Approved March 29, 2023
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
March 15, 2023 5:00pm
Members in Attendance:
| Present | Voting Member | Name | Title |
| X | Yes | Edward Brady | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| X | Yes | Charlie Roberts | 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 | Jeffrey Heath | 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 | Vincent Lechmanick | Community Member |
| X | Yes | William Nash | Community Member |
| P | Alternate | Gregory Huet | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| P | Alternate | William O’Connell | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| - | Alternate | Christopher M. Logan | Alternate Town Council Member |
| - | Alternate | Bill Niemeyer | Gaudet Middle School Principal |
| P* | Alternate | Marc Tanguay | Town Finance Director, Alternate Local Budget Official |
| P | Alternate | Marc Thayer | Alternate Community Member |
| P | Alternate | Don Morin | Alternate Community Member |
X = Present/Voting; R=Represented; P=Present/Non-voting
· Call to Order
· The meeting was called to order at 5:02 pm by Co-Chair Charlie Roberts. Eleven (11) out of twelve (12) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
· Also present: Justin Bernard, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders, Peter Connerton, Middletown Town Council member, and many community members.
· Present via Zoom: Derek Osterman, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders, Matt LaRue, HMFH Architects; Doug Brown, Ed Cifune, DBVW Architects.
*Marc Tanguay arrived at 5:07pm and Shawn Brown arrived at 5:20pm, bringing the quorum to twelve (12) voting members.
· Approval of Meeting Minutes from March 1, 2023
· MOTION: Ed Brady moved to accept the meeting minutes from March 1, 2023 and Charlie Roberts seconded. The motion passed unanimously (11-0).
· Status of Enabling Legislation, the November 7th Election Date, and Impact on Overall Schedule
· As Town Administration Brown hadn’t yet arrived, co-chair Roberts suggested that the item be passed over until Town Administrator Brown arrived.
· Discuss Needs for Consolidated Schedule (Including Community Outreach Campaign)
· Co-Chair Brady suggested that a schedule with key milestones be developed and tracked between now and the bond vote. Derek Osterman agreed to work with Matt LaRue to develop this schedule.
· ACTION: Develop a schedule with key milestones to track between now and the bond vote.
· Update on Contract with HMFH
· Derek Osterman informed the Committee that the fee for architectural services has been established and the contract is currently under legal review.
· Update on Current CTE Programs and Vision for the Future
· Middletown High School Principal Dr. Jeffrey Heath provided a presentation to the Committee highlighting the status of the existing Career and Technical Education pathways at the high school and some considerations for the future.
· The district begins their CTE program in grades 6-8 by having students participate in at least one STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) class per year via the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program.
· As students enter high school, they are encouraged to commit to four years of a pathway, but those students who do not commit are not turned away from attending a class if space is available. Currently three pathways exist: Biomedical, Computer Science and Information Technology, and Pre-engineering. Dr. Heath stated that there has been some discussion around adding a potential fourth pathway in the future.
· PLTW courses are taught by teachers who have been trained via the PLTW program, and the training is paid with federal funds. Enrolling more students in the CTE classes leads to more funding from federal and state grants.
· The current space used for the biomedical CTE program is lacking, so students sometimes take a bus to URI or Johnson and Wales for some more advanced hands-on learning. Each trip costs the district ~$1500 and the funds need to come from the school’s operating budget, so only a couple of trips can be taken per year.
· If new facilities can be built, it’s likely that more students will enroll in the CTE programs, including students from nearby towns. Each student that comes into the district brings ~$17,000 along with them. Narragansett brings in over $1 million annually for its agricultural CTE pathway. While there are eight biomedical CTE pathway programs offered in RI, none are geographically near Middletown, so that one has the greatest appeal.
· Both Electric Boat and Raytheon have visited the high school recently to talk about their needs in the future, and Dr. Heath informed the Committee that work based learning opportunities exist.
· If the district were to pursue a fourth CTE pathway, the district must make a five-year commitment to start a new program.
· Dr. Heath was asked how many total students were enrolled in the CTE classes, including those who haven’t made the four-year commitment. He stated that he would get this information and share it with the Committee.
· ACTION: Add the total number of students enrolled in CTE classes to the presentation. – Dr. Heath
· To view the CTE presentation, visit the Building Committee website: https://www.mpsri.net/page/building-committee.
