to a memo circulated to the committee.

The vote followed more than an hour of discussion in which members and town and school representatives debated whether to spend leftover borrowing for “complete” neighborhood and athletic improvements or to conserve surplus funds for future capital needs. Ben, a Select Board representative, argued the community would benefit from finishing related infrastructure now and described the approach as a stakeholder-driven, “complete projects” strategy. Jack, a committee member, urged tabling the item so the full School…