FREEPORT
A maple tree planted more than two decades ago at Freeport High School in memory of a former student may have to come down in order for the school renovation project to move forward.
The project building committee will meet Wednesday at 8 a.m. in the high school library to discuss possible solutions.
William Michaud, a cosuperintendent for RSU 5, serves on that committee. He said 25 years ago, a young man tragically died and his classmates planted the tree in his memory at the entrance of the high school.
The renovation project includes a new drop- off area where the tree is located that is currently part of the design as a safety feature.
“It looks like the tree is in the middle of where some construction needs to take place,” Michaud said.
More will be known when the committee meets Wednesday to discuss potential options, including having the architects change their plans so the tree doesn’t have to be disrupted, moving the tree or whether there needs to be another memorial.
Michaud said he and the architects have met with the mother of the young man the tree was dedicated to, and said she and his sister plan to attend the meeting Wednesday.
Voters in Freeport, Pownal and Durham approved a nearly $14.7 million bond to renovate the school in November 2013. The project was delayed, however, when a number of Freeport residents attempted to withdraw Freeport from the RSU. Once the withdrawal failed at the polls last November, the Maine Board of Education appointed members to the Freeport High School Building Advisory Committee, which began meeting in January.
Also on Wednesday, the building committee will hear an update on regulatory approvals, which have been received from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and go before the Freeport Project Review Board Wednesday night.
An update on the rightof way easement issue with a driveway to Snow Road is on the agenda as well as an update on the general contractor pre- qualification process.
There will be a review of the construction schedule and phasing sequence, discussion of painted murals and art in classrooms and an update on track and turf field fundraising efforts.
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