18-04-2025
Meeting for Anna E. Barry School renovation project to be held to discuss building process
CHICOPEE — Officials will be holding neighborhood meetings with residents to discuss findings and concerns with the Anna E. Barry School renovation and refurbishment project.
It was discovered in March that the elementary school, which is slated for a multimillion dollar renovation and refurbishment, has wetland soils and falls under a 'parkland designation‚' which means the land cannot be used for another public purpose beyond the conservation of natural resources.
'We realize that there is concern about the project from the neighborhood and parents, so we want to update the community. At the meeting information and findings will be shared, so residents can be informed on the process and questions we are facing,' said Mayor John Vieau in a statement.
The first meeting will be held next Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Szetela Early Childhood School, a possible new site for the school, which, if selected, would combine its preschool students with the Barry School's 340 kindergarten-through-fifth-grade students.
The meeting will be hosted by stakeholders on the project, including the mayor, Chicopee Public Schools officials, Caolo and Bieniek Architects, Colliers Project Leaders and owner's project managers.
The sessions are meant to encourage discussion and questions from the public, explain what the 'feasibility phase' means, share experts' findings — including traffic considerations and site studies — and address possible misinformation from a recent Barry School Building Commission meeting.
The school has previously been rife with issues, including asbestos, its structure and lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Members of the Building Commission, made up of volunteers with backgrounds in engineering and construction, want the school to stay in the Garrity Grove area, to avoid any redistricting.
Chicopee is working on the project in partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
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