Andover voters could weigh in on the so-called “interim approach” for upgrading Andover High School at annual town meeting next year.
“Ultimately, the community will dictate the pace a little bit if there’s a desire for more information or to significantly change scope, that’s something that will have to be discussed,” Town Manager Andrew Flanagan told the select board Monday. “But at this time, while we definitely lost time over the summer, I think we’re on a pathway to meet our commitment of having something for town meeting.”
A November special town meeting shot down a request for $1.3 million to complete a detailed design of a new high school. At the same time, Andover’s legislative body approved $500,000 to study around $50 million in possible improvements to prolong the life of the existing school. The permanent town building committee has taken the lead on the so-called interim approach, which is aimed at extending the life of the existing school until Andover is in a better financial position to build a new one.
The setbacks over the summer came when not enough firms responded to a RFP for a project manager. When the RFP was reissued, Andover chose Colliers International to serve as the project manager for a $500,000 project aimed at studying potential upgrades for Andover High School.
The interim approach is expected to upgrade AHS’s HVAC system, modify the building’s interior and cafeteria, make site repairs, construct a new parking lot and add modular classrooms.