Approved October 5, 2022
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
9/21/22 5:00pm
Members in Attendance:
| Present | Voting Member | Name | Title |
| X | Yes | Edward Brady | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| X | Yes | Rosemarie Kraeger | Superintendent of Schools |
| X | Yes | Tami Holden | Member of School Committee |
| X | Yes | Poe George | Director of Facilities Management, Transportation and Safety |
| X | Yes | Thomas P. Welch, III | Town Council Member |
| | Yes | Jeffrey Heath | MHS Principal |
| | Yes | Michelle Fonseca | Asst Superintendent for Teaching and Learning |
| X | Yes | Shawn Brown | Town Administrator, Local Budget Official |
| | Yes | Charlie Roberts | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| X | Yes | William Nash | Community Member |
| X | Yes | Vincent Lechmanick | Community Member |
| | Yes | Doug Arnold | Member of School Committee |
| | No | David Annese | Director of Technology |
| X | Alternate | Don Morin | Alternate Community Member |
| X | Alternate | Marc Thayer | Alternate Community Member |
| | Alternate | Christopher Logan | Alternate Town Council Member |
| X | Alternate | Liana Ferreira-Fenton | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| | Alternate | William O’Connell | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| | Alternate | Marc Tanguay | Town Finance Director, Alternate Local Budget Official |
o The meeting was called to order at 5:01 pm by Co-Chair Ed Brady. Ten (10) out of twelve (12) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
o Superintendent Rosemarie Kraeger introduced Poe George to the Building Committee as the new Director of Facilities Management for the Middletown Public Schools. Poe will join the Committee from today forward.
o Also present: Derek Osterman and Justin Bernard, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders and Antone Viveiros, Community Member
o MOTION: Don Morin moved to accept the meeting minutes from September 7, 2022, which Vince Lechmanick seconded. The motion passed unanimously (10-0).
o Derek Osterman shared copies of the RFQ with the Building Committee. The RFQ was posted on Friday, September 16th. Don asked where it was posted, and Derek stated it was posted in the Providence Journal. Colliers also reached out to prospective companies to ensure that they were aware of the posting. Don asked if it should have been posted to the state bid site. Shawn Brown said he would ask Marc Tanguay to post the RFQ to the state bid site.
o ACTION: Post the RFQ to the state bid site. – Shawn Brown
o Derek also handed out a preliminary list of respondents, which contained twelve company names. Derek expects the Town to receive many bids as this is a large project that should draw a lot of interest.
o Ed Brady asked how the architect of record will be handled if a small company submits a bid but has a larger company as a sub bidder. Derek Osterman stated that we will deal with that later in the process.
o Ed also asked who the entities on the contract will be, and Shawn Brown replied that it will be both the Town and the School District.
o Derek Osterman asked who would be on the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) that will review the bids. The TEC members will be Ed, Vince, Don, Bill and Poe. Derek will come to the Town Hall to meet with Marc Tanguay and gather the bids. Derek will ensure that the bids get uploaded to the Dropbox for the TEC to review. Ed and Vince stated that they would pick up hard copies.
o Derek Osterman handed out the document entitled “Countdown to a Successful Vote – Middletown, RI” that he shared at the prior meeting. He suggested that we move onto the next topic so Shawn can share his update.
o Shawn handed out a draft copy of a document entitled “Town of Middletown Voter’s Guide”, which explains the questions that will appear on the November 8th ballot. The document will be sent out to residents ahead of election day.
o Shawn is also working on an information pamphlet that will explain the facts around the construction bond. He stated that the Woolpert Group also has a couple of flyers that they are working on. Shawn hopes to have the flyers available in time for the weekend of the Harvest Fair (October 1-2). Since the Committee won’t meet for two more weeks, a sub-team will meet next week (September 28th) to review the flyer. The sub-team will be comprised of Shawn, Derek, Rosemarie and Tami. Shawn will bring copies to the next meeting (October 5th).
o ACTION: Meet on September 28th to review and approve a flyer that can be used at the Harvest Fair. – Shawn, Derek, Rosemarie and Tami
o Bill asked if flyers could be put into the Newport This Week paper. Shawn said he was looking into what the Town can do.
o ACTION: Determine what options the Town has regarding distributing flyers to explain the details about the bond vote.
o At this time (~5:30pm) Town Council member Tom Welch had to depart the meeting to attend another one.
o Vince asked if anyone had calculated the tax impact that the $235 million bond would have on the taxpayer. Shawn said he would investigate this.
o ACTION: Determine the impact on the taxpayer should the $235 million bond pass. - Shawn
o Ed handed out a draft copy of an action plan document that listed all the actions needed leading up to election day. Rosemarie suggested that Building Committee, School Committee and Town Council meeting dates be added.
o It was suggested that the action plan be posted somewhere. Don agreed look into this. He also offered to update the document based on the feedback from the Committee.
o ACTION: Update the Action Plan and determine where to post it. – Don
o The group agreed that there was nothing more to add with regard to the School Bond.
o MOTION: Don Morin moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 6:03pm which Ed Brady seconded. The motion passed unanimously (9-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be held on October 5, 2022 p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin