By Nate Leskovic
Times Staff
6/12/08

(previous)
The Thacher School celebrated the project’s groundbreaking in April and it expected to finish by the start of school in September. The second floor will accommodate increasing enrollment and add a greenhouse and science lab.
Prondak says when the project was first presented to him last year he was not informed of the existing variances, and it was not until he did a full review in April that the issues were discovered.
“Based on what they showed me it seemed as though everything was in compliance,” he says. “Ideally it would have been nice if we discovered it last year.”
Fred Catlin, head of school, says he hopes to get the Appeals Board approval and start construction this month.
With the new second floor, Catlin says a temporary building on the property can be removed.
In addition, the project will almost double the school’s parking lot and increase space for pickups and drop-offs. Currently, traffic often backs up onto Blue Hill Avenue at the beginning and end of school days.
Selectmen recently approved a plan to install two underground 1,000-gallon propane storage tanks for the school, increasing its total capacity to 4,000 gallons. It is likely the natural gas main that supplies the area does not have enough capacity to supply the building, according to Fire Lt. Brad Ellis.