Newport This Week

Let’s Stop the Madness, Now


Well, this is a letter I did not intend to write prior to all that I heard at a meeting of the City Council, the School Committee and the Rogers Building Committee.

The Rogers project has truly become a “taxpayer cemetery” and shows no sign of getting better. First, the cost is well over what was approved by the voters, but that will not stop this group from moving on. To justify this, they are removing many of the parts that were approved in November. As of early April, we are now about $25 million over. That figure goes up daily. If we continue like this, we will hit more than $50 million by the end of the year, with more to come. It’s time to stop the madness and fix it. There are many things that could help, but continuing on the same road is not one of them.

I propose stopping all work at the site except those things that if stopped would ruin what has been done to date. Call the architect and have another Rogers (Mod 5) using what we have in the ground as a footprint, but without the gym or the industrial arts sections. Connect the new building to the existing gym, with a proposal to bring it up to ADA standards. If some sections seem too expensive, explain how to get waivers for them. Next, connect the industrial arts building to the gym with a new building and hall so these vocational students can access the new school without going outside. The existing building’s roof is supported by the outside walls, so the rooms can be reconfigured as we want and adding windows is easy. The total separation of the industrial arts will allow for its use at night for adult education, with a lower cost for utilities.

Next, let’s do something with the pile of dirt occupying the old track. It is contaminated and will make all of us sick. It is my understanding that the contractor wants to use some as fill when the remaining school comes down. We can’t get the new one up, so how far down the road that will happen is anyone’s guess. So, while we wait, the contaminants spread through the ward. When all is done, we the taxpayers will have to pay to get this dirt trucked to the Cape Cod landfill, just like the Pell pile that cost us a $400,000 disposal fee. The general contractor said the dirt is ours and they won’t get rid of it.

Jack Milburn Newport

One response to “Let’s Stop the Madness, Now”

  1. Kevin O’Doyle says:

    The contaminated soil will definitely make newporters even more retarded.

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