Approved June 26, 2024
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
June 5, 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 |
| N | Yes | Thomas P. Welch, III | Town Council Vice President |
| X | Yes | Peter Connerton | Town Council Member |
| X | Yes | Donna Sweet | Middletown High School Principal |
| N | 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 |
| N | Alternate | Marc Tanguay | Town Finance Director, Alternate Local Budget Official |
X = Present/Voting; R=Represented; P=Present/Non-voting; N=Not Present
· The meeting was called to order at 5:03 pm by Chair Ed Brady. Eleven (11) of thirteen (13) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
· Also present: Justin Bernard and Colin McCarthy, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders and Ed Cifune, DBVW Architects. Matt LaRue and Justin Viglianti from HMFH Architects arrived at 5:15pm.
· Present via Zoom: Alexandra Christiana, Soha Mohammed-Eltaher, Olivia Ouellette, and Connor Heinzman, HMFH Architects.
· Chair Ed Brady suggested that the Building Committee amend the agenda to include approval of the meeting minutes from May 6, 2024 in addition to those from May 8, 2024.
· MOTION: Bill Nash moved to amend the agenda to include the approval of the meeting minutes from May 6, 2024 in addition to May 8, 2024 and Rosemarie Kraeger seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
· MOTION: Bill Nash moved to accept the meeting minutes from May 6, 2024 and Shawn Brown seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
· Chair Ed Brady informed the Building Committee that members from the HMFH team were driving to the meeting to meet with the Committee in person but that they were stuck in traffic. The Architect’s Update will be passed over and Chair Brady asked Justin Bernard to start with the Owner’s Rep Update.
3.1 RIDE Stage II Application Update
· Justin Bernard informed the Committee that on May 28, 2024 the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved over $207 million for the Middletown Public Schools projects. The breakdown is as follows:
· New Middle/High School: $170,486,682
· New Middletown Elementary School (current high school): $26,879,690
· Aquidneck Elementary School: $5,486,455
· Forest Avenue: $4,288,845
· Justin reminded the Committee that last fall the Town believed that about $160 million of the $190 total cost would be reimbursable. He went on to say that due to the efforts of Manuel Cordero from Civic and the architectural team, the Town was very fortunate and that 100% of the $190 million bond projects will be reimbursable by RIDE at 55%. An additional ~$27 million is also reimbursable for capital improvements at each of the schools should funding become available.
· Earlier today RIDE sent the MOA to the Superintendent and Town. It needs to be signed off by the School Committee and sent back to RIDE.
· Justin added that the new school design of 225 sq. feet per student will be fully reimbursable and that PAYGO has run out and is not available for this project.
· Justin Bernard shared that Colliers and Oliverio & Maraccio LLP are nearing the final stages of negotiations with Bentley Companies and Gilbane Construction on the AIA 133 and AIA 201 contract terms. Both Colliers and Matthew Oliverio have reviewed the edits from Bentley and that contract should be signed within the next week or so. Gilbane had far more requested edits to the contracts. These edits have been reviewed by Colliers and Matt Oliverio and they will be meeting on Thursday of this week and will send a response to Gilbane after their meeting. No impact on the schedule is anticipated.
3.3 Budget Update
· Justin informed the Committee that the project budget is still $190 million. $3,770,100 has been spent to date on contracted work with HMFH, Colliers and Civic. The contracted amount for the project has not changed since the last meeting, but it will change with the execution of the contracts with the Construction Managers at Risk. The total anticipated project cost (excluding contingencies) is still $174,865,100. The preconstruction contract amounts for Gilbane and Bentley will be $250,000 and $63,500 respectively.
3.4 Two Week Overview – June 7 – June 21
· Colliers will look to complete the contract negotiations with both Bentley and Gilbane as Construction Managers at Risk.
· The Planning Board Master Plan Submission is tentatively planned for August.
· Colliers has set up a meeting for next Wednesday to begin coordination of the Hazmat Testing. They will start coordinating the testing that will take place during the summer months when school is not in session. Colliers is hoping to have all the testing completed over the summer, but the abatement plans will not be written as they are only good for one year.
· The update from Colliers can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ZEZvbwWUWL88xqXW1e18l4tDak1JQyd/view?usp=sharing.
