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Although members of the Mount Airy Planning and Zoning Commission praised plans for the new Mount Airy Middle School on Monday night, they also were hesitant about what they perceived as a "too modern" design for the building.

Sketches shown to the commission for the new $30 million building include large windows, a glass stairwell and a large courtyard, among other elements. Commission members argued the design does not include enough historical elements matching the town.

The preliminary plans are environmentally conscious to meet the requirements of LEED building designs, which focus on energy savings and ecosystem impact.

At the Mount Airy Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Jim Determan, a principal with Hord Coplan Macht, the Baltimore-based design firm for the project, pointed out that water will be harvested from the school's roof to water a rain garden.

"We're teaching the kids with the building how to conserve energy," he said.

Despite the new technology, commission members were wary of roof angles, types of building materials and window size.

"Can you be LEED certified and still have traditional design?" asked Mayor Pat Rockinberg who attended the meeting, noting the appearance of somewhat flat roofs lacking dormers. "We are very concerned with design guidelines in Mount Airy. ... We've often said we don't want to become ‘Anywhere, USA.'"

But Rockinberg also said it was difficult to get the scope of the building aesthetic in the black-and-white sketch without brick color.

"Finishes can change a lot," he said.

Commission member Diane Gleason said the school didn't look in line with the town's design guidelines.

"We don't want this to look like a 2010 school," she said. "It's really just not something that works with the vision of the town."

Bill Caine, facilities planner for Carroll County Public Schools, who presented the plans, cautioned that design decisions still are being made. Caine said the school system only was in the second phase of design, figuring out major locations, roughly the type of exterior materials and what kinds of mechanical systems.

"The bulk of the design is done in design development, that's where we are right now," he said. "We're in the beginning of that. We're really refining and getting into detail."

Determan said if you look at historic districts, the buildings are about their time and the important things in their time. "The important thing for us when we design a building in the historic district, you don't want to mimic the historic district," he said.

He said the building is a 21st century school and focuses on sustainable design, yet at the same time, he's walked through the town to feel the cadence of the local design to incorporate.

Determan said there are ways the design could move toward repeating some brick work on downtown buildings. "I think there are absolutely things we can do to move in the direction, without mimicking," Determan said. "We can certainly make it a sympathetic neighbor."

Caine noted that with the school system choosing masonry as the exterior isn't something usually done because of price, and despite the tight budget, the school is set for masonry.

"We can certainly take comments," Caine said. "The look of it at this point is obviously conceptual."

Although she called the school "fantastic," Gleason asked for a design that would flow more with Mount Airy Elementary School next door, a building constructed in the 1930s before multiple additions and a 1987 modernization.

"I just look at this, and this, it's like ‘holy cow, clashing,'" said commission member Tony Falletta, calling the schools "night and day."

He said a glass stairwell on the side of the middle school building was an eyesore.

Commission member Patty Washabaugh said her son recently started at Linganore High School, which has a similar glass stairwell in its design. She said she also was unsure of the design component, but called it a "tremendous improvement."

Design elements such as large windows lead to not only energy savings, but also higher test scores, Determan said.

Although the school system's original intent was to modernize and add onto the current middle school — originally built in 1956 — the result of a study was to build a new middle school. The new school will be able to accommodate 750 students. The current middle school's capacity is 510. The school's population is 610, Caine said.

"In this school we're adding 250 seats, which should be more than adequate to serve the projected 10 years," he said.

Upcoming steps include working through the design process, getting feedback, reviewing the school room by room and taking the design to the Carroll County School Board by October.

Caine said the design is due to the school board by Nov. 1. He said so far the project is on schedule, and if it remains as such, construction will be bid out in the spring and start this summer.

The commission does approve site plans for developments in the municipality, but it's a give and take, Caine said.

"We're on a tight schedule, so if it gets to a point with what they're unhappy with what we've designed it could delay the project," he said. But he was unsure of final authority on the project.

"I think everybody is excited about the school and wants the school," he said.

acochrun@gazette.net