East Greenwich council endorses stage‑3 schematic design submission for multi‑school project to RIDE

The East Greenwich Town Council voted unanimously to recommend that the school construction professional team submit stage‑3 schematic design documents to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) for review and approval.

The recommendation follows months of work by the school construction committee, the town’s project manager and consultants. Town Manager and co‑chair of the School Construction Committee Andrew Nada said the schematic package reflects “a lot of diligent work” and value‑engineering aimed at bringing the project budget and education program into alignment.

Why it matters: The schematic submission is a required checkpoint in the RIDE process. If RIDE approves the package and a subsequent reallocation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), the town keeps on schedule toward design development, guaranteed maximum price negotiations and construction. Consultants emphasized the schedule is tight and that delays would increase cost risk.

What the council heard - Andrew Nada (Town Manager, co‑chair, School Construction Committee) said the working group has been reducing scope and costs to preserve the educational program, and that the schematic submission keeps the project on the planned timeline. "We are working on a number of other things that I think Chris and the rest of the team will bring forward in a few moments," Nada said. - Chris Spiegle (Left Field Project Management, project director and RIDE liaison) told the council Left Field and the construction team moved from an earlier $186 million schematic estimate to a current schematic estimate of about $175 million and are targeting $160 million through continued value management. "What is included in schematic design is almost never what is finally built," Spiegle said, noting additional checkpoints remain. - Corey Panaro (Consigli Construction, project executive) and others reviewed schedule and sequencing; Consigli and AI3 Architects noted work to preserve the high school scope where possible while trimming elementary school items.

Budget and schedule details - Stage‑2 baseline cited in the presentation: $157 million (stage‑2). An early stage‑3 estimate reached roughly $186 million. The current schematic estimate is about $175 million and the team’s target budget is $160 million; a lower‑cost scenario at $150 million was shown for discussion. - Consultants said roughly $15.5 million of additional reductions remain to reach the $160 million target, and they expect to continue iterative value engineering in design development. - Key schedule points presented: design development work to follow RIDE schematic review, with the team aiming to complete design in Q4 2025 and begin mobilization (construction start) no later than January 2026, recognizing some construction will overlap the school year and require phasing.

Reimbursement and financing notes - Consultants said RIDE will consider MOA reallocation requests but will require empirical evidence that scope and budgets changed before adjusting reimbursement amounts; the team targets an MOA approval around May 20 (date presented as a target). - The administration described options to cover remaining costs if needed, including bond premiums and unused older bond balances; bond premiums were presented as the likeliest source to preserve full RIDE reimbursement.

Risks and tradeoffs - Presenters warned that moving to a much smaller budget (e.g., $150 million) would cause program reductions, schedule impacts, and potential loss of RIDE incentives or bonus points that affect reimbursement. They also said that significant redesign would risk timeline and bonus incentives. - Council members asked about contingency for site or urgent repairs (for example, a reported sewer issue at the high school); presenters said they were not prepared to provide a costed answer that night and would follow up.

Council action and next steps - Motion: the council approved the School Construction Committee’s recommendation to ask the school committee to authorize the professional team to submit stage‑3 schematic design documents to RIDE for review and approval. Vote: 4‑0. - The team said it will continue value‑management work, return with design development documents and more refined cost estimates, and hold periodic updates for the council and school committee.

Ending: The council’s vote moves the project to RIDE review; consultants and town staff cautioned the council that significant work remains to align budget and program and that the next design development phase will include more detailed trade‑offs and decisions.