welcome everybody to our Wednesday March 19th 2025 Shaker Lane building committee meeting uh first order of business this evening is approval of the uh February 11th 2025 minutes uh thank you Stacy for taking minutes to us or for
us has everybody had a chance to read them I'm just going to assume that since we we did attach them to the package uh so having said that could I have a motion to approve the minutes don't mooved second
second roll call vote Stacy Stacy Scott yes Steve D yes Ryan uh Ryan yes Bob
R yes Michelle Michelle yes and Kelly yes motion carry thank you item two uh on the agenda this evening we have uh three invoices tth basic services for the amount of $1,814 Studio G basic services for
$43,500 Studio G additional services $2,431 for a total of 56,7 $45 does anybody have any questions about those invoices hearing none I'll ask for a
motion to approve all three invoices for a total of 56,7 45 motion approve okay I'll I'll second roll call vote Stacy Stacy Scott
yes Steve Stevey yes Ryan ran yes Bob Bob Ry yes Michelle Michelle yes and Kelly yes motion carried Kelly just to let you know uh Mike sco and Chuck uh have joined the meeting so if oh good
they came in Midway but uh would uh you like me to include them in the vote um if they've heard it if they heard they we we just let them know that we're making a motion on the um invoices CH yes uh yes M sco yes I heard that
perfect thank you item three on the agenda update from Studio G okay thank you very much so uh we are making this pretty brief today first I want to give everybody an update on where we stand on the square footage
that the msba has agreed to reimburse it is nearly out of it there's just a couple of exceptions first exception is they are not reimbursing all of the square footage for the Extended Learning dens that we had asked for they are
essentially reimbursing for just their default amount of core academic space and not reimbursing for anything beyond that so that works out to be does somebody say something sorry that works out to be a
thousand square feet per grade level K through two and 1,200 not reimbursable uh the other part of this is 850 square feet for the imaginatorium space 850 square feet is what the
existing Shaker Lane School has as their maker space their stem program and in the new design we were splitting that up into sort of satellites so that we have one per each of the grade levels and then we have a Central room that we're
calling the Creation Station which houses the laser cutter and the 3D printer equipment that the kids should be able to see so they can see their projects being made through windows but it's only a staff member inside the room
so the msba has initially said no to reimbursing that uh usually because the state has a policy that stem learning below grade three can take place in the classroom uh the district wrote a letter
and we have made a statement in our PSR arguing of why the school should have this space and we have not heard back yet from the msba so that 850 square feet is TBD still under negotiation and
we'll let you know when we have an answer on that uh the next piece that they are not reimbursing is a an Extended Learning dent for the prek they are reimbursing for all the classrooms and the special
ed prek classroom just not the den and also not the small group learning rooms for the preschool and that's a that's a small specialized space that are shared between each of the classrooms uh there's a little bit of
math down here at the bottom of what the net square footage and what the gross total looks like showing you the scenario if they approve the imaginatorium and if they do not uh but as of right now the overall size of the building is still sitting at
97,2 32 can I can I ask a question uh so we were so the original um cost estimates that we were uh looking at in terms of reimbursement we were using the msba guideline which would have covered the
73,8 45 Square ft so this is better than what we had hoped for um you know certainly there's some areas that didn't cover everything but have you have you run the numbers in terms of what this will look like in terms of the um impact of uh the the cost
estimate that is tough to do at this point so much has changed since we got that estimate back in October and if we were to use the the square foot the dollar per square foot number as the building gets larger the dollars per
square foot gets lower as the building gets smaller the dollars per square foot gets larger but if anybody does want to do that math I believe we were looking at $850 per square foot I mean it hasn't changed a ton in terms of square footage so that very it
won't vary I just did this on another couple of jobs and it takes more than a few thousand square feet to throw it off it's a it's good news is just that that that um because again we that's a big
that's a about 20,000 more feet square feet than we thought we'd have so that's yeah and and kudos to the the team we we looked at the plan we reduced it in every area that we possibly could without sacrificing our education plan
and and Studio G was great coming back four or five times with us with lower square footage and and I feel pretty good about what we have here uh it would be very difficult to cut any more space at this point in time but in saying that we we all have to be cognizant of what
was approved by the msba board of directors after our successful FAS PSR submission and the number that they set us so um we just all have to be aware of what that is and work within that yeah
you know Mark I do have a question for you uh you know having been in this process now for over a year it's my understanding that very seldom is a school new school built that right that falls right in line with the
