School building committee approves fee amendments and allocates DD funds as MSBA approval advances project

The school building committee voted to allocate leftover feasibility funds to design development and approved fee amendments and reimbursable items to carry the school construction project through closeout.

Speaker 5, a member of the school building committee, opened the meeting with an update on the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process and noted the MSBA board had approved the project on the board’s recent meeting. "So that was good," Speaker 5 said, and added the project funding agreement and draft contract would be prepared for town council review.

Why it matters: the committee’s approvals shift the project from feasibility into active design development and establish the financial and staffing plan that will govern the next multi‑year phase, including reimbursement timing from the MSBA and the town’s borrowing schedule.

During the budget review, a project representative (Speaker 3) summarized feasibility‑phase balances and reimbursement status, saying the team had about $113,000 left to commit from feasibility and that "there's $843,000 of reimbursement" received to date with additional requests pending. The committee discussed using roughly $84,009.44 remaining in an OPM feasibility account to bill early design development (DD) work so those funds are not lost to the project.

The committee approved several items by voice vote: - Approval of the May 15 meeting minutes. - Approval of May invoices, including a Doran Whittier invoice the presenters identified as $44,207.79. - Allocation of $84,009.44 to DD billing and authorization of the balance described by presenters to carry the project through closeout as part of two linked amendments. - Approval of reimbursable items to be incorporated into consultant contracts, specifically a reimbursable service amount noted as $14.85 and an additional services request of $4,002.50 (a 10% markup on extra consultants).

Speaker 3 presented a fee amendment for the consultant team that would cover DD through closeout, describing staffing increases over the schedule and an included post‑occupancy energy monitoring item: "So, the amendment totals $5,350,000," the speaker said. That amendment and related schedule of values were discussed before the committee moved and approved the full amendment package.

Discussion points and safeguards: committee members pressed presenters on several operational matters. They requested clearer phase‑by‑phase breakdowns for when extra services will occur, asked how permitting work is categorized and billed, and raised procurement questions about change‑order caps (a member referenced a 25% cap on certain change orders). Hazardous‑materials monitoring and geotechnical work were identified as potentially significant costs requiring close oversight; presenters noted full‑time monitoring during abatement is common.

Cash‑flow and reimbursements: presenters explained the town will borrow in tranches for its share of the project and that MSBA reimbursements typically arrive with a lag (presenters used about a 60‑day estimate). The committee asked the project team to provide net cash‑flow projections that reconcile expected reimbursements with borrowing so the treasurer and accounting staff can plan borrowing tranches and ensure timely payment of construction invoices.

Next steps: the project team will proceed with design development, present phased packages and cost estimates for committee review, and provide the requested breakdowns and cash‑flow projections. The committee confirmed upcoming meetings, with the next building committee meeting scheduled for July 17 and an adjusted August meeting on Aug. 20.

Representative quotes from the meeting are limited to speakers identified in the record and reflect the committee’s procedural approvals and project accounting notes. The committee adjourned after recording the votes and scheduling future meetings.