Pelham - Windham News 6 - August 20, 2010


Senior Center Addition Discussed


by Lynne Ober Pelham selectmen continue to discuss the need to expand Pelham’s Senior Center in order to accommodate the number of participants using it. Recently, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos briefed selectmen on the bid went out. According to Gaydos, Stallion was the low bidder, but the bid needed clarification, so Trident was asked to meet with them. David Mermelstein of Trident Project Managers put together a breakdown so that everyone could easily review each of the construction categories and their costs to make sure that nothing was missing. Mermelstein met with Stallion, who, at first, indicated they would not complete that type of paperwork, but later agreed they would submit the paperwork by Friday (August 6); however, paperwork had not been received to date. Gaydos said he was concerned by Stallion’s initial reaction and subsequent lack of follow- through. Gaydos pointed out that Pelham was still not a customer, and at this stage, vendors are typically very responsive to questions and needs. Gaydos reported that he asked Mermelstein to attend the meeting and answer any questions the selectmen may have.


Selectman Bill McDevitt asked Gaydos if the point of the discussion was to determine if the bidder should be rejected. Gaydos commented that initially, Stallion informed that they weren’t going to supply paperwork, and then informed that they would supply paperwork, but didn’t. Gaydos said that his recommendation was to no longer consider Stallion as a qualified bidder based on their performance to date, but noted that this was the only bidder that bid within the price range. Mermelstein suggested that, in the interest of time, the Town work with the people that had provided proposals and ask them for more information on their bids. There was a detailed cost estimate sheet to ensure that a complete project was being bought. Mermelstein suggested that this sheet be sent to the second through fourth bidder, and requested that they provide further information about their firm and pricing. Selectman Ed Gleason thought the Council


A week later, Desrosiers said he asked Bass if he could meet with the School Board to explain his request to remain as Center School Principal. That request was denied, Desrosiers said. “I probably upset Mr. Bass when I then e-mailed him and all members of the School Board, requesting a face-to-face meeting,” he said. “I felt this was appropriate, given my previous volunteer service to the [Windham] community, as a School Board member, multiple facilities planning/building committees, and my most recent tenure as Center School Principal; not to mention my 34 years as a Windham resident.” “I was not allowed to meet with the School


Board,” Desrosiers stated. “I feel that this should have been a minimum courtesy extended to me.” Up to this point, Mrs. Fulton was unaware of Desrosiers’ desire to remain as Center School Principal, Desrosiers explained. However, when she was subsequently informed, she said she met with Bass and offered to stay as assistant principal at Center School for one more year, in order to accommodate Desrosiers’ request. The following day, Desrosiers said, Bass and School Board Chairman Bruce Anderson came to Center School to meet with Fulton and to interview her for the job of principal. Several weeks later, Fulton’s new


on Aging and Town would have to re-design the existing structure to get within an affordable price category. He asked if Mermelstein would work with Roland Soucy to cut back the size of the building, but maintain certain items such as the removal of the existing bathrooms and having the new building abut the old building. Mermelstein responded that he would. Gaydos stated that the Council on Aging had indicated they would like a larger buffer between the finish numbers to have a margin for error, and everyone seemed to think this was a prudent idea. When Selectman Hal Lynde noted that there had been a number that was not to be exceeded and questioned if the bidders could be asked what they could provide for that price and then rank the bidders based on what they provided, Gaydos said that during the initial meeting with the Council on Aging, there were some goals they had for the building.


Mermelstein offered the opinion that another alternative would be to work with a selected contractor in a construction management format so they would know what dollar was being spent on what line item. Gaydos asked how selectmen wanted to proceed with the bid. He said the options were to either work with a limited number of people or to open it up again to anyone so long as they came to a pre-bid meeting. According to Gaydos, there were initially 11 bidders.


Board of Selectmen Chairman Doug Viger said that he would like the project taken over and run by Mermelstein, with Gleason being the Selectmen Representative. He also wanted to have Soucy continue to be involved to make sure town codes were being complied with. Gleason stated he had come to the realization that the structure was bigger than what could be afforded and felt the cleanest approach would be to reset the drawings to a lesser square foot area, based upon Mermelstein’s input as to what was achievable, and then re-bid the project. Gleason said he believed that if this was done, then better bids would come in. Selectman Bob Haverty also felt there seemed


