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Millis committee reviews DD design changes, permitting and site test plan
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Summary
The Town of Millis School Building Committee reviewed programming changes to the middle and high school layouts, confirmed MSBA’s commissioning agent assignment, discussed permitting and a plan for 11–12 geotechnical test pits, and agreed to try to schedule excavations around frost conditions.
The Town of Millis School Building Committee met Feb. 11 to review design‑development (DD) programming notes and to confirm next steps on permitting and site investigation ahead of the next design submission. Committee members heard from Vertex representative Matt, who summarized changes that are largely internal reconfigurations rather than major scope increases.
Matt said the programming meetings held the previous Wednesday and Thursday produced a number of markups and that most changes are “pretty minor,” consisting mainly of shifting walls and reworking office and support spaces. Key design adjustments included adding an AP office in the middle school, enlarging the middle‑school counseling suite for larger group meetings, reworking the IT office layout, combining two alternate PE rooms into a single larger space by removing the dividing wall, relocating the athletic trainer to the lower level to improve field access, and creating a larger high‑school counseling conference room to seat about 10 people.
The committee discussed whether any of the revisions would change cost estimates. Matt said they expect most of the changes to be cost neutral but that final cost impacts will be known only after the next estimator run: “we can't really give you a cost without the estimator,” he said. Members asked that staff flag any items that do create additional cost so the committee can review them with Vertex.
On commissioning and quality assurance, staff reported that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has assigned commissioning agent Silas O'Brien to the project. According to staff, the commissioning agent — hired by the MSBA — will review the building envelope, roofing, HVAC and electrical systems, life‑safety systems and controls, set checklists, review submittals and oversee portions of construction to confirm systems operate as designed. “The commissioning agent will be evaluating...building envelope, the roofing systems, the HVAC systems, the electrical power systems,” staff said.
Permitting remains on Vertex's previously issued schedule, with notice of intent (NOI) and site‑plan review anticipated after the DD set is complete. Wetland flagging is pending snowmelt. The committee confirmed the Department of Public Works (DPW) has agreed to dig geotechnical test pits if frost conditions allow; staff reported the plan calls for about 11–12 pits, each roughly 8–10 feet deep, with Mitch marking locations for DigSafe and DPW or a hired excavator clearing snow around flagged stakes.
Members noted frost of roughly three feet at the site and agreed DPW will attempt to dig the pits; if the frost prevents safe excavation, the team will reschedule. The information from the test pits will inform infiltration design and the DD estimator's upcoming pricing.
Committee members also clarified permit fee handling: the town will waive permit fees for the project, but where the building inspector needs supplemental consultant inspectors for a project of this scale, the project will pay those inspection consultant fees even when municipal permit fees are waived.
The meeting concluded with staff confirming the project remains on the Vertex schedule, with revised DD documents and the next submissions to follow once the team compiles and responds to stakeholder markups.
