Medford building committee reviews MSBA designer-selection process, timeline for proposals

Matt (Left Field consultant/project manager) told the Medford Public Schools Building Committee that the architect selection will follow the Massachusetts School Building Authority(MSBA) designer selection process, which is required for any school building project greater than $5,000,000. "The designer selection process, is is a part of the MSBA's, standard standard process. It's a requirement that they, that they have through their program, in order to hire the designer selections," he said.

The consultant said the district will receive designer proposals on Aug. 27 and will forward them to the MSBA. Committee members will have until the first designer selection panel (DSP) meeting in late September to review submissions. "We will be receiving our applications on August 27," Matt said. He also told the committee that after an initial DSP meeting the panel typically invites the top four firms for interviews and then ranks them; a second DSP meeting for interviews was described as occurring in early October. "After the interviews, the designer selection panel will have a have a discussion, and then those 4 firms will be ranked," Matt said.

Why it matters: The MSBA process determines which architect the district works with for feasibility and design. The building committee will supply local perspectives but the MSBA-appointed DSP casts the deciding votes. Matt emphasized that the selection is qualifications-based and that proposals must include the full consultant team and financial stability information.

Left Field described the evaluation materials committee members should use, including a subconsultant matrix, a reference-check spreadsheet and an evaluation matrix that uses a simple stoplight (highly advantageous/advantageous/not advantageous) to help reviewers compare proposals without producing an MSBA-style ranked list. Matt said a minimum of three references are required from each firm and that Left Field will call those references to check performance on schedule, budget control and construction administration.

Committee members asked how broadly the full committee should review proposals. Luke Preisner (committee member) asked whether the entire committee would score every proposal or whether a subset would do detailed review; Matt and other consultants said approaches vary by district and that the three DSP members must review all proposals but the full committee is encouraged to provide input. "It really I've I've seen it done differently in in in different cities... My kind of general feeling on it is the more eyes on it, the better," Matt said.

The consultants said they expect many firms to pull the request for services (about 20 firms had pulled the RFS) but not all will submit, and Left Field will help flag proposals that fail to meet minimum submittal requirements so the committee can focus on substantive approach sections. Matt also said the city solicitor advised that selection-related documents are public records but generally released after a contract is executed.

Next steps: consultants will distribute the proposals after the Aug. 27 deadline, provide an editable evaluation template to committee members, and the committee will reconvene on Sept. 15 to consolidate guidance for the three DSP members before the MSBA meetings.