After a couple of extra weeks off, the SBC is back to its every other week schedule.
Wednesday, May 8th, 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room.
On the agenda:
Next meeting is on May 22nd.
The consensus of three independent cost estimates is that the project continues to be on budget! The Design Development phase is now drawing to a close, and the Construction Documents (CD) phase begins. The next round of cost estimates will been at “60% CD,” which means when the construction documents are 60% complete.
Project Schedule
At Wednesday’s meeting, our construction team from Consigli presented an updated project schedule. The schedule represents a lot of think about a wide range of details. The Logistics Sub Group, comprised of design and construction team members, along with our school admin and facilities team, will continue to refine the schedule and consider all aspects of the project: construction staging areas; safe traffic flow for cars, buses, construction vehicles, and pedestrians; wetlands and tree protection, etc. See the presentation here.
The chart below gives an overview of the latest information about how the project affects different grades and the community over the next several years. Refinements of the plan will continue!
Meeting Schedule:
For the first time in…a long time…there was no school project presentation or vote at Town Meeting. However, there were two warrant articles with ties to the project:
This Week’s SBC Meeting: The SBC will meet on Wednesday, March 27th @ 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room. The agenda includes:
At the 2/27 SBC meeting, the design team (SMMA/EwingCole) presented the latest iterations of interior and exterior design elements. Some examples are below, and more can be found in the image gallery here.
The next SBC meeting is on Wednesday, March 13th, 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room.
The SBC is considering two options for controlling solar glare on the eastern and western sides of the Learning Commons:
Another view of the center of the school: main entrance, Learning Commons, and Dining Common
Studies of the interior of the Learning Commons
Study for the interior of the Reed Connector
In December, the Finance Committee used estimated bond rates of 4% and 5% to model the projected tax impact of the project…
Last week the town’s finance team got an updated bond rating and was ready to put the initial project bond out to bid, locking in our interest rate. The initial bond is for $80M out of the $88.5M residents authorized the town to borrow in order to fund the $93.9M project ($4.4M from the Stabilization Fund and $1.0M from free cash make up the difference between $88.5M and $93.9M). The Finance Committee will give us the bid results and more details at Wednesday’s meeting!
Also on the agenda:
The SBC meeting is on Wednesday, February 27th, 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room.
…or you just love learning about mechanical and building systems, this is the meeting for you!
SBC Meeting this Wednesday! (February 13th)
7:00pm, Hartwell Multipurpose Room
On the Agenda:
More about Sustainability…
On February 1st, representatives from the SBC, design team, Lincoln boards and committees, and Eversource, met to talk about all the aspects of the project that fall under the “sustainability” umbrella: the draft OPR, the negotiation of a Power Purchase Agreement, stormwater treatment, and mechanical systems. Achieving net zero in a renovation project is a cutting edge concept for public schools in the state, and the message from Eversource was that they recognize our efforts, and are willing to partner with the Town and the design team to support the project in some unprecedented ways. Representatives from Eversource talked the group through the kinds of rebates that may be available to the Town (see the presentation from Eversource here).
Here is a summary of the technical assistance offered by Eversource:
Due to February school vacation, the SBC meeting schedule is off of its every-other-week pattern.
The next SBC meeting is on Wednesday, February 13th at 7:00pm in the Hartwell multipurpose room.
Plenty of work is still going on! This week:
Tuesday: SMMA & SBC present project plans to the Lincoln Historical Commission.
Wednesday: Site Plan working group.
Thursday: Outreach Sub Committee meeting.
…at Plans for the Interior
At this Wednesday’s SBC meeting (January 23rd, 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room), the SBC will spend the bulk of the meeting reviewing updated floor plans, interior design, and interior materials.
Cost Check: After the December vote, Consigli came on board as our Construction Manager. Since then, they have been examining the building and working with SMMA and Daedalus to understand the details of the project. In the past couple of weeks, Consigli conducted their own cost estimate based on the Schematic Design documents. This was an independent estimate of the construction costs, which they then reconciled with SMMA and Daedalus. Consigli’s estimate will be reviewed at Wednesday’s SBC meeting.
Managing the Process: In addition to the School Committee, SBC and school administration, town administration and multiple boards and committees are involved in some aspect of the project. A “chairs” meeting took place on January 14th to bring together SMMA, Daedalus, and representatives of Town entities to ensure that permitting efforts are coordinated and communication is efficient. The meeting included representation from town and school administration, the SBC, Finance Committee, Capital Planning Committee, Conservation Committee, Planning Board, Green Energy Committee, and the Historical Commission.
The Design Development phase is defined by a continuous series of design refinements, feedback, and decisions. At Wednesday’s SBC meeting, the committee reviewed a couple of different roofline options for the Learning Commons, and considered several possible design directions for the pathways and courtyards on both the east and west sides of the new main entrance.
Learning Commons: After reviewing both “gable” roof and “hipped” roof schemes, the SBC voted to direct the design team to continue to develop the gable roof option. The image above shows the latest iteration of the Learning Commons and main entrance – the design will continue to evolve.
Site Plan: SMMA presented three variations of the pathways and courtyards adjacent to the main entrance/Learning Commons. The image above shows the general design direction chosen by the SBC. It features courtyards that flank the Learning Commons both to the east (front) and west (back) of the building. The courtyard in front is envisioned as a more public community space, while the courtyard in the back is seen as being more student-centered (or “business in the front, party in the back” as someone vividly described it!) This design, too, will continue to be developed and refined over time.
NOTE: The SBC learned that this was the last time we would be joined by Samantha Farrell, Landscape Designer, SMMA, who will be moving out of Massachusetts. We want to express our gratitude to Ms. Farrell for her work on the project, and extend our best wishes to her as she embarks on her next adventure!
Exterior Building Materials: SMMA and EwingCole presented a number of images and ideas for the exterior finishes of the building. It is proposed that the school remain a primarily brick building with accent materials in selected areas of the building. Click here to see the complete slide deck from the meeting.
Working Group Updates: There are several working groups that are addressing specific aspects of the project. This work will then be reviewed and approved by the full SBC.
Upcoming Meetings:
The SBC’s first meeting of 2019 is tomorrow night (Wednesday, January 9th) at 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room. It is a full agenda!
As a reminder, SBC agendas can always be found by using the link on the left hand side of the www.lincolnsbc.org home page (scroll down a bit), or by going to the School Committee section of the Lincoln Public Schools’ website.
