CROMWELL - Consultants are recommending that the town of Cromwell pursue a renovation with additions to Cromwell Middle School, and a full-scale reconstruction of Edna Stevens School.

       Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc., (DRA) gave its conditions study presentation at the Board’s May 10 regular meeting, handing out a prospective timeline that sets an October 7 referendum date. After the state grant application and architectural hiring and design process, the town would be looking at July 2019 for the start of construction, DRA said.

       â€�"I can tell you from experience, it’s not going to happen,” said Deputy Mayor Richard Newton, who took the podium after the presentation to offer some insight of his own. â€�"I think we’re looking at something more like [next] spring.”

       Whether anything happens will be determined not by the Board, but by the Long Range Planning Committee.

       The decision depends on a number of factors, including when the best time to bond would be, Newton said.

       The May 10 presentation comes at the end of a string of public meetings held by DRA to lay out a slew of tentative directions for work at both buildings-constructed in the 1950s and saddled with aged-in-place infrastructure.

       DRA estimates that it would cost between $6 million and $7 million to do noting and maintain the current Edna Stevens building as issues arise. At Cromwell Middle School, that jumps to between $8 million and $9 million.

       On the other end of the scale, new construction would cost an estimated $29 million to $33 million at Edna Stevens. For Cromwell Middle School, $31 million to $35 million.

       A renovation with additions could run between $17 million and $19 million, with renovations in place projected between $13 million and $14 million at Edna Stevens. For Cromwell Middle School, renovating with new construction could cost $20 million to $23 million, while renovating with no change to the building size is estimated to run between $15 million and $16 million.

       The baseline costs were calculated with state reimbursement, but not year-to-year escalation that may occur during the time before the project actually gets off the ground, DRA said.

       DRA’s recommendation for Cromwell Middle School includes the addition of lab space at the back corners of the building in order to implement a team-based classroom structure in all three grade levels.

       The current classrooms are currently undersized at 665 to 733 square feet, they said. The project would aim for an ideal 850 square feet per classroom.

       The renovation can be centered around the building’s gymnasium and auditorium-already an adequate size for core common space,-consultants said.

       Right now, the school’s science labs are not set up to accommodate the needs of related learning, and STEM instruction is housed in a Home Economics space, they said.

       Ideally, lab space should be around 1,100 square feet. Currently, they can be as small as 684 square feet, DRA said.

       The town can get reimbursed for up to 82,320 square feet of construction.

       â€�"This is still a wish list,” said Board member Paul Sousa. â€�"We can still bring it down to make it more affordable price-wise.”

       Demolishing and rebuilding the elementary school in at the existing site would cost between $35 million and $38 million, by consultant estimates.

       The project would look to expand classroom space to range between 900 and 1200 square feet. Currently, instructional spaces ranges from 690 to 890 square feet.

       The state will reimburse for up to 63,240 square feet of construction.

       Board Chair Michael Callimeri said that he would like to meet with members of the Council and Finance Department to discuss cost ramifications.