Mr. Reed: This was supposed to be a collaborative effort with the Board of Supervisors and the County Staff. In particular, one gentleman, Mr. Rauch (?) had experience in school conversions. Was there collaboration?
Paul Brown and Lewis Rauch participated in School Board and Board of Supervisor meetings in which this topic was discussed. Specifically, Mr. Rauch addressed the School Board and confirmed with Mr. Platenberg that the main focus of the assignment was from an educational perspective and that building components and construction logistics would be complementary to the educational program requirements.
Mr. Reed: Please refer to chart 16, two story option for the Belmont Ridge site. Rather than build a second floor on top of three existing 'houses',did you consider a three story wing beside the other existing building?
The one story and two story options that were evaluatedhad been reviewed and approved by the Department of Instruction for adjacencies, departmental teaching, and student circulation. The study focus presented was the most feasible. Additionally, a 3-story addition to the existing single-story facility may create circulation difficulties to and from the third floor.
Mr. Reed: For the Belmont Ridge site, did you have any options that had a goal to minimizechangesto the current building or allowed the school to be occupied during construction?
The design consultants considered a minimal impact approach, however the significant differences in educational program between middle schools and high schools combined with the physical plant needs required significant impact to the existing facility. Mr. Ken White (Architecture Inc.) addressed the occupied construction question on page 7 of the presentation by noting that costs and time would increase significantly if the facility remained occupied. Additionally, as noted in slide 11 with respect to floor plan revisions, the incremental expansion of each department while keeping the departments together as cohesive groups presents a challenge. The cascade effect of these departmental increases in a building originally designed around grade levels necessitates an appreciable degree of floor plan revisions.
Mr. Reed: Could the current HVAC system at Belmont Ridge support a largerauditorium and then addan additional system to support the additional class-rooms and new gym?
The mechanical and electrical engineers also considered a minimal impact approach and determined that portions of the HVAC systems could be reused and those elements have been considered in the costs presented. The auxiliary gym, locker rooms, and certain classrooms are examples of salvageable spaces in terms of the HVAC infrastructure. The extent to which the facility will be reconfigured, coupled with new energy and building codes as well as LCPS sustainable design parameters will require major system component replacement. Last, the existing HVAC system serving the Auditorium is located in a mezzanine adjacent to the Auditorium. As such, the building area currently occupied by this mezzanine will need to be demolished to accommodate construction of the 1,000 seat high school Auditorium. The baseline determination from the feasibility assessment is that it would not be possible for the reasons noted above.
Mr. Reed: Would the use of artificial turf at the Belmont Ridge sitereduce the need for athletic fields by allowing dual use?
Artificial turf has already been included in the cost estimates for each of the options presented.
Mr. Ohneiser: Given the assumption that the 1300 or so students currently enrolled at BRMS would not stay in the building as the demolition of much of their building occurs and the Newton Lee site is the only middle school capacity that could possibly support absorbing this student population what is your most likely timeline for completing the conversion of BRMS into a high school assuming we have to complete the new middle school at Newton Lee first? If you don't concur with my assumptions prefacing the question then please supply the expected timeframes for each project from now at least assuming we don't have bond approval to start prior to November election of 2011.
As noted in the staff presentation, it would take an estimated two years to secure the property from the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority (NVRPA). As noted by Ms. Rudicelle and Mr Hafner (Deputy Director of Planning and Grants and Planning and Development Director, respectively) the conversion must be approved by both the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the National Parks Service (NPS). Upon receiving title to the property and assuming voters authorized a bond to construct a replacement middle school, it would take two more years from the time the bond passed to open the new facility. Again, it would require two years to convert Belmont Ridge M.S. to a high school. It may take as long as six years to open the high school from the time voters approved the conversion from a middle school to a high school. Unknowns include when NVRPA would obtain title to the property and when the NPS would approve the land conversion.
