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Maynard committee moves toward demolishing condemned bleachers; seeks interim scaffolding and costs
Summary
The School Committee discussed condemned Alumni Field bleachers, potential demolition, and interim options (rent scaffolding, modify electrical/PA). Members prioritized safety and asked staff for demolition and rental cost estimates before seeking quad‑board or finance help.
The Maynard School Committee spent a large portion of its Nov. 7 meeting on the condemned Alumni Field bleachers, leaning toward removal and asking staff to provide cost estimates for demolition and interim scaffolding to support WAVM broadcasting and athletics.
Members described a long history of planning and partial design work—committee members said roughly $500,000 has already been invested in the project—but said recent code changes and rising construction costs have pushed estimates from about $1 million pre‑COVID to roughly $3.4 million. The committee characterized the existing bleachers as condemned and cited inspection notes about rust and deferred maintenance that create safety and liability concerns.
Board members discussed three options outlined in district materials: (A) keep the current structure (status quo, not preferred), (B) demolish and rent scaffolding and temporary infrastructure enabling a viewing/announcing vantage point and limited PA use, or (C) demolish and not rent scaffolding (loss of PA/announcing capability and more limited broadcasts). Members repeatedly cited liability and ADA compliance as drivers of removal rather than mere preference.
Committee members asked staff to obtain firm cost estimates for: demolition, scaffolding (annual rental scenarios), reconfiguring on‑site electrical/scoreboard wiring, temporary ADA and restroom accommodations required for certain events, and the incremental transportation costs if Maynard teams cannot host tournament games. The school’s athletic and WAVM representatives described programmatic impacts if the district could not supply a Press Box vantage point and associated PA/streaming capabilities.
Several members said the committee will present a recommended option to the quad board and finance committee and asked staff to check available local reserves (free cash), CPC‑related funds and prior vendor estimates (Huntress) to assemble a clear cost and funding path. No formal demolition vote was held at the meeting; members expressed consensus to pursue option B (demolish, rent scaffolding) subject to detailed cost estimates and financing decisions.
Next steps: staff will gather and circulate demo and scaffolding estimates, confirm any temporarily available reserves, and prepare a quad‑board briefing on the operational impacts and budget implications.
