Approved August 16, 2023
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
August 2, 2023 5:00pm
Members in Attendance:
| Present | Voting Member | Name | Title |
| X | Yes | Edward Brady | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| R | Yes | Charlie Roberts | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| N | Yes | Rosemarie Kraeger | Superintendent of Schools |
| X | Yes | Tami Holden | Member of School Committee |
| N | 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 |
| N | 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 | William Nash | Community Member |
| N | Alternate | Gregory Huet | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| X | Alternate | William O’Connell | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| N | Alternate | Christopher M. Logan | 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
· Call to Order
· The meeting was called to order at 5:05 pm by Co-Chair Ed Brady. Eight (8) of eleven (11) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
· Also present: Justin Bernard, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders and one community member.
· Present via Zoom: Matt LaRue and Connor Heinzman, HMFH Architects; Ed Cifune and Doug Brown, DBVW Architects; Derek Osterman, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders; Manuel Cordero and Valeria Portillo, Civic.
· Approval of Meeting Minutes from July 19, 2023
· MOTION: Tom Welch moved to accept the meeting minutes from July 19, 2023 and Bill Nash seconded. The motion passed unanimously (8-0).
· Public Input
· No Input
· Architect’s Update and matters related thereto:
Review of Preliminary Design Options:
· Matt LaRue presented three alternative building schematics: Sectional Z, Two-Sided T, and Gym Reuse. All three options will fulfill the educational program, they can meet the minimum parking requirements (350 spaces), and they are all within ~1% of each other with respect to construction costs at this level of detail. Comparison matrix rankings were also shown as a starting point for the discussion.
· Sectional Z: This design has access from both the west and east sides of the building: one for the high school and one for the middle school. The high school consists of four floors and the middle school has three floors. The high school’s first floor (ground floor) is one floor lower than the middle school’s first floor. This option offers the most parking (430 spaces), which can be reduced to allow for more green space. Entrances and exits will be possible from both Turner Road and Aquidneck Avenue. The gym is at the level of the playing fields. If a connection between the eighth and ninth grades is desired, it would need to be on the first or second floor (no connection exists on third floor). Any cost savings from a smaller footprint will be offset by the need for retaining walls to support the drop in elevation.
· Two-Sided T: This design employs a gradual slope, not a full floor step-down, requiring steps and ramps to go from the center section of the first floor up five feet to the middle school or down five feet to the high school. Both schools have three floors in this scenario. Currently the design shows the retention of one existing lacrosse field and an additional all-purpose field and softball field. Town Administrator Brown explained that two fields need to be maintained as they were built using open space funding supplied by the state. Matt will determine if the existing lacrosse field can be made large enough to support other sports. The gym is not on the field level, but the locker rooms are.
· Gym Reuse: This option can barely fit the desired 350 parking spaces. It will not allow for two multi-purpose fields (only one can fit) nor a softball field. This design would add an additional year to the project schedule to allow for renovation of the existing gym space after the new building is completed.
· Comparison Matrix Rankings: Matt shared a list of twelve criteria to give some comparative ratings of advantageous, neutral, or disadvantageous for each of the three options. The first two options have different advantages and disadvantages, but in total they scored about the same. The Gym Reuse option scored less favorably overall. Given the less favorable scoring and the need for an additional year for the project work to take place while the new school is in session, Bill Nash suggested that we not consider the Gym Reuse option. The Committee agreed.
· Matt added that there will be some ability to mix and match between the first two options to develop the best solution for the town.
· Tami asked if there was space to park buses on the property. It was suggested that we find out from the School Administration if this is desired. Don asked if there was a desire to allow for cars to “cut through” the property by connecting the entrances and exits from Turner Road and Aquidneck Avenue. Tom suggested that doing so would improve the safety of the site, but that the School Administration should determine if they want the ability to prevent the ability for vehicles to cut through the property.
· The Committee suggested that Matt make some updates to the proposals to show two multi use fields and a softball field, and to add this criterion to the comparison matrix. Matt was also asked to add the 8th grade to 9th grade connect ability to the comparison matrix, as well as add some verbiage to better explain what each of the comparison categories means. Bill Nash asked if building profiles and/or rooflines could be added as this will assist with understanding which options are more advantageous to add photovoltaic panels to the roof should that be pursued. PV readiness should be added as a comparison category. Finally, regarding parking, the Committee would like to know how many parking spaces exist at the Gaudet Middle School and High Schools currently. Matt LaRue and Marc Thayer agreed to try to gather these numbers.
· Matt agreed to supply an updated presentation to the Building Committee by Monday, August 7. The Building Committee members will then each independently review the updated presentation and rank the goals for the new building in preparation for further discussion of the options at the next meeting.
