The Emmy Small Building Subcommittee met to review the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process after the district completed its eligibility submission and to discuss next steps for a feasibility study.

Mark Smith, superintendent of the Dennis‑Yarmouth Regional School District, said the district submitted all required materials and that MSBA legal was drafting the feasibility-study agreement the district will review with counsel. "MSBA legal is working on our feasibility study agreement," he said, describing the document as a "17 page" template that sets the next timeline for the project.

Smith emphasized the project team the committee will assemble in module 2. "Our biggest ally in this project is gonna be our OPM," he said, referring to the owner's project manager who will help the district prepare Requests for Services (RFS), oversee designers and contractors, and guide MSBA paperwork and compliance. He added that the designer, not the OPM, conducts the feasibility study itself.

The packet included a certified MSBA enrollment letter that projects capacity if the project proceeds to completion: "a stand alone school ... capacity of 355 students" and a consolidated school projection of about 670; the MSBA estimates exclude preschool counts. Smith said those certified figures will guide space-summary work and inform alternatives the designer examines.

On cost context and public concern about scope, Smith acknowledged community questions that the process could become a "runaway train" and noted MSBA's emphasis on cost-effective, education-appropriate solutions. At one point he summarized the scale in round numbers: "It is a $50,000,000 school, and MSBA is on the hook for roughly 60% of that." He said the MSBA process and its rules are intended to avoid unnecessary spending and to ensure any recommended solution is justified.

Committee members asked procedural and technical questions: when the final reimbursement rate will be determined, whether preschool space is included in MSBA counts, and how the district will obtain community feedback during the feasibility study. Bob Ritenour, the town administrator, asked specifically about the timing for the final reimbursement rate; Smith replied that exhibits B and C in the feasibility agreement address reimbursement and that exhibit C likely contains the final rate, but he could not give a precise calendar date. Smith noted the district's base rate is roughly 57%.

The committee also discussed site considerations, including a town-owned parcel in the "Muck" project. Smith said he had drafted a district letter requesting that the Muck project reserve acreage for a potential school site; whether that land is needed will be determined by the feasibility study's recommended solution.

The committee did not take any capital approvals at the meeting. Next steps include receiving the MSBA feasibility-study agreement on a draft timeline, issuing an RFS for an OPM and designer consistent with MSBA templates, and preparing for the MSBA board meeting scheduled for Feb. 25, when the district expects an invitation into the next phase. The committee discussed holding a Feb. 12 meeting to review a draft agreement and any legal counsel comments before the MSBA board meets.

Sources: committee packet and committee discussion at the Emmy Small Building Subcommittee meeting.