4.1 Discussion of Updated Q&A Process on Building Committee Website
· Don explained that he requested this agenda topic so that he and Tami could understand what review process is required to add a question and answer to the Q&A section of the website. Superintendent Kraeger suggested that the Superintendent and Town Administrator can vet any new Q&A that may arise in the future.
4.2 Coordination Meetings
· Chair Ed Brady mentioned that weekly coordination meetings continue to take place on Thursdays.
4.3 Summer Meetings Schedule Review
· Chair Ed Brady reminded the Committee that the next meeting is planned for June 19, 2024, which happens to fall on a school/Federal holiday and suggested that we meet on June 26th instead. The meetings after that will be July 17th and August 14th.
4.4 Two Week Look Ahead
· Superintendent Kraeger announced that the School District has been awarded $100,000 for the “Get the Foam Out” project and that the money can be used to purchase kitchen equipment for the new buildings.
· Chair Ed Brady asked about the schedule for the cost estimate. Justin Bernard explained that some time will be needed as we’ll receive the original estimate from Ellana and additional estimates from the Construction Managers which will then need to be reconciled, leading to a single final cost estimate. Colliers will provide an overview of the process and timeline for the cost estimating at the next meeting.
· ACTION: Educate the Building Committee on the process and timeline for generating the cost estimate for the project. – Colliers
5.1 Design Update
· Matt LaRue reminded the Building Committee that the architectural team is working through the Design Development phase, which should last through mid-to-late-July, after which the team will proceed onto the Construction Documents phase.
· Today’s review is focused on the exterior design of the new middle-high school. The exterior materials are selected to be cost effective, will last a long time with minimal maintenance, are visually appealing and will have a low impact on the environment.
· The primary wall material will be architectural concrete masonry units (CMUs) that are four inches thick, eight inches tall and sixteen inches long, with some 4”x4”x16” units distributed throughout. The CMUs are polished and come in different colors and aggregate types to allow for different visual effects.
· The secondary wall material/accents will be profiled aluminum panels as they last much longer than steel or galvanized steel. Windows will have frames made of fiberglass which is more cost effective than aluminum and have better thermal performance.
· The curtain wall will be thermally broken aluminum systems, and the entrance doors will be aluminum and glass. Service doors will be made of fiberglass as they won’t corrode over time.
· Canopies will be made of aluminum panels, while the roof will be a white TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) membrane that will come with 25-year warranty. Where low roof areas are visible to windows, a dark colored TPO will be specified in that small area to avoid glare into the building.
· Skylights will be sloped aluminum and glass, while the roof edge materials will be formed zinc-titanium coil stock that can take any shape you want. This is typically used for drip edges and flashing. Roof screens will be comprised of perforated aluminum, making them lightweight, while acoustic screens will be made of more substantial material, such as double wall galvanized steel with batt insulation in between and the side toward the noise being perforated to absorb the sound.
· Matt then shared pictures of some of the projects where the materials planned for the new middle-high school have been used. A graffiti resistant application to the CMU is recommended up to a certain height to provide some protection to the building.
· To make the building less “boxy”, texture and color with window projections will be designed to catch the sun and provide some shading. All classrooms will have a mix of fixed and operable windows.
· Bill Nash suggested that the new building have some contrast to satisfy the concerns of some of the Planning Board members who will want to see some character in the building. HMFH is willing to work with the authorities to meet the needs of the community.
· Ed Cifune asked if a concept review meeting might make sense. Bill Nash suggested that the architect team reach out to the Middletown Planning Director Ron Wolanski to discuss whether scheduling a meeting for a concept review prior to the master plan review might make sense.
· ACTION: Reach out to Ron Wolanski to ask if a concept review meeting prior to the master plan review might make sense. – HMFH/DBVW
· A meeting with the IT Director is scheduled for June 12th.
· The Coordination Meeting with the HazMat consultant is scheduled for June 12th.
· The Design Development Cost Estimate Set is scheduled to be completed by June 17th for delivery to the Cost Estimator.
· A kickoff with the Construction Managers is tentatively scheduled for June 18th.
· The equipment lists for the CTE/STEM programs are needed to properly design the new spaces.
· Support for grants has been provided and will continue.
· Bi-weekly coordination meetings with HMFH’s consultants continue.
The update from HMFH can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qvl7zWfMTXVHYtZv8Glr2vFROnWKUmQI/view?usp=sharing.
Adjournment
· MOTION: Bill Nash moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 6:49pm and Peter Connerton seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be on June 26, 2024 at 5:00p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin