At their Monday meeting this week, School Committee members unanimously approved a contract for the schematic design of the new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system for the Bromfield School. School Superintendent Linda Dwight told the committee members she expects they will know the full cost of the HVAC project by next fall’s Town Meeting.
The schematic design work will be done by IMEG Consultants Corporation of Boston, at a cost of $185,000. The money is the bulk of the $200,000 that was approved for this phase of the project at the September 2025 Town Meeting. Initially, IMEG sought $210,000 for the design project. Added to the $15,000 already approved for GreenerU as owner’s project manager, IMEG’s bid put the total cost at $225,000, well above the amount voters had supported last fall. But when presented with the studies already done on the Bromfield project, and through negotiations with GreenerU, IMEG lowered its bid.
IMEG was assigned to the project by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MSBA will reimburse 49.5% of the costs for the project and therefore gets to assign both the owner’s project manager and the designer.
According to the 63-page contract, IMEG will study the Bromfield roof’s potential for solar panels and will prepare detailed design documents so the school district can seek construction bids on the HVAC project. IMEG will also complete the legally required study of the school’s entrances and exits for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Ellen Sachs Leicher, who attended the meeting, said the Harvard Energy Advisory Committee had already applied for a Green Communities grant of $150,000 for technical assistance on the school project. Harvard is eligible for the grant because the town recently qualified as a “climate leader.” But it will likely be several more weeks before HEAC hears whether the state has approved this request.
—Marty Green