BREWER – Brewer High School district trustees took a big step along the long road to building a new combined elementary-middle school on Tuesday when they hired WBRC Architects-Engineers of Bangor as the project’s designer.

“They are local, and we’ve had good luck with them in the past,” Superintendent Daniel Lee said during the regular trustees meeting.

Brewer is planning to replace four aging elementary schools and a middle school, all built between 1926 and 1962, with a new kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

The State Board of Education approved 13 school construction projects in August 2005, with the top six splitting $100 million for 2008 and the remaining seven, with Brewer second on the list, set to receive funds in 2009.

Once trustees selected an architect on Tuesday, their focus then changed to creating an eight- to 12-member building committee, which is expected to include city council and school board members, school staff, residents and others.

Because the new school is one of the biggest projects ever for the city, the trustees would like as much input as possible from the community, board members stressed.

“We’ve had some people call us [already] and ask to be on a committee,” Lee said.

Selecting a site for the combined elementary-middle school, how the school is designed and what amenities are included are all tasks of the building committee, with the trustees having the final say in decisions.

The building committee is expected to meet monthly, at first, with bimonthly meetings later in the lengthy three- to four-year process.

Part of the construction process is state legislation to link the trustees’ indebtedness to the city’s property values, and Lee reported Tuesday the bill has passed its first reading.

Trustees also learned during the meeting that the state has agreed to leave $313,000 in unused renovation funds for recent construction at Brewer High School to add fire sprinklers.

“The Department of Education has approved our change order,” Lee reported.

A pump with its own generator is needed for the new sprinkler system, which should be finished in December, he said.