Medford committee names Left Field apparent OPM; approves designer RFS after debate over $600M cap

Medford Comprehensive High School Building Committee on May 12 named Left Field as the apparent successful bidder to serve as the project’s owner’s project manager, while approving a designer request for services and debating but ultimately rejecting a change to the advertised project-cost range.

The announcement and the committee’s votes matter because the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) must still vet the OPM selection and convene an OPM selection panel before the city may execute a contract; the committee’s designer RFS moves the district toward an expedited designer selection process that the committee and consultant team said could hit MSBA panels in June and July.

Committee chair Jenny Graham said the selection subcommittee’s recommendation of Left Field was unanimous and emphasized the remaining MSBA steps. “The contract is not finalized,” Graham said, noting MSBA review and the OPM selection panel are required before the city can sign with Left Field. The committee was told Left Field agreed to attend the meeting at its own expense pending the MSBA process.

Left Field principals presented their team and approach. Jim Rogers, principal of Left Field, introduced Mac (Matt) Gallino as the day-to-day senior project manager and Linda Boporto as a senior project manager, and outlined their proposed staffing profile. Gallino said he would serve as the primary on-site contact and described Left Field’s prior school-project experience. Boporto highlighted the firm’s MSBA experience and their planned team of consultants, including an educational liaison and MEP advisers.

Left Field described an accelerated sequence the committee could follow if MSBA slots are available: MSBA’s OPM selection panel on June 2, immediate advertisement of the designer RFS, a three-week advertisement window on COMMBUYS, MSBA review (the consultants said roughly 10 business days), and two July MSBA designer-selection panel meetings (one to rank and one for interviews). “The DSP is a 13-member panel,” Rogers said, referring to the MSBA designer-selection panel, noting the district will have three local seats on that panel — typically the mayor, the superintendent and one school designee — and that the MSBA panel makes the final selection by score.

Committee members questioned capacity, schedule and public outreach. Luke Preisner pressed Left Field on staffing overlap with other large projects (Revere and Brockton were discussed as comparators); Left Field responded that the core project staff would be dedicated and that the rest of the expert team “flexes” in and out as milestones require. Left Field’s slide materials indicated a preliminary staffing split (day-to-day senior PM ~40 percent, two senior supports ~30 percent each) and noted a larger “team of experts” that would be brought in as needed.

The meeting also covered how MSBA participation affects procurement and public communication. Left Field and committee members emphasized that MSBA’s forms and schedules are highly prescriptive, that the state authority votes on designer selection with more weight than the local seats, and that community outreach — including an RFS-specific walk-through and a project website — will be vital to explain the process to residents.

A substantive procedural fight over the project-range language in the designer RFS produced a formal motion on the floor. Committee member Luke Preisner moved to change the RFS upper-cost figure from $600,000,000 to $400,000,000; Aaron Olapade seconded. The motion failed on a roll call vote, 2 in favor (Luke Preisner and Maria Dorsey) and 13 opposed. Jenny Graham, Mayor Lungo Kern, Doctor Glusi, Doctor Cushing, Martica Braul, Libby Brown, Marissa Desmond, Brian Hilliard, Tracy Keane, Emily Lazaro, Nicole Morell, Aaron Olapade (who seconded the motion), and Joan Bowen voted no.

After discussion the committee voted to approve the designer RFS as amended. The motion to approve the RFS was moved from the floor and seconded by Marissa Desmond; the roll call returned 14 in the affirmative with one abstention (Luke Preisner). The committee’s consultants explained the RFS will be posted on COMMBUYS for three weeks, include a required MSBA review period, and require firms to list subconsultants (traffic, geotech, hazmat, MEP, education planning) so the MSBA can place Medford on a designer-selection calendar.

On other formal actions tied to tonight’s business the committee approved a consent agenda earlier that included minutes from prior subcommittee and full-committee meetings (motion by Tracy Keene, seconded by Libby Brown; recorded vote: 13 yes, 0 no, 3 absent).

The committee and Left Field repeatedly stressed that none of the designer or construction decisions are final: the MSBA’s subsequent reviews, the designer’s feasibility work and the committee’s choices about renovation vs. addition vs. new building will determine final size, scope and cost. Left Field noted the MSBA process also requires evaluation of multiple options (renovation, addition/renovation, new building) and that the educational program — required by the MSBA — will drive building size and layout.

Looking ahead, committee members were told the next public milestones are: the MSBA OPM selection panel on June 2 (if Medford remains on that panel’s calendar), immediate advertisement of the designer RFS following MSBA approval, and designer-selection panel meetings in July if MSBA timing allows. The committee agreed to follow up with a meeting to identify the three local DSP (designer-selection panel) delegates and to walk through the designer-selection timetable and outreach plan.