Former Principal- continued from front page


job as principal was confirmed. In June, Desrosiers said, a staff member at


Windham Center School made allegations against Fulton, regarding her supposedly sharing interview questions with one of the assistant principal candidates. As a result, Bass asked to speak with Desrosiers concerning the matter. This was during the final week of the 2009-2010 school year. “I told Mr. Bass that I knew a little about the accusation and that I seriously doubted Mrs. Fulton’s involvement, as stated by the other staff member. I said that it was my opinion that this situation seemed to be a ‘she said/she said’ scenario and that there was not enough evidence to pursue his [Bass’] findings,” Desrosiers added. “I, further, told Bass that I was concerned about the intentions of the accusing staff member.” The staff member who made the allegations of misconduct about Fulton was not selected as Center School’s new assistant principal. During a recent phone conversation with Bass, he said he could not discuss the situation regarding Fulton, as it pertained to a personal matter. Bass did, however, acknowledge that Desrosiers had approached him on two occasions regarding his offer to remain as principal of Center School. “We looked at all considerations before


We refill. Save up to 60% OUT OF INK &TONER?


Most ink-jet cartridges refilled in 10 minutes or less All major brands for HOME and BUSINESS Compatible ink-jet and laser cartridges available 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed


Locally Owned & Operated Since 1991


Trademarks mentioned and/or pictured are property of their respective companies and are used for descriptive purposes only. InkSpot is in no way affiliated with any of the named companies.


15 Derry Street, Hudson, NH 882-5400 HP


Canon Lexmark Xerox Epson Brother DELL GOLFERS NEEDED!


Animal Rescue Network of New England’s


Gracie Blaze September 16th Windham Country Club, Windham, NH


Dog Rescue Benefit Golf Tournament


$130 Registration Fee includes 18 holes of golf, golf cart, complimentary use of driving range and lunch at the completion of the game.


Princess 8am shot gun start. Sugar To register, please contact Lynn Barry at 781-844-3745 or lfgbarry@aol.com Wanda To see a complete listing of


available dogs,and to complete an adoption application in advance, please visit www.arnne.org


603-635-2211 Riley e


10:00 - 1:00 at the First


&


Congregational Church


in Pelham Sheila Photos courtesy of "Creations by Sea-Jay" Ad sponsored by Beaver Valley Farms, Pelham, NH


Won't you please stop by to meet us? We will be wagging our tails


with delight when we see you in our sight!


Aug. 28th Abbey LT


Your Next Refill Order One Coupon per purchase. No cash value. Coupon must be present at time of purchase.


$2.00 OFF


making a decision,” Bass said. “Ultimately, we decided we wanted to go in a different direction.” “I also told Mr. Bass that, in my opinion, the


school district could be open to litigation,” Desrosiers said. Desrosiers said his comments to Bass were based on a conversation he had had previously with Fulton. “I e-mailed Mr. Bass on the last day of school and, again, the following week with some of this same information, again reiterating that I would be willing to stay at Center School for as long as needed, to maintain stability until this situation was resolved.” “There was never any response [from Bass] to


any of my e-mails,” Desrosiers said. After Fulton was placed on administrative


leave, she asked that a public hearing be held, so that she could discuss the situation surrounding her suspension in an open and honest setting. A hearing was scheduled, but subsequently postponed. During the interim, school administrators and legal advisors met in non-public with Fulton. Following that meeting, it was announced that Fulton had resigned as Center School Principal and would be seeking employment outside the Windham School District. The staff member who brought the allegations against Fulton has been transferred to another school within the Windham School District. “Based on the fact that Mrs. Fulton wanted


with this ad-


a public hearing because she felt that she did nothing wrong, and the school district, subsequently, settling the case ‘out of court’ [with no public hearing], we may never know the facts that Mr. Bass used to make his determination for her resignation,” Desrosiers commented. “Of course, the end result is that Windham


www.woofwoof.net


taxpayers apparently are left to be responsible for the settlement that was agreed upon by both parties. This, in an environment of a second default budget; one that is facing the Windham School District as the new school year gets underway.” Desrosiers added. If Windham taxpayers are responsible for paying a settlement to Fulton, Desrosiers said, “Business Administrator [Donna Claremont] is going to have to work some magic.” On August 10, it was confirmed that former


www.woofwoof.net


Doggie Daycare & Training Center 70 Range Rd, Windham


890.6239


1st Day of Doggie Daycare


7 Days a Week


Windham Middle School Principal Kori Becht would take over as principal at Center School, while former assistant principal Dan Moulis got promoted to the principal of Windham Middle School. “I feel that we have put together a superb leadership team,” Bass said.


Doggie Daycare


& Training Center 70 Range Rd, Windham 890.6239


FREE www.woofwoof.net


E ELWOOD ORCHARDS Apples, Corn, Peaches, Tomatoes,


new clients only 8 a.m.- 6 p.m.