· Status of $10M Bond Expenditure by School Building
· Poe George compiled a summary of how the $10 million bond that was approved by voters back in 2016 was spent. A summary of the spending is as follows:
Location Project Total Dollars Spent:
AES Reconfigure school entrances 300,421
AES Replace roofs 389,504
AES Abate asbestos flooring & replace 103,026
AES Repair & replace paving 68,134
AES Replace (windows &) exterior doors 30,780
AES Repair & replace ventilation systems 58,725
Aquidneck: 950,590
FAES Abate asbestos flooring & replace 22,004
FAES Repair & replace paving 596,746
FAES Replace FAES boiler 676,841
FAES Replace roofs 435,827
FAES Replace windows & exterior doors 38,962
Forest Avenue: 1,770,380
GMS Replace roofs 276,805
GMS Abate asbestos flooring & replace 348,405
GMS Reconfigure school entrances 1,342,620
GMS Repair & replace ventilation systems 170,590
GMS Replace windows & exterior doors 1,464,886
GMS Road & paving repairs 115,537
Gaudet: 3,718,843
MHS Abate asbestos flooring & replace 60,480
MHS Repair & replace paving 102,263
MHS Repair & replace ventilation systems 1,191,375
MHS Replace roofs 1,116,279
MHS Replace windows & exterior doors 1,291,730
High School: 3,762,127
Totals 10,201,940
Overall Summary:
Scope Total Spent
Roofs, windows, exterior doors, reconfigure entrances 6,687,814
Ventilation systems and boilers 2,097,531
Abate asbestos flooring and replace 533,915
Repair/replace paving 882,680
Total: 10,201,940
NOTE: Other capital funds were also available (above $10M)
· Update on Facilities Condition Index for Middletown High School and J.H. Gaudet Middle School
· The Town has received the report from RIDE and both the high school and middle school’s Facilities Condition Index is above 65%, signifying that replacing the buildings would be more cost effective than repairing them. The Town now qualifies for an additional 5% in Housing Aid reimbursement when the buildings are replaced.
· The high school scored 75.53% and the middle school scored 74.11%.
· Discuss Need for Having Facilities Condition Index Done at Aquidneck and Forest Avenue Elementary Schools
· Co-chair Roberts suggested that the Town consider getting an updated Facilities Condition Index report to determine the status of the elementary schools. Town Administrator Brown stated that the work cost $7500 per school for the high school and middle school, and that the extra costs are not required at this time.
· Town Administrator Brown suggested that a budget be established to monitor the spending that will be taking place “at risk” between now and the bond vote.
· ACTION: Establish a budget for the Building Committee to manage between now and the bond vote. – Town Administrator Brown / Town Finance Director Tanguay
· Town Administrator Brown informed the Committee that the Governor plans to announce the date for the special election to replace Representative Cicilline in the next week. The four bills to increase housing aid, increase bonuses, extend the deadline for hiring a construction manager and to pull in the reimbursement for a bond are all proceeding through the state legislature.
· Confirm Dates for Tours of Saugus, MA Middle/High School and Weymouth, MA Chapman Middle School
· Tours of the Saugus, MA Middle/High School and Weymouth, MA Chapman Middle School have been scheduled for Wednesday, March 22nd. Matt LaRue will set up a Zoom call to gather thoughts after the tours like he did after the tour of Westport High School.
· ACTION: Set up a Zoom call to debrief after the tour of the Saugus and Weymouth schools. – Matt LaRue
· Open Discussion
· Superintendent Kraeger informed the Committee that Manual Cordero has had five meetings with district staff. A teacher/staff survey has garnered 211 responses of ~280 staff members. Surveys have also been received from the Town Council and School Committee members. A community survey is forthcoming. Manuel will provide an update at the next meeting.
· Dr. Heath added that the AP Government students will be conducting a survey of students in grades 6-12 as part of a civics project.
· Community member Antone Viveiros asked why the Committee wasn’t looking to gut and rebuild the existing schools. Co-chair Brady explained that doing so would displace students throughout the entire process and that the state has already stated that it would not reimburse the Town for any of this work, forcing the Town to foot 100% of the bill.
· Adjournment
· MOTION: Tom Welch moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 7:04 pm and Ed Brady seconded. The motion passed unanimously (12-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be held on March 29, 2023 at 5:00p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin