On January 29th, the FHS Building Committee voted unanimously to recommend building a new school with TSKP Studio as architect.
The FHS Building Committee will present their recommendation to Town Council on Tuesday, February 4th at 7pm in the FHS Auditorium and meet again on Wednesday, February 5th at 6:30pm in the FHS Library.
If you believe in a comprehensive solution for FHS, it is important that you provide public comment at these two meetings. Public comments make a difference. They clarify and shape how our town’s interests will be served.
Your comments can be short or include more detail – whatever you prefer. Some ideas to get you started are below. In general, you should start with your name and address and move on to your specific points. It is OK to repeat what someone else said. In fact, repetition is valuable, as it helps the committee see the areas of greatest concern to the community.
If you prefer not to speak in person, or if you cannot attend the meeting, you can also submit public comment online. To send comment to the Town Council, you can email towncouncil@farmington-ct.org in advance of the February 4th meeting. For the FHS Building committee, head to the Building Committee website prior to their February 5th meeting. Please indicate in the email that your comments are intended for public comment.
We have drafted some sample comments that you can use as starting points if you find that helpful. Please contact us if you have questions or would like any additional help.
We encourage you to keep your comments accurate and civil. We can all work together to find a comprehensive solution to the issues at FHS.
I support a long-term solution:
Hello, my name is _________________ and my address is ____________________. I support a long-term, comprehensive solution for this facility and believe the conceptual design recommended by the FHS Building Committee is a great starting point. Our community needs a facility that will serve our students, educators, and residents for decades to come. Thank you.
We must meet the Statement of Needs:
Hello, my name is _________________ and my address is______________________. I support the FHS Building Committee’s recommendation because that conceptual option best meets the Statement of Needs. We must move forward with a comprehensive, long-term solution that meets ADA compliance regulations, provides a safe and secure environment for our students and educators, addresses the issue of sprawl and makes the building easier to navigate, provides functional and flexible learning spaces, and makes the building energy efficient and sustainable for decades to come. Anything short of this is a disservice to taxpayers as we will need to revisit these issues over and over again. Let’s do this right the first time. Thank you.
This is the best value for our town:
Hello, my name is _________________ and my address is_________________________. I understand that a tax increase is concerning to many residents, and I share that concern as well. However, if we don’t address these issues with a long-term, comprehensive solution now, we will only pay more for this in the future. I support the conceptual design chosen by the FHS Building Committee and believe it will address all the issues at the high school as well as provide the best value for our town’s dollars. Thank you.
Farmington supports a New Build :
Hello, my name is _________________ and my address is_________________________. I respectfully ask that you move forward with the recommendation brought to you tonight by the FHS Building Committee. It fully addresses all the areas identified in the Statement of Needs, it minimizes disruption to the students, and it plans for the future. Last week, the FHS Building Committee graciously listened to residents make their public comment for over two hours. 99% of them were in support of a long-term, comprehensive solution. Farmington residents are in favor of the recommendation made by the committee and I urge Town Council to do the same. It’s time we move forward and unite around this important issue. Thank you.