Summer Squash, Zucchini, Pickling Cukes, Slicing Cukes, Green Beans, Honey And Preserves At The Farm Stand


54 ELWOOD RD., LONDONDERRY • 434-5600 • 434-6017


HIGH + DRY ROOFING Free Estimate


Doggie Daycare & Training Center 70 Range Rd, Windham


890.6239


30 Years Experience


Fully Insured


1st Day of Doggie Daycare


"People Look Up To Us" with this ad-


Call Mike 429-0328 or


Cell: 494-8761 FREE new clients only Doggie Daycare


& Training Center 70 Range Rd, Windham 890.6239


1st Day of Doggie Daycare


Please help u Join us on Se


FREE


Dog Re at the Windha


with this ad- new clients only


$130 registration and lunch at the c To register, please


In response to Bass’ decision to name someone else as Center School Principal, Desrosiers said, simply, “It is obviously now a moot issue, but if I had been asked, I would have stayed.” Desrosiers said he is not done with his career in education and is currently looking elsewhere for administrative positions. “I have sent a few resumés out,” he said.


1st Day of Doggie Daycare


FREE with this ad- new clients only www.woofwoof.net


to be a disconnect between how the drawings were put together versus what there was for money.


Viger said he didn’t want the Seniors to be left out of the process because the Seniors knew how the space worked with their functions. McDevitt reviewed the deliberative session minutes, which indicated the building would be 1,500 square feet. He also felt the building should be reduced in size and rebid. According to Gleason, the building structure that went out to bid was 3,800 square feet. McDevitt said the minutes read “about 1,500 square feet.” Gaydos believed it was fair to say that the area connecting to the building was 99% of what the Seniors were looking for. He discussed the other primary aspects of the structure that was desired by the Seniors.


McDevitt said pre-qualification would eliminate some of the tension and issues that came up with the low bidder. Viger asked the Selectmen if they wanted Mermelstein\ to redesign the Senior Center in cooperation with Soucy, and suggested that Gleason and the Council on Aging should come back with something that was more realistic for the budget.


Mermelstein noted that Trident staff weren’t designers, but said they would work with Soucy and the Council on Aging to make sure that the program met their needs. When Haverty wanted to know once they had a new drawing if it would go back out to bid, or if they would work with the existing list of bidders with the exception of the non-responsive bidder – Stallion – Viger thought it should go out to all bidders, including Stallion. He noted that in the past, the Town had not always gone forward with the lowest bidder, but rather had gone with the lowest qualified bidder. Gaydos asked for a vote of the Board regarding Stallion’s participation so he could send them a letter indicating the Selectmen would not be accepting their bid, either in the future, or just the initial bid put together.


McDevitt then said any bidder who was asked to complete forms to further qualify themselves and refuses to do so didn’t show promise for a future cooperative working relationship. He believed the selectmen should say thank you, but no thank you. He was concerned about Stallion’s willingness to be responsive if chosen for the job. However, Haverty offered a different opinion. He stated that he didn’t know if he would be adverse to letting them participate in a re-bid and following the process everyone else was being asked to do. Lynde’s opinion was that selectmen should say they decided to reject all bids and come back with a re-bid. Gleason agreed with this position. Viger was leery of eliminating anyone from the bid process. He said a strong message could be sent that they were unhappy that the company didn’t finish the procedures for the job, which may affect their qualifications for the next job. After additional discussion, Haverty moved to send a letter to the bidder who was unresponsive stating that they would be discarding all the bids and would potentially go out to re-bid in the near future. After Gleason seconded, the motion passed unanimously.


Viger asked members of the Council on Aging for their comments.


Senior Center Director Sue Hovling and Don Brunelle both spoke. Hovling stated that their interest was to get the project on the road and said the council wanted to give the Seniors as much as they could while staying within the budget. She said there had originally been two phases that would have both been taken care of with the project, but for now, they would put phase two on the back burner. She said the most pressing need was to have a hall large enough for activities and to eliminate the bathrooms in the dining room. She also had concerns about the safety of the cellar stairs. Hovling said if those concerns were met, a smaller plan would be acceptable. Brunelle agreed with Hovling and stated that the Council on Aging would work with Mermelstein and Soucy. He thanked the selectmen for their support and ongoing interest.


A y


P


t


d


a


Y


p


o


a


oit


D


r


n


d


S


a


l


e


Photos courtesy of "Creations by Sea-Jay".


Ad courtesy of Beaver Valley Farms.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14