Approved June 7, 2023
MPS BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
Oliphant Administration Building
Michael S. Pinto Conference Room
26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
May 24, 2023 5:00pm
Members in Attendance:
| Present | Voting Member | Name | Title |
| R | Yes | Edward Brady | Co-Chair, Community Member |
| R | 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 |
| R | Yes | Thomas P. Welch, III | Town Council Member |
| N | Yes | Jeffrey Heath | Middletown High School Principal |
| N | Yes | Michelle Fonseca | Asst Superintendent for Teaching and Learning |
| R | Yes | Shawn Brown | Town Administrator, Local Budget Official |
| X | Yes | William Nash | Community Member |
| N | Alternate | Gregory Huet | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| P | Alternate | William O’Connell | Alternate Member of School Committee |
| X | Alternate | Christopher M. Logan | Alternate Town Council Member |
| N | Alternate | Bill Niemeyer | Gaudet Middle School Principal |
| X | Alternate | Marc Tanguay | Town Finance Director, Alternate Local Budget Official |
| X | Alternate | Marc Thayer | Alternate Community Member |
| X | 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 5:01 pm by Bill Nash. Nine (9) out of eleven (11) voting members were present or represented by an alternate.
· Also present: Justin Bernard and Derek Osterman, OPM, Colliers Project Leaders and several community members.
· Present via Zoom: Matt LaRue, Connor Heinzman and Tina Stanislaski, HMFH Architects; Manuel Cordero, Civic.
· Approval of Meeting Minutes from May 10, 2023
· MOTION: Don Morin moved to accept the meeting minutes from May 10, 2023 and Marc Thayer seconded. The motion passed unanimously (9-0).
Public Input
· Antone Viveiros asked to speak about school safety due to his concern about protecting the children of Middletown and submitted an article about the Fruitport High School in Michigan that was designed with student safety in mind. The article can be read in its entirety here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5261253/the-new-norm-high-school-designed-to-protect-students-if-there-s-a-mass-shooting-1.5260035.
· Architect’s Update
· Matt LaRue provided an update on projected enrollment. The end-of-year numbers were received, and the consultant (Cropper GIS) will run a stand-alone analysis using the new numbers. They should have it completed during the week of June 4th.
· Sustainability Visioning workshops are currently planned for Wednesday, June 21st with both an afternoon and evening session. The Building Committee meets that day so members can attend the visioning workshop either before or after the regularly scheduled Building Committee meeting.
· Site investigations continue. Traffic counts/observations have taken place the past two weeks with a field review planned for next week. The phase one geo-environmental investigation site visit is scheduled for May 25th. The preliminary civil site observations took place last week. A crosswalk recommendation for Aquidneck Avenue is being reviewed with RIDOT as the new sidewalk will be on the side opposite the school.
· The aerial control point survey is complete. Initial legal research is complete. The site control network is complete. A wetlands flag survey is complete. The initial monumentation survey is complete. Raw aerial mapping is expected by June 1st. The site survey preliminary plan will be completed by mid-June.
· Water line and street work coordination on Aquidneck Avenue continues. Marc Thayer asked about the gas line and Matt explained that if gas is needed at the new school the existing line running to the current Gaudet School will be re-used. No new line is being planned.
· The architect team will meet with the school administration and refine the middle and high school pod layouts this week. Building and site schematics will begin the week of May 29th.
· The entire update from the architect can be seen here: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1623/MPS/3074493/Middletown_230524_SBC.pdf.
· CIVIC’s Update
· Manuel Cordero provided an update on a possible fourth Career Technology Education (CTE) Pathway for the new Middle/High School. The community survey highlighted marine trades, business, and hospitality/tourism as the top three recommendations. Manuel explained that RIDE will evaluate any applications considering geography, i.e., are there any gaps for this type of programming in the region? Manual added that Middletown shouldn’t try to duplicate any programs currently offered in Newport, Portsmouth or Tiverton.
· Regarding space, the design team is designing a space that can accommodate the most space intensive/technology intensive options being considered, as the final decision on a fourth pathway is not on the same timeline as the building design. The School Committee will ultimately approve the fourth CTE pathway when the school administration makes its recommendation.
· The entire presentation from CIVIC can be seen here: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1623/MPS/3074492/MIDDLETOWN_20230524-SBC_CTC_Pathway_Considerations.pdf.
· Owner’s Rep Update
· Derek Osterman provided an update on the elements that are needed for the Stage II application and walked through each section of the documented requirements, explaining which elements will be in the June 15th version and which will come later in the process. He explained that the first draft will become a living document between June 15th and September 15th when a “semi-final” update will be provided to RIDE. Final RIDE approval won’t take place until December.
· The Stage II outline with an explanation of those elements that will be ready by June 15th versus those that will come later can be viewed here: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1623/MPS/3074494/Middletown_Stage_II_DRAFT_OUTLINE_-_with_comments.pdf.
· Community Outreach Update
· Derek Osterman from Colliers explained that his team would like to bring in a communications consultant as a partner to work with the Town/Matt Sheley, the Building Committee and Colliers to put together a plan for communications that don’t violate campaign finance laws. The outreach program should begin in July. Derek added that Colliers’ contract will need to be updated to allow for a right of approval/refusal for the consultant by the Town. He hopes to have a proposal for a consulting firm ready for one of the upcoming June meetings.
· Update from Town and School Administration
· Marc Tanguay informed the Committee that the various pieces of legislation are moving forward, and Town Administrator Brown was at the State House earlier today.
· Superintendent Kraeger informed the Committee that the School Committee discussed broadcasting the Building Committee meetings live and that, while they didn’t take a formal vote, they are okay with proceeding forward with this plan. The logistics still need to be finalized, i.e., is a Zoom Webinar used or does the Committee continue to use Zoom Meeting but push it live to YouTube? The choice depends on what level of involvement will be allowed by the public.
· ACTION: Finalize logistics for broadcasting Building Committee meetings live. – School Committee
· Superintendent Kraeger informed the Building Committee that the RIDE meeting has been approved for June 21st. As mentioned above, this is the same day that the Sustainability Workshops and a Building Committee meeting is planned, so the team may need to split up to cover everything that day. Don added that he is away that week so he will not be in attendance.
· Adjournment
· MOTION: Don Morin moved that the Building Committee adjourn at 6:16 pm and Theresa Spengler seconded. The motion passed unanimously (9-0).
Future Meeting Schedule – The next meeting will be held on June 7, 2023 at 5:00p.m. at the Oliphant Administration Building.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Morin