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Millis committee votes to use Construction Manager at Risk for middle–high school project
Summary
The Millis School Building Committee voted unanimously May 7 to pursue a construction-manager-at-risk procurement for the combined middle–high school, authorizing staff to begin the state Inspector General application process.
The Millis School Building Committee voted unanimously May 7 to proceed with a construction manager at risk (CMR) delivery method for the town's middle–high school renovation and addition and authorized staff to start the application to the state Inspector General.
Committee members debated the two procurement options — traditional design–bid–build (DBB) and CMR — during a project presentation. The CMR approach brings a construction team into the project during design to advise on constructability, phasing and cost estimating; design–bid–build awards a lump-sum contract to the lowest bidder after design is complete.
Project consultants said CMR is typically used for complex, phased renovations on occupied sites and can reduce change orders by coordinating contractor input earlier in design. A consultant summarizing prior projects said, “In our opinion, given the ... complications of an occupied building on an occupied site, complex phasing and logistics, it's our recommendation that the town proceed with a CMR approach.” Committee members who had worked on recent local projects supported that view, citing the Clyde Brown project as an example that came in on or under budget under CMR.
A motion was made to proceed with CMR and to authorize the owner’s project manager (OPM) to submit the required application to the Massachusetts Inspector General. The motion passed by a recorded voice roll call; all present voted in favor.
The committee noted that Inspector General approval is required to use CMR; the design team said the request would be started this summer so hiring could proceed after town meeting in the fall if voters approve the project. Consultants said they already priced conservatively using a CMR assumption so that project pricing can be finalized faster.
Next steps: the project team will prepare and submit the Inspector General application and reflect the chosen delivery method in upcoming cost updates that will be presented to the committee and at town meeting.
