Architect outlines compact, safety-focused plan for Valley High School; board to get costs in January

Anne Keter, an architect and founder of Novo Studio Architects, told the RSU 40/MSAD 40 school board that a yearlong review of Valley High School has produced a prioritized plan focused on health, safety and space optimization.

"So, my name is Anne Keter and I am an architect and I'm the owner and founder of Novo Studio Architects," Keter said as she opened the presentation. She described a four-part process of existing-conditions analysis, programming (space optimization), design options and cost estimating aimed at fixing what the building needs rather than adding unnecessary square footage.

Keter said the existing-conditions work identified hazardous materials in building finishes, safety and security shortfalls, building-system problems and accessibility gaps. "Everything you see in that lime green color, that flooring has asbestos in it," she said, and added the district needs to remove hazardous flooring and mastic as part of the scope.

She highlighted three near-term priorities: remediating hazardous materials, renovating a set of high-use restrooms that are not accessible or easily supervised, and redesigning oversized 1960s-era locker rooms to reclaim space for instructional use. Keter said special-education services are scattered through the building and would benefit from a centralized suite, and that science labs are outdated and need modernization.

The team emphasized fiscal restraint. Keter said the design work intentionally focuses on needs so the project remains supportable by taxpayers, not driven by "frivolous square footage".

Carrie Warren of Energy Efficiency Investments, who joined the presentation, described the cost-estimating and funding approach. "We're going to be doing this through a performance contract to try and maximize how we can use these funds," Warren said, adding the consultants will present one to three budget and financing options and aim to have numbers available in January.

Keter and Warren said they submitted an application to the Maine School Revolving Renovation Fund. Keter said the fund is unusually constrained this year: about $15 million is available statewide compared with a typical $25 million to $28 million, and the team is competing with roughly 85 to 95 applications for awards up to $2 million per project.

The presenters also described a separate "phase three" effort focused on districtwide ventilation and controls, including basement ventilation, controls upgrades, converting oil boilers to condensing propane boilers at about three schools and adding ventilation to specific classrooms and gym basements. They said phase three is being developed to be cost-neutral to taxpayers largely through energy savings and grant programs.

On timing, Keter said award notices from the revolving fund should be known by the end of January or early February. The team plans to present more detailed designs and cost figures first to the facilities committee in mid-January and then to the full board on Feb. 5.

During a short question-and-answer period, a board member asked whether the timeline accounts for town-meeting schedules; Keter said earlier numbers make it easier for towns to plan and reiterated the planned mid-January and Feb. 5 presentations.

The presenters concluded by inviting board members to follow up with questions and said they would return with more detailed cost information in January and February.