Mr. Ohneiser: Why isn't it possible to build a new elementary school at the ISA site without making any changes to the current two ballparks that already exist there?
To improve traffic circulation to the school, it is necessary that the access drive provide for a continuous flow of traffic from Ashburn Village Boulevard to the school site, with the parking lot for the park as an intersecting road. Additionally, it is desirable to cross the drainage swale east of the park at close to a 90 degree angle to reduce wetland impacts. Since the access road is located offsite in an existing access easement, it is necessary to realign the access road as shown in order to achieve the above objectives without the need for additional offsite access easements from the adjacent church property. If offsite easements could be secured, it may be possible to realign the road such that impact to the existing field is avoided.
Mr. Ohneiser: Why did the consideration of the new middle school at Newton Lee not apparently consider utilizing Trailside Park as the school board had discussed prior to the study beginning?
Pedestrian access from the proposed school to the Trailside Park soccer field along the existing sidewalk is 2,400 feet. If a new pedestrian connection was proposed in a straight line from the school to the park site through the NVRPA parcel the distance would be approximately 1,700 feet; however, the following issues are associated with that option:
· At grade crossing of W&OD trail or a costly bridge over the trail would be required;
· An easement is required from NVRPA to construct trail, however NVRPA cannot grant an easement until it holds title to the property;
· Trail would include several hundred feet through secluded wooded areas which is not desirable from a student safety standpoint;
The middle school program utilizing Trailside Park is compromised, therefore not recommended.
Mr. Ohneiser: Why did the expansion of BRMS not include incorporating some land contiguous to it (partial NCC property condemnation or partial purchase) to allow a better final result since it did incorporate condemnation of property to build roundabouts?
The National Conference Center (NCC) areas immediately adjacent to BRMS and the park are not developable due to steep slopes, wetlands, floodplain, and potential Resource Protection Areas. There are areas located on the NCC site that are not encumbered by these constraints and potentially could be used for the outdoor educational program (e.g. the parking lot). The usable portion of the NCC property is located approximately the same distance from the school as the proposed fields on the Belmont Ridge Middle School site and the park site. The outlying areas on the NCC site also present difficult topographic challenges that necessitate significant earthwork and retaining walls for use as athletic fields. Use of the central NCC (parking) area would likely require a realignment of the existing NCC loop road which would add to the cost of the fields. Given the constraints and costs noted above, use of the Belmont Ridge Middle school site and park site was the most cost efficient option.
Mr. Ohneiser: Is the parking capability of the converted site at BRMS capable of the same, more or less parking than Stone Bridge High School has currently?
The LCPS goal for parking at high schools is 750 spaces. The BRMS site at the feasibility phase anticipates “approximately 750 spaces”. Mr. McElhaney (Urban Engineering, Ltd.) noted as such in the presentation associated with slide 25. Stone Bridge High School has 697 vehicle parking spaces.
Mr. Ohneiser: Given the challenges of adding a middle school to the Newton Lee site wouldn't a parking garage instead of as much surface parking be more prudent?
Given the limited number of spaces required at a middle school (175), Urban Engineering, Ltd. determined that the footprint of a possible parking structure would not be much smaller than the area of currently proposed surface parking; therefore, there would not be enough additional land salvaged to accommodate the missing outdoor educational program elements. Last, the cost of structured parking exceeds by a factor of approximately 10 the cost of surface parking.
Mr. Ohneiser: In all the presentations I don't remember hearing anything about the new Chesapeake considerations regarding non-disturbance of any wetlands. If this becomes a rule in Loudoun does it affect the plans described in any way?
All the studies were evaluated with the possible implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Act. The potential Resource Protection Areas (RPA) as currently identified in the Loudoun County GIS are shown on the layouts for the Loudoun County owned Farmwell site (formerly Islamic Saudi Academy), and the NCC site. The layouts for each of these sites were developed in an attempt to avoid impact to the potential RPA. It should also be noted that it is unknown at this time the extent to which the Act may be adopted.
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