Approved April 24, 2024
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
April 10, 2024 5:00pm
Members in Attendance:
| Present | Voting Member | Name | Title |
| X | Yes | Edward Brady | Chair, Community Member |
| X | Yes | William Nash | Vice Chair, Community Member |
| X | Yes | Rosemarie Kraeger | Superintendent of Schools |
| X | Yes | Theresa Spengler | School Committee Chair |
| X | Yes | Tami Holden | School Committee Vice Chair |
| X | Yes | Poe George | Director of Facilities Management, Transportation and Safety |
| X | Yes | Thomas P. Welch, III | Town Council Vice President |
| X | Yes | Peter Connerton | Town Council Member |
| X | Yes | Donna Sweet | Middletown High School Principal |
| X | Yes | Michelle Fonseca | Asst Superintendent for Teaching and Learning |
| X | Yes | Shawn Brown | Town Administrator, Local Budget Official |
| X | Yes | Don Morin | Secretary, Community Member |
| X* | Yes | Marc Thayer | Community Member |
| N | Alternate | Georgia Fortunato | Special Education Consultant, Alternate Superintendent of Schools |
| N | Alternate | Gregory Huet | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| P | Alternate | William O’Connell | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| N | Alternate | Christopher Logan | Alternate Town Council Member |
| P | Alternate | Bill Niemeyer | Gaudet Middle School Principal |
| P | Alternate | Marc Tanguay | Town Finance Director, Alternate Local Budget Official |
X = Present/Voting; R=Represented; P=Present/Non-voting; N=Not Present
* Marc Thayer arrived at 5:08pm.
1. Call to Order
· The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by Chair Ed Brady. Twelve (12) of thirteen (13) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
· Also present: Colin McCarthy, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders; Matt LaRue, HMFH Architects; and Ed Cifune, DBVW Architects.
· Present via Zoom: Derek Osterman, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders; Tina Stanislaski, and Alexandra Christiana, HMFH Architects.
2. Consider and Vote on Meeting Minutes from March 27, 2024
3. Architect’s Update
3.1 Design Update
· Matt LaRue reminded the Building Committee that the architectural team is working through the Design Development phase, which should last through mid-July after which the team before proceeding onto the Construction Documents phase.
3.2 Updated Floor Plans Overview
· Matt LaRue then moved on to review the new school floor plans as things have been tweaked along the way, some noticeable changes and some not so noticeable. Matt then walked the Committee through the levels of access throughout the building to show how different parts of the building can be closed off, particularly during after-hours.
· A meeting focused on building security was held earlier in the day. The Middletown Police was represented at the meeting by the High School Resource Officer. At that meeting the team discussed the request for a vestibule at the main entrances to the building. These will be secured, locked control points with a teller window in addition to an entrance door into the main office. Once allowed entry into the main office, visitors can be allowed access into the school should that be necessary. HMFH will incorporate this into the design.
· The building design will include various sets of double doors that can be locked after-hours to prevent people from accessing academic areas of the school. One could limit the access to the auditorium and public bathrooms, similarly, one could limit the access to the gymnasium and public bathrooms. Allowing access to the cafeteria for potential concessions and ticket sales after-hours will be determined after additional discussion with the food service personnel takes place.
· The design will also allow for an athlete only access where athletes could have access to the gymnasium, locker rooms, alternate PE room and the weight room should that be desired. Matt also shared how the media center could be accessed with no access to other parts of the building.
· Finally, Matt explained that access to the fourth floor could be completely restricted by programming the elevator to only be able to access certain floors during after-hours.
3.3 Two Week Look Ahead
· A determination of the future needs of the existing cell tower at the Gaudet School is still ongoing.
· A tour of the Saugus Middle/High School took place on April 5th.
· HMFH provided input on grant planning to Colliers. Colliers is maintaining a spreadsheet of grant opportunities.
· A security meeting was held earlier in the day. Meeting minutes are forthcoming.
· HMFH met with the elementary school principals to review the plans for the renovations at the current Middletown High School and Forest Avenue School.
· Stage II RIDE review responses are due by April 16th.
· A site visit to the high school is planned for April 17th by the consultant team to walk the building to gather all the existing information that they will need.
· The third sustainability workshop is planned for April 24th from 3-4:30 pm, prior to the regularly scheduled Building Committee meeting.
· A review with the Special Education director and teachers, the drama/music teachers, and the athletics/PE team will be scheduled soon.
The update from HMFH can be viewed here: https://5il.co/2ihwb.
4. Owners Rep Update
4.1 3/29/2024 Stage II RIDE SBA Preliminary Application Review Meeting Update
· Colin McCarthy explained that a meeting with RIDE representatives took place on March 29th to review the comments that the Town received from RIDE in response to the Stage II submission. Meeting minutes have been provided to the Building Committee. The deadline to submit a response is April 16th.
4.2 CMaR RFP and CMaR Scorecard Update
· Colin informed the Committee that CMaR RFP proposals were received on April 3rd. Three proposals were received for the new middle/high school from Dimeo, Gilbane and Shawmut. One proposal was received for the elementary education projects capital improvements from Bentley Companies.
· The Technical Review Committee and Colliers are currently scoring the proposals. Interviews will take place on April 16th.
· A recommendation of who to award the CMaR contract will be made by the Building Committee at the April 24th Building Committee meeting.
4.3 Two Week Overview April 11 – April 24
· Colliers is compiling the information for the Stage II RIDE review responses that are due by April 16th.
· CMaR interviews are planned for April 16th.
· The Technical Review Committee will make a recommendation to award the CMaR contracts at the April 24th Building Committee meeting.
· The update from Colliers can be viewed here: https://5il.co/2ihwc.
5. School Building Committee Update
5.1 Ongoing Coordination Meetings
· Chair Ed Brady explained that weekly and bi-weekly meetings with the consultant teams continue. School stakeholders have an opportunity to share their inputs and concerns at these meetings.
5.2 Saugus Middle/High School Tour
· A tour of the Saugus Middle/High School Tour took place last Friday, April 5th. The visit was time well spent, allowing the group to see the school in operation.
5.3 Middletown Historical Society
· Chair Ed Brady has been in touch with the President of the Middletown Historical Society. He sent pictures of the Saugus Middle/High School to demonstrate how Saugus was able to incorporate the historical significance of the Town into the school design.
5.4 Two Week Look Ahead
· The biggest task at hand is to complete the interviews with the CMaR candidates and to make a recommendation to award at the next Building Committee meeting.
6. Adjournment
MOTION: Tom Welch moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 5:33pm and Bill Nash seconded. The motion passed unanimously (13-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be on April 24, 2024 at 5:00p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin