Approved March 13, 2024
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
February 28, 2024 5:00pm
Members in Attendance:
| Present | Voting Member | Name | Title |
| X | Yes | Edward Brady | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| R | Yes | vacant | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| X | Yes | Rosemarie Kraeger | Superintendent of Schools |
| X | Yes | Tami Holden | Member of School Committee |
| X | Yes | Theresa Spengler | Member of School Committee |
| X | Yes | Poe George | Director of Facilities Management, Transportation and Safety |
| X | Yes | Thomas P. Welch, III | 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 | William Nash | 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 |
| P* | Alternate | Peter Connerton | Alternate Town Council Member |
| N | Alternate | Bill Niemeyer | Gaudet Middle School Principal |
| N | Alternate | Marc Tanguay | Town Finance Director, Alternate Local Budget Official |
| X | Alternate | Marc Thayer | Alternate Community Member |
| P | Alternate | Don Morin | Alternate Community Member |
X = Present/Voting; R=Represented; P=Present/Non-voting; N=Not Present
*Peter Connerton arrived at 5:07pm.
1. Call to Order
· The meeting was called to order at 5:01 pm by Co-Chair Ed Brady. Eleven (11) of eleven (11) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
· Also present: Justin Bernard, Colin McCarthy, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders.
· Present via Zoom: Matt LaRue, Tina Stanislaski, Alexandra Christiana, Soha Mohammed-Eltaher, and Justin Viglianti, HMFH Architects; Ed Cifune, DBVW Architects; and Derek Osterman, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders.
2. Approval of Meeting Minutes from February 14, 2024
· MOTION: Bill Nash moved to accept the meeting minutes from February 14, 2024 and Tom Welch seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
3. Architect’s Update
3.1 Design Schedule Update (outline of RIDE Stage III requirement)
· Matt LaRue provided a design schedule update. The schematic design will go to RIDE for a review after they review the Stage II Application submission.
3.2 Design Update
· Justin Viglianti walked the Committee through some isometric views of the new middle/high school building. He shared views of the CTE/STEM spines between the middle and high school buildings on floors 1 through 3. He also shared a bird’s eye view of the exterior of the building, as well as several interior perspectives.
· The landscape design is still being developed. HMFH will present landscape design details at the next Building Committee meeting.
· A couple members of the Building Committee asked about building access and Matt LaRue shared that an explanation of the levels of access for the public during after hours will be coming in the next few weeks. He added that there will be security doors allowing the district to close off access to various areas of the building.
3.3 Design Development Sustainability Charrette Overview and Scheduling
· Matt LaRue reminded the Committee that two Sustainability Charrettes were held in 2023 during the schematic design development phase, and he would like to plan for another one in late April to provide an update on progress to the goals outlined in the first two charrettes. The Building Committee agreed to schedule the next Sustainability Charrette from 3-5pm on April 24, 2024 before the 5pm regularly scheduled Building Committee meeting that day.
3.4 Recap of Grant Opportunities as a result of meetings with RI Infrastructure Bank (RIIB)
· Matt LaRue informed the Committee that two meetings were held with the RI Infrastructure Bank relating to sustainability and resiliency. The Rhode Island Efficient Buildings Fund (RIEBF) provides low interest loans for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects like solar panels. He added that these are tricky because they are loans, meaning that they won’t create new initiatives beyond the existing budget. If the Town wants to pursue these loans, they need to start soon as the next round of funding will be open from April 22-May 10, 2024.
· The RIIB also offers a grant program supporting municipal resilience, and Matt stated that these grants could help with stormwater mitigation work. There is also an overflow sewage grant available, so if the Town has any issues with sewage this grant could be pursued.
· Regarding the emergency generator, there are no programs through RIIB to support this, but there are grants available through FEMA.
· Bill Nash asked about the status of grant applications, and Shawn Brown stated that the Town is actively working on grant opportunities within Town Hall with assistance from Colliers. He added that the Van Buren Charitable Foundation is assisting with a grant navigator to help identify grant opportunities. Finally, Shawn informed the Committee that the Town and School District are looking into a fundraising/gift giving program.
3.5 Geotechnical Report Update
· Matt LaRue informed the Committee that the updated Geotechnical Report was included in the Stage II Application and that the latest round of test pits dug in late November, 2023 showed findings that were consistent with the borings dug in April and September, 2023.
· The lease for the cell tower at the Gaudet School is being re-negotiated. Now is the time for the Town to include anything new that may be applicable. The project needs to ensure that the cell tower will remain functional during building demolition. A determination of who moves what and if a new tower will be needed is forthcoming.
· HMFH is planning an all-day meeting on March 8, 2024 to review the middle and high school spaces with the administration team: Donna Sweet, Bill Niemeyer and Poe George.
· A meeting with RIDEM and HMFH’s civil engineering consultant is tentatively planned for March 5th. If any of the Building Committee members wish to attend, please reach out to Matt.
The entire update from HMFH can be viewed here: https://5il.co/2fwtb.
4. Owners Rep Update
4.1 Review the Task Ahead for the Building Committee to select A Construction Manager
· The high-level milestone schedule for the Construction Manager at Risk was shared by Justin Bernard. Two RFP’s will be submitted: one for the new middle/high school and one for the renovation of the existing high school and Forest Avenue School. This might allow some smaller companies to bid on the renovation project where they might not be able to if both items were combined.
· The draft RFPs are complete, and the final versions will be posted by March 6, 2024. Proposals are due April 3, 2024, with a Building Committee recommendation targeted for April 24, 2024 and a contract signed by June 3, 2024.
· The contract will be for pre-construction support only, and there’s a possibility that two contracts could be signed.
4.2 Budget Update
· Justin Bernard provided a budget update. Expenditures to date consist mostly of contracts for the design team, OPM and educational planner and total $2,406,100.
· Approximately $22 million has been contracted to date.
· The total anticipated costs for the project are $174,865,100 excluding contingencies.
· The upcoming contracts needed are for the Hazardous Materials Consultant and the Construction Manager at Risk preconstruction support.
4.3 HazMat Recommendation to Award
· Colin McCarthy summarized the bids that were received for the Hazardous Materials Consultant to support inspection, testing, design, and abatement/remediation monitoring services, which were as follows:
o ECM: $201,825.00
o Tighe & Bond: $202,886.95
o TRC: $252,312.50
o John Turner: disqualified
· Colin explained that John Turner did not include all the necessary information in its proposal as the USB drive was empty and the information on Gaudet was missing. ECM was the lowest bidder and Colliers suggested that the Building Committee recommend them for this work.
· The entire update from Colliers can be viewed here: https://5il.co/2fwta.
5. School Building Committee Update
5.1 Discussion of Hazmat Consultant Recommendation To Award
· Vote: To recommend to the School Committee and Town Council award of the Hazmat Consultant contract
· MOTION: Bill Nash moved to recommend that the School Committee and Town Council award the Hazmat Consultant contract to ECM and Theresa Spengler seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
5.2 Update of the Building Committee Community Outreach Program (Website)
· Don walked the Building Committee through the new website that he and Tami Holden developed with the assistance of David Annese. Don added that David was very instrumental in the development of the new site, and that he and Tami could not have gotten it to where it currently is without David’s support. The new website can be found here: https://sites.google.com/mpsri.net/buildingcommittee/home.
· Regarding Community Outreach, the new website will include the ability to allow the public to submit questions to the Building Committee. The Building Committee needs to determine how to vet the questions. A topic will be placed on the next agenda to discuss this.
· With the Building Committee’s approval, the new website will go live on Friday, March 1st, and a link to the old site will be included on the new site if anyone wants to visit the old documentation. The Building Committee agreed to have the site go live on March 1st.
· Don added that he was posting minutes and agendas to the new website but that they were also on Clerkbase, so this is redundant. Superintendent Kraeger suggested continuing to post them in both places in the near term and a decision to stop posting them to the Building Committee website could happen in the future.
5.3 School Building Committee Ordinance Review
· At the February 20, 2024 meeting the updated Town Ordinance covering the School Building Committee was approved. The School Committee will approve the first reading of their corresponding Charge on March 5th at their budget meeting, with a second reading on March 14th. The Building Committee can make recommendations to reorganize in accordance with the ordinance/charge at its March 13th meeting.
· The updated ordinance can be viewed here: https://5il.co/2fwt6.
5.4 Update of Action Pending
· Co-chair Brady and Town Administrator Shawn Brown informed the Committee that the Middletown Fire Chief is working on the recommendations for the emergency shelter requirements. The goal is to find funding outside of the building project to support the emergency shelter requirements, potentially via FEMA.
· Co-chair Brady asked for volunteers to serve on the Construction Manager at Risk Technical Review Sub-Committee and Ed Brady, Bill Nash, Marc Thayer, Poe George and Don Morin agreed to support this effort.
· Co-chair Brady explained that if anyone on the Building Committee wants to attend the upcoming design review with HMFH on Friday, March 8th at 11am, they are welcome.
6. Public Input
6.1 Terri Flynn, 34 Warren Avenue asked to speak about topic 3.2 Design Update. She reminded the Committee about the discussion at a meeting a while back about the lack of insulation under the foundation/slab of the new middle high school because it was not required. Subsequently there was a conversation about modifying the HVAC system by increasing the temperature goal in the summer and decreasing the temperature goal in the winter to allow for a less expensive system. She wanted to raise a concern that the lack of insulation might have an impact on climate control. Co-chair Brady thanked Terri for her input.
7. Adjournment
MOTION: Tom Welch moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 6:31pm and Bill Nash seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be on March 13, 2024 at 5:00p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin