Carbondale Reporter

Galena Unit School District 120 Board of Education Core Planning Committee Met July 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Welcome 

1.1 Call to Order – The Board of Education of Galena Unit School District #120 held their Core Planning Committee  Meeting in the Galena Middle School Library on July 15, 2021. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.  

1.2 Roll Call – A roll call was taken and a quorum was established. The following members were present: Member  Hyland, Member Frank(virtual participation), Member McIntyre, and Member Stodden. 

Others in attendance: Tim Vincent, Marty Johnson, Benjamin Beard, Jill Muehleip, Jen Berning, Dave Phillips, Andrew  Houy. 

1.3 Approval of Agenda – Member Stodden moved and Member Frank seconded the motion approving the agenda as  presented. Motion carried 4-0. 

1.4 Public Comments –There were no public comments. 

2. Business 

2.1 Facilities Discussion Led by Straka Johnson Architects - 

Handouts from Straka Johnson 

Marty Johnson shared that the district needs to be in compliance with the stormwater code for City of Galena, in which all  rainwater is required to be distributed as if the entire property was green. Any buildings or parking lots need to have a  water detention area in order to handle the required rainwater. In the past we have discussed possibly putting a softball  field in between the tennis courts and the current Primary School playground. Unfortunately, this is not a solution  because that area will be used as a stormwater detention area. We will still use this space for fill from the excavation of  the new site and playground.  

MSA is our Civil Engineer and they were assessing the campus for stormwater distribution. Straka Johnson asked the City  if they would be able to put a detention pond on the City property on the Northwest side of the parking lot. This is not  feasible because it is too narrow of a space at the intersection of Hwy 20 and Franklin Street. The current option they are  looking at is to pipe it on the purple portion of page 3, which would be an increased pipe cost, or eliminate the current  track. Straka Johnson will continue to work with the engineers to come up with viable alternatives.  

The orange line on page 4 shows the current water main line and this will have to be moved and re-routed as it was  unable to be incorporated into the City of Galena Water project. Marty has asked Matt Oldenburg if this could be an  addendum to the current city project or through a change order in which the district would pay for it. This is estimated to  be $60-75,000. The blue line on page 3 is the engineer’s proposed relocation. Marty said he would like to run that more  direct so that a couple hundred feet could be saved.  

Marty shared that the good news from the City collaboration is that the buffer in between the new building and pump  house line would be 20 feet instead of 30 in exchange for more land on the west side of the well house. They are planning  a future generator on the west side and the additional 10 feet could be space for the new building.  

The next discussion was the new parking lot. Marty shared that they have been working on good options for snow  removal. The parking lot will be very flat and pushing the snow to the west side of the lot will be the best option for water flow when the snow melts. Pushing snow to the North or West end is not advised because of the melting snow and water  mitigation. 

Another thing the core planning group needs to look at is the signage location with the new school. Marty said we do not  need to decide tonight but something the CPG can think about. Member Hyland shared that he would like to see this near  highway 20 to make sure people know what is going on. Mr. Hyland also shared that he would like to ensure that the memorials and donations are not forgotten, such as the Marge Groezinger benches at the Primary School.  

The Southern exterior of the outdoor areas were discussed next, including the playground. Mr. Hyland shared that he  thinks the playground is too small and Marty suggested that we move the exterior basketball courts to the east against  the basketball courts. Member McIntyre shared that that may be an issue because the football team and physical  education would be pressed for green space.  

Benjamin Beard asked if there are any other things we should be looking at with outdoor spaces. Mr. Houy shared that he  thinks having an homage to Mrs. Groezinger and other memorials in the district. Mrs. Muehleip shared that the outdoor  education space could be used frequently.  

Mr. Vincent shared that he met with the head cook about the kitchen area and she was pleased to see the revised format  of the kitchen to include freezer and cooler. The only change she would like to see is to convert the office to a dry storage  area and she does not need an office. Marty said the kitchen serving area is based on three grades eating at the same  time, not four. Mr. Vincent agreed and said that four lunch periods would cause kids to eat too early or too late in the day.  

Straka Johnson contacted Wenger music for band instrument storage and they came back with three options ranging  from $35,000 to $17,000. Based on that, the architects will be looking at a general laminate shelving to save money.  

Timeline and constructability-The architects led a discussion on the possibility of precast concrete panels that would be  installed with a thin layer of brick for exterior walls. This works for interior walls with electrical already installed. The  materials cost between precast concrete walls and traditional masonry would be similar, but with the water tower  removal pushed back to mid-June, we will be looking at options to save time and labor costs. 

Benjamin Beard shared a 3D rendering of the exterior of the building and there was a discussion of two different options  for the brick of the building. The core committee agreed that we should match the current design of the building by  having a metal or painted metallic band across the top of the walls. Member McIntyre asked about the West canopy and  asked if that can be extended. Mr. Johnson said that it was shorter than the front because it would compromise the  indirect light into the classrooms. 

The sequence of parent, board, and staff communication of an update with the current design was discussed. Mr. Hyland  shared that he would like for staff to see it before the public in a separate meeting. The board presentation was set for  August 16th and Mr. Vincent will schedule the other two meetings. The community presentation will be an open house  format with a brief presentation and question/answer. The CPG decided not to combine meetings with the three groups  and hold them separately.  

The next meeting was confirmed to be August 5th at 6pm.  

3. Adjournment 

3.1 Adjourn Meeting – Member Stodden moved and Member McIntyre seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at  8:03 p.m. Voice vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 3-0. 

 https://gusd120.k12.il.us/Pirates/board-committee-minutes/