SULLIVAN — The town Select Board, code enforcement officer and fire chief have expressed concern about the lack of a formal approval process for additions to the construction of the new Charles M. Sumner Learning Campus.
The board voted on Dec. 12 to request that Regional School Unit 24 (RSU 24) come before the Planning Board for a site plan review of additions that are being made to the project without prior approval on the original plan.
The issue came to the attention of the board when Sullivan Code Enforcement Officer Mike Gurtler proposed that the town waive the building permit fees for the water system update for the learning campus. The school is now building a maintenance garage and water cisterns, which needed another permit, in addition to the permit for the original building.
“They have a half-million-dollar project that is going to occur in order to put cisterns in the ground to support the strict sprinkler system and they have a maintenance garage that’s being built, and so I required them to file for building permits for them,” Gurtler said. “In the past, or at least the last project, they didn’t have to pay fees.”
The fees in question were only a few hundred dollars, so Gurtler asked the Select Board if it wished to continue waiving the permit fees for the school district as it had done for the previous permits. The discussion quickly turned to address the fact that the water cisterns, which the school is installing to supply the sprinkler system, were added to the plan for the Charles M. Sumner Learning Campus after the original plan for the building had been approved.
Gurtler suggested that although this project was already underway, bringing the plans for the cisterns in front of the Planning Board for a site plan review would be useful for documenting the project.
“My main reason is I wanted the stuff documented, so that we have in the file what they’re building and what’s being done,” Gurtler said.
Noting that this plan should go before the Planning Board, Gurtler made it clear that he hopes this will not delay the project any longer than it has been delayed already, since ultimately students pay the price.
“All the silliness that has occurred in this project ultimately affects the students,” Gurtler said. “Stuff between the architects and contractors and the school district and all that kind of fun stuff shouldn’t hold up the kids from getting in.”
Others present at the meeting agreed that RSU 24 should have the plans for the water cisterns and maintenance garage reviewed by the Planning Board. Sullivan Fire Chief and Planning Board member Mike Pinkham Jr. said accountability was important.
“They’re doing an awful lot of stuff that they’re doing by the seat of their pants with no regard to anything,” Pinkham said. “There was stuff that I requested in school that they have turned a blind eye on whenever they want it. I think we need to hold them accountable. Rules are rules for everybody, not just a select few.”
Pinkham said that because these projects are additions to the original approved plan, they must be reviewed and approved separately.
Select Board Chairperson Mike Pinkham Sr. agreed.
“I think that they should come to a site plan review,” he said. “I understand, I don’t want to hold up the project either, but I think that they need to be held accountable.”
The motion to request that RSU 24 bring its plans for the sprinkler water cisterns before the Planning Board for a site plan review passed unanimously.
RSU 24 Superintendent Michael Eastman was reached for comment after the meeting and said that while the plans for the cisterns have not gone before the Planning Board, they are still in the design phase and have not yet been implemented.
“The building permit was secured, I don’t believe that we have presented any plans in regards to the cistern project,” said Eastman. “It’s still in the design phase and I think there’s still a few a questions that need to be worked out.”
Reporter Malachy Flynn covers news on the Schoodic beat, which includes the towns of Eastbrook, Franklin, Hancock, Sorrento, Sullivan, Trenton, Waltham, and Winter Harbor. He also reports on the town of Tremont on Mount Desert Island. He welcomes tips and suggestions. about stories in the area.
