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Canton School Building Committee reviews three GMS contract amendments totaling about $27.0 million; no votes taken
Summary
The committee reviewed but did not vote on amendments to contracts with Left Field, AI3 and Consigli related to the GMS building project. The meeting approved minutes and set a schedule for Design Development milestones leading to a May MSBA submission.
The Canton School Building Committee on Jan. 15 reviewed three contract amendments for the GMS building project — but did not take votes on the amendments and asked for town counsel review before formal approval.
The committee heard details on an amendment to Left Field’s OPM contract for $6,837,079, an amendment to AI3’s design contract for $19,886,238.70 and a Consigli preconstruction amendment for $314,712. Together the three sums total $27,038,029.70, amounts committee members said are included in the project’s MSBA-approved budget and will return for formal approval after counsel review.
Committee Chair and Canton superintendent Derek Follin opened the meeting and said the amendments were provided to members in advance. Jen Carlson, the project owner’s project manager (OPM), reviewed the documents and explained the amendments extend the original contracts — which were limited to Schematic Design — into Design Development, Construction Documents, bidding, construction and closeout phases through 2029. Carlson said detailed line-item backup and cash-flow exhibits were included in the distributed packets.
Left Field amendment number 2 covers OPM services from design development through closeout and is broken into phase-based lump sums. AI3 amendment number 1 covers basic and MSBA-defined “extra” design services (site survey, wetlands, hazardous-materials work, etc.) that the MSBA asks be listed separately, and Carlson said the $19.9 million figure is consistent with MSBA expectations (about 10% of construction cost). Consigli’s amendment is limited to 24 months of preconstruction services and does not include construction; the packet shows a monthly rate of about $13,113.
Members asked clarifying questions about the nature of the changes, whether subcontractors (landscape, specialty engineers) would remain engaged (answer: yes), and whether the original contracts should be provided to town counsel alongside the amendments. Committee members and staff repeatedly said the documents will go to town counsel for a detailed review before any vote.
Votes at a glance: The only formal votes during the meeting were procedural. The committee approved the Dec. 18, 2024 meeting minutes (motion by Mary Graziano; second by John Connolly) by voice vote, recorded as 6–0 in favor. The meeting adjournment motion later carried 6–0.
The committee’s timeline discussion reiterated a target of submitting the Design Development (DD) milestone to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in late May. The DD phase will produce the multi-discipline construction-document set (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, fire protection, technology, food service and theater systems), third-party cost estimates and the MSBA-required milestone deliverables.
Staff said the project team will continue weekly working-group meetings and monthly SBC meetings. Carlson and other staff noted the amendments’ line-item detail is intended to match MSBA budget categories and make later bidding and estimating cleaner. Town counsel review and any requested changes will be returned to the SBC for a formal vote at a later meeting.
Members said the committee’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 26, with additional meetings set through May to accommodate milestone reviews and community engagement; staff also said a newsletter and ongoing updates will keep the public informed.
