Facilities director says Foster ribbon cutting, high‑school dock near completion; roofs and chillers remain concern

Matthew Meehan, Hingham's director of facilities, told the School Committee on Aug. 18 that most summer projects are on track — including the Foster School ribbon-cutting and a new high-school "dock" wellness facility — but that aging boilers, chillers and failing roofs remain active concerns at several sites. Meehan said the high‑school dock is "99%" complete with only minor punch-list items remaining and that Foster School will be ready by the end of next week; both buildings will be celebrated in September, staff said. He also reported progress on athletics fields, classroom renovations and safety upgrades at the high school, including new cameras and an upgraded fob system. At the same time, the facilities director described lingering mechanical and envelope issues. At the high school he said the chiller is operating at reduced capacity and that the roof and multiple rooftop units are aging; the district is monitoring systems and postponing major repairs where systems remain operational. At the middle school, a chiller reduced to 50% capacity during summer school required vendor attention but was returned to service. At East Elementary and PRS, multiple rooftop units and the building-management system were flagged for additional work. Meehan said the district applied to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) by submitting three Statements of Interest (SOIs) — seeking MSBA assistance for roofs at South, PRS and the high school and for heating-system replacement at the high school — and that MSBA conducted walkthroughs last week. "We were accepted into the MSBA's statement-of-interest. Now they have their verification; the next step is to be accepted into the pipeline," he said. He cautioned that until full MSBA approval and funding decisions are made, localized repairs and emergency responses will continue. Meehan described work to organize the district's bus-depot storage and inventory and said the depot and many renovation projects are ready for teachers and students to return. He also asked the town to coordinate on a drainage and paving failure at a school drop-off drive that the district does not own, saying the problem is a drainage-level issue that will require catch-basin work and cross-agency coordination. Committee members asked technical questions about anticipated timelines, which projects occurred during school breaks and which would be scheduled on weekends to minimize disruption. Meehan said auditorium renovation and other work will occur during school breaks and on weekends when necessary.