The Andover High School Building Committee recommended holding a special town meeting to approve $1.3 million for a detailed design of a new high school.
The building committee also approved language for the warrant article asking for the money at it meeting Tuesday morning. Both measures passed unanimously with no discussion by the building committee.
To see if the town will vote to appropriate $1,300,000 to pay costs of purchasing professional services related to the design, renovation, and construction of Andover High School, and including the payment of all costs, incidental and related thereto, and to determine whether this amount shall be raised by taxation, borrowing, transfer from available funds, or by any combination, or take any other action related thereto.
Proposed special town meeting warrant article from the Andover High School Building Committee.
The select board, which next meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, needs to give final approval for a special town meeting. Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said Tuesday officials have yet to decide if the board will review the request Tuesday or finalize details on when the meeting would be held.
The committee also voted for synthetic turf over natural grass fields and to increase the size of the existing, plateau field, so it can be used a regulation field for fall and spring sports. The board held off on voting whether to add lights to the plateau field.
More coverage on Andover News: Crash Course: The New AHS Project
After a year of discussion, the building committee proposed a preliminary design calling for a new school with a 250,000-square-foot campus-style layout and a 1,000-seat auditorium that would replace the Collins Center. With a preliminary estimate of $480.9 million, it was the cheapest of the three options the committee considered, but would still be the most expensive project in Town history.