Last week’s Press contained an article and an editorial that found fault with the School Building Committee’s (SBC) handling of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) response to the latest design submission. The article correctly cited MSBA’s findings that there were missing documents, out of date information, and a lack of clarity regarding some of the specifications. The MSBA did not take issue with the design itself, and the Press has already admitted its mistake to this effect.
I would like to assure the town that the SBC takes the MSBA findings seriously. As the SBC chair, I had multiple conversations with Arrowstreet, NV5, and Shawmut over the weeks between receiving the comments on Dec. 28 and the next SBC meeting on Jan. 25 to discuss the response, discover what went wrong, and determine the best way to move forward. The findings and subsequent response to MSBA were circulated to the SBC in advance of the January meeting and, as reported, questions and concerns by individual members were addressed.
At the heart of the matter is the assertion by the Press that the public has a right to see the district’s “bark,” i.e. a display of rebuke and alarm over poor quality work, and the assumption that because such a display did not occur at the Jan. 25 meeting, it didn’t happen. Rest assured that the SBC, either through the chair, or as a body, has and will continue to hold Arrowstreet, NV5, and Shawmut to account and will work diligently to deliver a high-quality building on time and within budget. I would also assert that what is more important than barking loudly is making the corrections to ensure the same mistake doesn’t happen again.
To that end, two agenda items for our next SBC meeting on March 7 will be to review both Arrowstreet’s staffing and NV5’s schedule between now and the next MSBA submission as well as Shawmut’s feedback on the latest set of designs/estimates. Additionally the SBC will be holding a public information session on the latest designs, costs, construction timeline, and traffic flow on March 26 at 7 p.m. (location TBD) with time for Q&A. We welcome interested citizens to come see firsthand the progress of the project.
SusanMary Redinger, chair
School Building Committee