· ACTION: Determine if the School District wants to park buses at the Gaudet site. – Superintendent Kraeger and the Administration team
· ACTION: Determine if it is okay to connect the entrances and exits from Turner Road and Aquidneck Avenue or if there needs to be an ability to prevent vehicles from cutting through the property. – Superintendent Kraeger and the Administration team
· ACTION: Determine if the school would be better suited with a full floor offset or a gradual slope requiring steps and ramps to go across from the high school to the middle school on the same level. – Superintendent Kraeger and the Administraiton team
· ACTION: Show two multi use fields and a softball field on the two options and add an item to the comparison matrix to assess the ability to support these fields. – Matt LaRue
· ACTION: Add 8th to 9th grade connect ability to the comparison matrix and score accordingly. – Matt LaRue
· ACTION: Add definitions of the comparison criteria to the presentation. – Matt LaRue
· ACTION: Add roofline pictures or other appropriate perspective outlines to show the building profiles. Add PV readiness to the comparison criteria and score accordingly. – Matt LaRue
· ACTION: Determine number of existing parking spaces at Gaudet Middle School and existing High School. – Matt LaRue and Marc Thayer (independently and then compare numbers.)
Two Week Look Ahead:
· Matt LaRue provided a two week look ahead to the Committee. Preliminary Cost Estimating, Updated Demographics Data, the Traffic Investigations Data Analysis and a NE-CHPS (Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools) Owner Task List will all be ready for the next meeting on August 16th.
· The entire presentation from HMFH can be viewed here: https://5il.co/20zz7.
· Educational Planner Update and matters related thereto:
Educational Program and Career and Technical Education Updates
· Manuel Cordero informed the Committee that the building designs are incorporating spaces to accommodate any fourth career tech pathway that the school district might want to add. This information was shared with the two representatives from RIDE that visited the schools on July 19th, and they are okay with this strategy. RIDE encouraged the school administration and School Committee to identify the fourth pathway in a timely manner.
· Owners Rep Update and matters related thereto:
Review of Stage II Work in Progress:
Derek Osterman provided the following update regarding the Stage II application:
· Section 1 – Project Summary and Prioritization
The determination of options for both the MS/HS and Elementary Education is informing what is reported on regarding project scope and prioritization.
· Section 2 – Architectural Feasibility Study
Key updates include the closure of Aquidneck Elementary School as part of the solution for elementary education and the ability for the MS/HS to serve as an emergency shelter.
· Section 3 – Schematic Design Documents
HMFH presented design options during this meeting. This discussion will ultimately guide the development of the final option.
· Section 4 – Design and Construction Cost Projection
The team is expecting to review the first cost estimate later this week.
· Section 5 – Financing Plan
The Town is continuing to develop the capital stack and will have a presentation on the project financials and tax impact at an upcoming Town Council meeting.
· Section 6 – Site Purchase Plan
N/A
· Section 7 – Local Support
The Town Council recently approved the Bond Referendum language to go to voters this November.
· Section 8 – Project Timeline
The project remains on time. Upcoming key dates include the Bond Referendum in November and Submission of Stage II to RIDE in February.
· Section 9 – Commissioning Agent and OPM Services
Middletown is compliant with the State requirements to use OPM Services to deliver the project.
Schedule, Budget, and Communications Reporting
· Colliers is working on a revised schedule to upload to the project website. Justin has met with Ed and Don to discuss how to make this happen. Don added that a move to the new website would be required to make this happen. He asked for assistance with feedback on the new website before it goes live. He will share the link to the new website with the rest of the Committee to gather feedback.
· The project remains on budget. We are currently at about 50% of the expected expenditure to complete the Stage II submission.
· Due to team vacations, Colliers will be looking to schedule a kick-off with Main Street Media in the next 1-2 weeks. Ed suggested that Colliers ask Main Street Media for guidance on how to best utilize the Building Committee website.
· ACTION: Send the link to the new website to the entire Committee for feedback. – Don
· ACTION: Ask Main Street Media for guidance regarding how best to use the new Building Committee website. - Derek
· The entire OPM update can be viewed here: https://5il.co/20zz6.
· Don asked if Colliers could update the Committee on how the legislation was written regarding the possible 55% reimbursement. Town Administrator Brown informed the Committee that the General Assembly changed the legislation so that the cap on construction bonuses is 20% versus half of the base housing aid that the community receives, which is 35% for Middletown. This is how the maximum reimbursement rate was increased from 52.5% (35% + 17.5%) to 55% (35% + 20%).
· Adjournment
· MOTION: Tom Welch moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 6:49pm and Bill Nash seconded. The motion passed unanimously (8-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be held on August 16, 2023 at 5:00p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin