Arlington, MA's high school needs improvement. Three concerns were voiced over meetings and online surveys regarding AHS rebuild efforts: keeping costs down, minimizing disruption to the academic year AND preservation of historic structures and spaces.
This petition exists because the process has discarded the third request of the residents and voters.
Unfortunately, though nearly half of citizens surveyed by Arlington stated that historic structures and existing open space preservation are critical, The Arlington School Building Committee decided over the summer of 2018 to tear down all current AHS structures, including historical facades. The Building Committee also decided to put the new modern structures on top of the park-like lawn setback from Mass Ave.
We believe that cost and minimal disruption are extremely important, but we have seen no compelling evidence that the facade of AHS and the park like lawn, with many Class of AHS gifts, trees and monuments must be destroyed.
We, the undersigned of this petition, demand that Arlington School and Town Officials acknowledge and act on the third (saving historic buildings, facades and open spaces) concern of the citizens and voters in any modification done to the AHS campus. Rebuilding AHS must include saving of the historic facade and the park-like lawn setback from Mass Ave.
Contact us at saveourhistoricahs@outlook.com or visit us at our website www.sohahs.us or on Facebook. By giving us your information (and thoughts) at right, we pledge to only use this to help the above mentioned cause.
Update #44 years ago
June 11 vote: VOTING NO IS PRO-ARLINGTON, PRO-SCHOOL DEPT, PRO-CHILDREN Voting "NO" on June 11 to the AHS question will avoid being forced into a bad plan and give us the potential to find a better solution with more reimbursement and likely lower cost in money, architectural and open space loss - and better traffic.
See the full text and arguments of this comment:
https://www.facebook.com/sohahscommittee/posts/862052664135975
Carl Wagner
www.sohahs.com
Update #35 years ago
We need you on Tuesday, Nov 27 at 7pm at Town Hall to insist AHS be only rebuilt behind the facades. The open space, historic facades and traffic patterns of Arlington center will not be saved without your voice.
We DON'T HAVE to your email contact info from this petition. We can only send one more alert this way SO, click here so we can contact you: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/saveourhistoricahs/join or see our website www.sohahs.us
Carl Wagner
saveourhistoricahs@outlook.com
Update #25 years ago
IMPORTANT MEETING THIS MONDAY @ TOWN HALL 7PM
Dear SOHAHS petition signers:
Please voice your opinion at the meeting MON at the Town Hall. It's probably our last chance to tell the town to change the current teardown/land loss/traffic mess project into something better. Please see the link below for info that came out last Monday about the traffic mess Option 3a will cause:
https://www.facebook.com/sohahscommittee/posts/711873269153916
Carl Wagner
www.sohahs.us
saveourhistoricahs@outlook.com
Update #15 years ago
I'm contacting you because Town Day is tomorrow, September 15, from 9:30-3pm on Mass Ave in Arlington. I'lll be out wearing "Save Historic AHS" shirts and handing out flyers informing our neighbors and townspeople about the AHS project. You can give your thoughts on the project directly to the AHS Building Committee which will have a booth on Mass Ave.
Here's a flyer we'll be handing out, describing the project and it’s problems:
https://1drv.ms/b/s!AlZi6M7sVb1FhuNQ61Q5t2TeGZHW2Q
