Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wayland Town Building
School Committee Conference Room
Attendees
HSBC members: Lea Anderson, Dianne Bladon, Jim Howard, Fred Knight, David Lash, Mary Lentz, Joe Lewin, Cindy Lombardo, Eric Sheffels, Karen Talentino
Absent: Josh Bekenstein, Steve Breit, Brian Chase, Jennifer Steel, Steve Tise
Ex Officio members: Joy Buhler, Gary Burton, Louis Jurist
HMFH: George Metzger
Call to order – HSBC Chairman, Lea Anderson, called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.
MSBA Update – Regulations and Feedback – Lea informed the committee that School Committee Chair Barb Fletcher and Town Administrator Fred Turkington have been added by the School Committee and Board of Selectmen, respectively, as ex officio members to the HSBC as required by the MSBA. When the chairmanship of the School Committee changes in June, the new chairman will replace Barb on the HSBC.
There will be a public hearing on May 20th on proposed revisions to the MSBA regulations in six areas:
square footage guidelines for each type of classroom within a public K-12 school facility
procedure for submitting an Emergency Statement of Interest
composition and responsibilities of the school building committee
explanation of the MSBA’s reimbursement rate for Feasibility Studies
clarification of reimbursable costs associated with Owner’s Project Manager
establishment of incentive points for newly configured regional school district membership
The group was confused about the deletion of square footage guidelines for “Science Lecture-Laboratory” space. Lea will follow up with MSBA.
Some of the questions raised at the last HSBC meeting have been answered. Specifically:
Wayland’s HSBC composition is pending approval by Ralph Wallace, MSBA Director of Capital Planning.
The Enrollment Questionnaire has been submitted a second time. The MSBA consultant is backed up but we should have enrollment feedback by the time the Project Manager search is done.
The final draft of the Feasibility Study Agreement is in the works. MSBA will “pay as you go” on the feasibility and schematic design. Wayland’s reimbursement will be 40%. This is paid whether or not the town approves a project scope and budget in a town-wide vote.
15% of design through schematics is required in the “feasibility” stage. This is more than what was done in the 2004 Preliminary Design. MSBA wants to assure that the level of design development is sufficient for an accurate estimate of costs, schedule and scope on which to base the Project Funding Agreement. Once this is set and the town has voted authorization, there will be no further adjustment, so this is a critical threshold.
MSBA does not have the staff to attend building committee meetings in every community. Most interaction will be by phone and e-mail.
The group discussed the Summary of Recommended Actions from the April 2nd MSBA Board of Directors Meeting. Three more schools have been moved into the Invitation to Feasibility Category. (Wayland High School was identified in this category along with 48 other schools at the November MSBA Board Meeting.) Eleven schools have been approved for “an agreed-upon concept for targeted schematic design option”. Five schools have an approved Project Budget & Scope Agreement, four of which are for repair projects.
Comments were:
Why isn’t Wayland on this list?
Many of these projects are rated in worse shape than WHS. Towns forged ahead with design despite lack of certainty on state funding.
Wayland will show up on this list at a future MSBA Board Meeting.
MSBA is “building the bricks to make the road”.
Will the HSBC need more money to get through schematics?
MSBA will reimburse Wayland at 40% of Feasibility costs, including some portion of previous study. While $300k is enough to get started, there could be a cash flow problem to get through schematics.
Reimbursement is very different from MSBA paying vendors directly.
HSBC should seek advice on the proper way to proceed with funding of schematic design.
Whitman-Hanson used an integrated design process resulting in a high-performance green school. Technologies that were cutting edge five years ago are common now. Utility companies included in the planning can provide grants that make payback times very short. HMFH was mentioned in the presentation as being a leader in green design.
Whitman-Hanson got a lot for its money. The project cost $45 million and was completed three years ago. It would cost $78 million today.
Whitman-Hanson provides stark contrast to the facility deficiencies at WHS in energy efficiency, technology, space, lighting, etc.
Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Search - Lea reported that Sean Walsh and Mary Pichetti (MSBA coordinator of OPM procurement) have advised Wayland to begin its OPM search. The HSBC reviewed its 2003 Project Manager procurement which lines up well with the draft guidelines from MSBA, but does have some differences such as setting a fee up front, not negotiating a fee later as we did with Turner.
Lea reported her conversation with Mary Pichetti. Mary offered the following information:
Wayland does not need to meet with her prior to the search. Phone calls and e-mail will suffice.
The advertisement should include a project cost range.
The Request for Services (RFS) is for the Feasibility Study (including schematics) only. It is the intention to continue with the selected OPM through the whole project.
MSBA will publish the OPM contract and RFS template next week. The review panel is looking to standardize the RFS and tie it to the contract.
Mary suggested that Wayland wait one more week and use the MSBA forms. She understands Wayland’s interest in progressing quickly on this. In response to Lea’s comment that we could wait a week, but no longer, she said she understands if we need to get started. She was confident that the documents would be available on the MSBA website by Thursday, May 15.
Joe Buckley coordinates Designer Selection.
As required by the MSBA, Joy Buhler was designated the Procurement Administrator for the school district.
The HSBC discussed setting up a sub-committee to work on the RFS and contract. Joe Lewin and Eric Sheffels offered to do this with Lea’s help. It was suggested that Joy and Gary draft the RFP and advertisement and that the sub-committee revise it as necessary and work on the contract.
Eric pointed out that there is an issue with describing the starting line for the Feasibility Study. Do we hand them what we had or start fresh? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Mary pointed out that our charge is to come up with different price points. We will revisit the last plan relative to new regulations and enrollment, as well as explore other concepts. It will be necessary to incorporate this into the RFS. This will line up with MSBA wanting to look at renovations, not just new construction.
Motion – A motion was made by Mary Lentz and seconded by Karen Talentino to set up a sub-committee composed of Joe Lewin, Eric Sheffels, and Lea Anderson to work on the RFS and contract.
Vote – The motion was approved unanimously – 9 in favor, 0 opposed. (Jim Howard left before the vote.)
Motion – A motion was made by Cindy Lombardo and seconded by David Lash to approve the minutes of HSBC meeting #52 held on Thursday, February 14, 2008.
Vote – The motion was approved unanimously - 9 in favor, 0 opposed
Comments from observers: There were no comments.
Adjournment – The HSBC adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Observers: Janet Correia, John Moynihan, Lisa Valone