msba recommended square footage is is that correct I mean the ones I've looked at haven't but correct it's limited okay correct and and again it all depends on and we talked about this earlier you've already had you know prek program special ed program so they'll take you
know they they'll give you a little bit more lead way on the project programs that you already have but they can't justify giving you like 100% of that extra square footage they may give you a portion of it so is there any opportunity to gain more reimburse square footage with our special
education Arrangement because we do have additional programs in our school we can always have that discussion with them absolutely okay Gail Gail's got a hand up Gil yeah and I'm going to apologize everybody I have a new laptop and I can't get the camera
camera on so I apologize but um given what Terry Quan said about the dens and her other comments don't you think Mark that we should be able to push at least for the
imaginatorium yeah absolutely Gail again I don't think it's something that we should ignore we absolutely should talk to them about it but as we get closer to the project scope and budget amendment you know the the FAS comments ter and and the other woman that had some great comments about
the project you know we we'll work with those but when they get to the actual budgeting they maybe you know it's their final decision when you get to the the Mike MCG girlo levels and above that to try to work with them with the numbers so right guess we absolutely should push
it absolutely yeah yeah Ian that's my feeling as well as the the OPM and design team should keep pushing on that for you and then I think you all have to make the decision about whether you're comfortable if they don't fund that
extra you know 850 sare fet are you comfortable with the part that the town is going to have to cover correct yeah yes Stacey yeah so I just I mean this this seems like all really good news so I just wanted
to note that like a lot of the community feedback that we have gotten sometimes mentions that like you know the kids don't need a castle they don't need to have all of these things for their kind of educ to meet our educational guidelines so I think it's just these
are important figures to kind of be aware of as we're marketing and trying to um communicate this with the community that such a large portion falls under those msba guidelines like it's a very small portion these like
ends and small group learning rooms and what else the imaginatorium like these are big things for us to have in the building but it's a small percentage of the building that's not being reimbursed so like tiny
parts of a big castle but not huge Parts like we have like a good foundation for the school and the MSB is kind of validating that by covering so much of it so I just wanted to note that that's a great Point Stacy it is a small percentage and then the educational plan
was received so well by the msba I just think that they'll you know they'll potentially support us hopefully in the future so I mean it's it's interesting and I don't have a a solution to this but Mike had said as we we decrease our
square footage we may not realize the the same kind of cost savings as the as we're hoping to and how do we how do we determine what the best course of action is to get the best bang for our dollar it's kind of kind of difficult because
we're driving the cost up as we're cutting square footage right but there's many as we continue getting deeper into schematic design there's still a lot of opportunities with selections of mechanical equipment and structural
systems and you know me systems and um you know site work and Etc you know materials and things that are be are going to be focused on that could be cost-saving so knowing knowing what you wanted for the educational plan knowing how well it
was received would like you know would really like to keep it the way it is without you know having too much reductions just in square footage um and then try to maximize what the msba will support sounds like a plan thank
you marily Lee Gil I mean you guys that that you guys think I was GNA add one thing to that Mark which is you know a strategy that we use for Lawrence roach which really hit the market at a just
terrible time um is that we parked some things and especially you mentioned you know site cost Mark you know so we parked some elements of the playground for instance and we said if we don't run into trouble and don't have to use much of the contingency then we can put this
back in and so Kelly I want to reassure you and others that that's a strategy that really can work very well we can identify the things that come in late enough in the project you can say these are alternates we'll do them if we can
perfect excellent thank you thank you all right if there are no other questions um Mark Stafford's comment on which mechanical system we select is actually a great segue into the next portion which is uh a recap of what
happened at the sustainability workshop and a little bit of news on that after the great discussion that we had at that Workshop we believe that it would be in everybody's interest to rather than
having a second sustainability Workshop to just make this decision at the next SBC and we can still invite members of the Littleton sustainability committee to join as members of the public so they can still make comments if they need to
but that first Workshop covered so much information that if you all are in agreement with that then that is how we can proceed okay Stacey was your hand up from before were you okay okay so this graphic that I have up
right now during discussion is just the recap of these three different all electric options that we were considering and then a mixed fuel option and if any of the representatives from that subcommittee are here and want to
discuss this a little bit uh please do so uh yeah so Steve here um I was uh on the committee and part of the discussion uh we did talk about uh the different options that are available to the building committee um in order to qualify for the
additional 3% msba reimbursement uh we we automatically get the 1% well I won't say automatically we get the 1% uh reimbursement for using uh sustainable materials low emitting materials uh
indoor indoor air quality uh um um standards and um and guidelines uh to get uh the additional it's two additional points I think right Mary Lee so it's a total of three additional
points total of four actually it's three additional points to okay so it's three plus the one so it's four points so um so we did discuss the various options that are um on the screen option one option two option three and option four we kind of ruled out option four
automatically because the consensus is uh we want to qualify for uh the three additional points and and um the going with the all electric option um seemed like the the best and
right um option to go with um the um and merily correct me if I'm wrong so option two is the basis that's the cost is already built in to the cost projections uh so um they the to go with
option two there wouldn't be any increase in the additional cost of the project if we wanted to move to uh a more efficient building uh option three ground Source uh heat pumps and things like that that would cost an additional
$5 million uh over um the current C project cost uh and likewise if we wanted to go to option one which is um a less than ideal um mechanical package um
it would save 2 it would actually save $2.4 million off the project cost so um option two seemed like the best um it was uh a 20 20% improvement over the effective uh Building Systems um it
still has a 20-year uh lifespan um and because the cost is already built into the existing project cost the consensus of the sustainability committee was we would stay with option
two and so that's what we're recommending to I I that's what we're recommending to the shakane building committee that we accept option two the chairman that cover Mary Lee did I stum that up correctly that was that
was nearly perfect uh there's just one small correction is that the option three is 2.6 million more than option two that's right yeah so it's um but other than that great job yeah it's five million more than option one that's correct
yes yes Mike can't hear you you're muted Mike did have a question so on option four I mean will we at least be provided the cost yes we are compared to those three because I know for a fact it'll be it it
technically will be the lowest cost but if if it has to go there it it just should be shown for sure yes that's being studied uh as part of the life cycle cost analysis by our mechanical consultant so you'll see information on all four of these options yeah so so the
the the Mandate I'm not sure it's a mandate the um the feelings of the sustainability committee uh and Steve Moore was on that committee as well was um we go as green as possible possible within the current
budget without incurring additional cost and so we can go as green as possible with option two uh without incurring additional cost and still qualify for the additional 3% uh excuse me uh msba reimbursement so um that was kind of the
the the focus of the conversation was how how green can we get within the current budget and option two allows us to get as green as possible it's all electric everything in the building is electric um I think there do need does
need to be some discussions on what backup systems there are to the heat pumps for um the really cold days um but I think Matt was part of that conversation uh correct me if I'm wrong
Matt um I think they used um for temperature guidelines they used a 5 degree day uh and making sure the systems can keep up with multiple five degree days without having to kick into like a
backup system um correct if I remember that conversation correctly um you know we we get five degree days we get minus degree days but they don't typically last that long um so the committee seem
to um think that that option uh and that um parameter for the the degree days was acceptable but again I think we need to make sure that we do have some kind of a backup system in case we get days that you know maybe we get a week of five
degree days or something so um but there wouldn't be any natural gas in the building um the the the uh generator would have to be um uh sized right to handle the entire building if it's all electric U and that kind of stuff all
the kitchen appliances all the kitchen utilities would be all electric all the heat would be electric um so that was the bulk of the conversation quick yeah I was on that conversation as well and I know Steve
also had concerns on the the budget as well I'm just saying we definitely do want to see that cost because I'm going to guess that 3% is going to be very close to a wash when it comes down to it
I just want to make sure we at least see that so we can see if there's a the cost difference so understand we want to be green but uh I mean obviously the all electric is part of the opin code and we're not an
opin Community I just want want that to be just in the interest of the project budget just to make sure that's not set aside right right yeah uh just a quick question so what do
you typ for these electrical systems what do you typically do for backup power is it a diesel generator uh yeah is that usually yeah you can do a diesel generator that's exempt is okay so that would is are there other options well
the building will be solar ready yeah um it's going to be part of the lead requirements and the MSP requirements the code requirements um some schools that I've worked on have had battery backup for you know their solar arrays that have worked on battery backup too
so that's something that we certainly can think about there's an additional cost obviously for all of that but um typically it's a diesel generator yeah so the option would be a natural gas generator which means which means you then have to carry uh you then have to
pipe a natural gas line into the building um to the generator so um so Littleton School so we have four School in Littleton um the high school and the Russell Street School both have diesel
backup generators uh the middle school and Shake oan are currently natural gas um fed backup generators so we do have experience and precedence with um diesel generators and from our from the
maintenance and operation side uh I'm fine with the the diesel has the generator been included in the cost of the project that I am not sure I'll have to check on yeah I'm not sure I believe it's probably in there because I would
think that would be a standard thing should be there we'll take a look at it that that assumption is is there yeah we we'll need to have a further discussion definitely doesn't need to be tonight about what needs to get back up right so
your heating system yeah definitely your emergency systems uh Ryan a brief conversation you and I had I just wanted to reflect on since you have a Municipal Power Company there is the possibility of doing something that we did at the
Florence roach School in gron which is that we got the battery backup it also serves as demand um management for the municipal power company so they actually bought it so you know the question would be here
can we be clever about this and get you something that actually gets you further down the road toward the future of electrification and maybe they contribute the money for that or part of it so again I don't think you have to
make that decision tonight I think it's something that if you want us to to do we'd like to explore good suggestion thank you Gil Bob I gotta bow out guys Bob thanks very much watch that
sun take care see you so are there any other questions for the sustainability piece of this at this point in time or well I'm just curious as to when we need to make this decision what you know Mark what what what are
your thoughts on this um we're going to be getting the life cycle cost analysis prior to the next uh building committee meeting which is I'm sorry I forgot to put on the agenda again but it's um April 16th so we will have those numbers and we will uh send them out prior to
people to kind of digest them with our thoughts and then we'll have a discussion about them at the meeting sounds good thank you welcome was that it slides Mary Le or no yep that's it okay thank you
so tth budget schedule update so let me share my screen and hopefully I'll get this right can you see that or no y can you see the schedule not now there it is okay oh
Jesus okay there it is um so so where we are today at uh March 19th um tracking all the invoices and payments and things that you guys approve at every meeting bottom line yellow line we are um total budget of
million 85 we have invoice to date 73145 $17.22 um prior to the U other invoice we're going to talk about in in a couple minutes another amendment so we're about 67% of the budget um we and we're
looking at so so that that's where we are with the budget I think we're good with the budget um we've had some money spent towards the environmental in sight this is getting tight but I believe we're pretty much wrapped up with site conditions analysis things like that
that we've been been testing over the last couple of months um so I think we're good there we're not going to go over budget there we had other for any other expenses that the project May incur that we haven't touched yet uh and then of course the the the fees for our services and Studio G Services we're
Trucking right along to the end so we're doing well on the budget um we will go till probably octo uh August and I'll talk about that as another segue into where we are well first of all any other any questions on the
budget Mark just one thing too I know you're going to be putting we had the change order um potentially we're be looking at is there is that built um do we have more contingency to allow us to to do that so that the amendment that we're going to talk about in a second or
the additional um site testing and final coordination that was Prior approved for $22,000 yes well that will not make us scroll our budget here very close but we will not and we don't anticipate anything more of that amendment number five or any other environmental inight
you know uh information that's required before the end of schematic design okay thank you absolutely um so having said that the next Milestones that we're going to be dealing with are we are now in um schematic design
Studio G is is pressing along meeting with the groups and talking with people out about the schematic design as marily told us we are looking at a submitt date of the schematic design to the msba on the the 6th of June sorry the 6th of
26th of uh June uh prior to that about a month prior to that or more than a month prior to that we'll be getting schematic design information so we can put the cost estimates together and start looking at estimates um as we as the final
schematic design is is wrapping up um also desie has to do a review that information will go concurrently with desie um so that's the next milestone for the project is submitting the SD on the 26th of June uh once that is sub
admitted and we go with the review comments from the msba uh back and forth to their comments addressing their comments Etc which will take us till about the middle of August we have the scheduled board board approval of the project scope and budget amendment
scheduled for their August meeting so we're shooting for August 27th to get U the approval by the committee to establish our budget for the project and that will be clear for their reimbursable uh and what the total
overall project budget will be once that is approved then we have until town meeting of October 27th to promote the project talk about the cost talk about everything where we
are getting the agreement executed um having a conference with the MSP to make sure everybody's on the same page and then we have town meeting on the 27th of October for the vote and then hopefully that vote is
positive um certification goes to the msba we execute the contract sometime at the uh beginning of December we move into design development so for schedule wise those are the next uh Milestones that we're
looking at um and we'll continue to have the monthly meetings to update everybody um of what's uh what's happening so what's involved in design development I'll let the Architects answer that even though I could I'll let them
uh um actually but before I answer that Mark where does the town vote fall in there October 27th and I say that that's to meeting the election you're talking about right oh what J is that we don't
have that in there okay what what Jade is that uh well November um I don't have a specific date on that uh Mark I can I can make an inquiry to Our Town Clerk and get that date for you yeah let me once you know that Ryan will'll add that to the calendar obviously that's a very important part thank you
marily all right so design development is where you take the information from the cost estimate and you take the drawings that you have so far and you just keep pushing you make adjustments uh as required to continue to meet the
budget you find ways to make the structure more efficient or use less expensive cladding materials uh you refine interior layouts such as where the doors are and what type of doors we
start talking about door hardware a little bit more specifically about uh security classroom security and it's just moving the design forward and getting them to the point where we can do another uh even more detailed
budget okay thank you and after design development you go into a full construction documents where hopefully the development of the design is to the point where the estim are working the numbers are working the Design's working and then we put the bids to put the documents together uh and then we'll do
that and have another estimate towards the end of the documents before we and and something that is being overlooked that we just certainly need to mention you all voted to go with construction manager uh at risk as the um delivery
method so we typically don't get the CMO CMR on yet until we know what the final budget is but there's stuff in the background we can do because we have to interview people we have to set proposals out we just set an RFQ out all of that that we will work with the
district on in the town putting together because it's like you interviewed for the Architects you interviewed for us we have to do the same thing for the construction manager so that process is going to take place and and seeing that we're looking at a Project funding budget agreement in August so it'll probably be the fall that we'll get into
that um getting those decisions pulled together and it'll be coinciding when they're getting into design development so that's typically the right time to get them involved thank you other questions you're welcome so we might as well move right
into does Stacy have a question oh sorry Stacy it's just a clarifying question because you had mentioned the CMR so it's happening you'll be interviewing in the fall um but our town vote is October 27th so are we going
to are we going we're going to have our our total budget for the project we're gonna say like this is the amount of money we're going to need for this project but if we don't have that CMR stuff in place we're not going to know how much materials cost do I have do I have that right
right because we're not we're not at design development yet because all all those things are going to come out through design development we're gonna have a based on the schematic design submission we're gonna have a budget set up with the msba what the total number is what they're going to reimburse all
of that's going to be set baked into that because we're gonna have to carry it now that you're going with CMR is what the CMR cost potentially will be so as we'll have to have that as an alter not an alternate um contingen as part of that budget to make sure when
we start interviewing people that that realm stays within what we're anticipating for the overall project okay does that make sense no it does make sense I think that that's going to be a pretty tough sticking point for
voting because of the uncertainty of everything and everyone's already kind of gone through that covid where everything just spiked up all of a sudden and we they're just they've already approved something and then have to carry that bill so it's just something to be I think very aware of
that if we don't have everything in place for this project and there are there's a wide possibility that things could change for the budget and and increase for the budget it's going to be really hard for us to pass to pass that vote so we have to like button up all
those loose ends as much as we can oh no absolutely Stacy if I could Mark I think one thing that's important to know is when we do this next estimate at the endos schematic design the estimate will presume the construction manager at risk
because we know that's the decision made therefore that cost will be fed into the estimate we may also have some alternates so you know we always like to have a plan B is what I say right so you always want to know how you could cut it without hurting the project and that's
one of the things that tth and Studio G will be working on making some recommendations to you all on but it the SD estimate typically in a public project in Massachusetts is the basis for budget so that's true for state
buildings and it's true for the msba projects so and then there'll be contingencies in there right so they know they don't have all the information they don't have every detail from us so they're going to build contingen season and that's all stuff that tth and Studio
G will have feedback for for right so that we make sure that we are protecting you right for Market volatility because that is a likelihood
Michael just a quick question so um on that budget so I'm assuming You' assume prevailing wage for everything yeah so if we were end up if we were to end up with a signatory GC who brings in Union G or a little more expensive for the non-filed sub trads
that wouldn't be factored into the budget well we won't have a GC if we're doing a CM yeah so well we would eventually it's just well I mean they're responsible for outside of the file sub trades to get their other subs in line as far what the budget is so yeah well
I'm just saying that if they're signatory and it's a non-filed sub trade they're going to go with a union guy and not a prevailing wage which is a little bit more yeah so just make that people aware and and we all we all understand the
volatility of the market right now especially in the construction industry with yeah folks are hungry right now too well yeah terce and everything and the cost of things going up and and the likelihood of that but we're also looking at these documents being priced
you know months from now you know a year from now even before so anybody knows what can happen I don't have my crystal ball with me tonight but you know if prices could be down you know prices could be more prices could stabilize we don't know um but as Gail said we're going to work to make sure that
everything is covered everything is there we get the budget set up we'll have to work within that budget have plan B would add alternates deduct alternates all of those things in line so we stay within that number that we finalize with the msba hopefully as the project goes on anything that's an
alternate can be included uh but we'll have all those discussions lay all those things out for everyone that's very that's very helpful Mark uh to Stacy's point I mean we we want to make sure that if this passes that we don't have
to go back to the community for for more money and I know that's a a tall order but it's important so we have to make sure that those numbers are going to work because I like most communities this is this is a big project and I hate to think the reaction if we had to go
back to town for more money absolutely any other comment not on that but um Mary Lee can you give us a quick update and maybe you are later where are we with the the septic
issue design location etc etc etc yeah so the latest round of testing they did uh two test kits down at the existing parking area uh they did one sort of outside of the park working lot and then
they did one in the grass strip that's in between the grass strip one failed but the other one had acceptable percolation rates so the next steps would include we meet with Steve llin
again and discuss feasibility of having it there and then we also need to make sure that it's kosher with the Board of Health and this is something that uh would it would uh it would really be if we did it now it
would be an ad service because we're asking our consultant to do more we're asking Steve Laughlin to do more so Our intention is to push that off until after town vote okay yeah the F the further design of the system y
right so that was good news that the the uh the area that they were looking at just outside of the parking lot um you know perked um so that worked out you know really well for us going forward so yeah it was kind of in the words um kind of I don't know I don't know if that's a
south end of the property I think that's the south end of the property but it is um is in the woods up more up against the street I'm just concerned about a septic V which I mean I think it's a good place but I want to make sure we
when they do that design we're not um affecting the neighbors with septic smells from the vent pipes and things like that so okay thank you so a couple couple more items more
under new business um want to have a discussion for the pre-own meeting Q&A session on May 6th I think um I think that's all planned and ready to go that's all been approved correct Brian or we're we're
ready to uh yeah oh yeah so so Logistics uh for everybody what we're going to do is um uh down the hall all of you I believe have been to um uh the gym uh where we conduct Town Hall oh not town
meeting we did um our last information session in that gymnasium this is uh we're going to have the information session per the request of the town clerk just down the hall in the uh cafeteria uh we'll be working with our
team to get you guys set up for that um and the idea is that starts at 6 um I think what we were thinking about was doing a 15-minute presentation similar in scope and pacing kind of how we let different people speak which is I
thought very effective letting different people come up and and speak to it including um including Steve and and Mar and then um we' open it up after that for presumably anywhere between 30 to 35 minutes of question and answer after
that so I think the question at hand now is what do we want that uh 15-minute presentation to look like um and um you I might start with thinking that I I like what we did um at the the last update I think you kind of keeping along
those lines and and thematically worked pretty well um so but I'd like to hear from the rest of the committee as to what guidance we can give our Consultants here as to how we'd like them to perceive forward and put that
presentation together well I think it's important that we we continue the conversation with square footage and and you know have a similar conversation that we we had tonight and and also some preliminary design schematics in terms of how we're
organizing the interior of the building I think that would be helpful as well I think Ryan you and I also had a conversation and I'm not sure whether this is a time or not I'm assuming it might be is what happens you know two
scenarios if it if it passes we we move forward but if it doesn't do we need the conversation in terms of we we can't just leave Shaker Lane the way it is we're going to have to do something so I'm not sure whether this is the meeting you would you feel we should go into
that conversation or not I think we need to you know do so probably without any Scare Tactics but being forthright with um you know with with with uh the at the information session about what the implications would be um you know you'd have the quote about the
$450,000 that you and Steve came up with uh for temporary classrooms you start doing the math off of that it's it's you know it's important to relay in that presentation that just because we if to the town would to vote against us there
is still cost implications um but saying no Steve vudi what are your thoughts on that I think we we have to start talking to the town about the Alternatives um I talked to Justin a little bit about this too is to have the
the school committee get ready to say this is what our options are if it fails this is what it's going to cost us um this is the long-term approach and the plan that we have to put in place and when we can go back to msba
realistically and what we're going to look for costs at that point you know one of the things that that that I had mentioned the 450 for example to somebody in town and
uh his basic reaction was so what it's less than 100 million so yeah you know that there's that that we need to to to talk to and we have to defend why we're doing this and and and
why the alternative isn't really a good alternative yeah you have to talk about what additional fund how much additional funding would be so for instance to add temporary classrooms it's $450 a square foot
so 30,000 square feet you're talking like 12 or4 million I don't remember if that includes site work or not I don't think it does but yes it red it's it's a less impact cost cost but you really
have to focus on we really have to focus on what it doesn't address within the Shain school I think that's the big thing what it does not get what what what what you don't get yeah well there's impending maintenance cost uh that they're going to happen you know
significant costs uh the fact that we don't have a a fire suppression suppressant system in that is huge y Stacey yeah I I completely agree that we just need to really validate the reason why
we made the decision for this option that we that we made um and the benefits of having that one versus the long-term maintenance and all of cost so they're going to go into it um because you know we as a committee we're all we we're we
know that we're kind of painted into a corner we know that it has to get done and that there really is no other less expensive option and that by using this m msba reimbursement now we're saving the town a lot of money but
community members don't see that they don't know that they don't understand that like there really is no there really is no other option that is going to save us money so I just think it's really important for us to communicate that to them that this has been an ongoing project for a long time it's
been needed for a long time and now it's something that we just have to do otherwise it's going to cost the town a lot more money in the future and we have a lot of big projects going on in the future of this town that are going to be affected if we're going to have to
somehow fund figuring out what to do with Shaker Lane if it doesn't get it doesn't get built um so I it's it'll 15 minutes is going to be a small amount of time to like communicate that I think it's it seems like it's a really good idea to have that big chunk
of time for the Q&A because that's where we're be able to get that conversation going so it might it might be something that we have maybe in our back pockets not the the whole presentation but I'm sure
the question will come up and we should be ready for the question with with these things and maybe like Mary Lee can get one of those aerial shots of of the school and say okay this is where the portable classrooms are going to have to be and oh we're going to lose this
playground oh this is the off fencing that we need to put around it for security reasons this is the cost for maintenance this is the additional Staffing we're going to need all those costs need to be identified and built
in so that's that's mying I think it's must in in my experience at this point in stage of the project there's two things that I think the general public are going to want to see and we've already seen one of them what it's going to cost and at this point what it's going to look like
because they want to see images so I'm assuming that merily I'm not going to speak for you guys but I'm assuming there might be some elevations and you know maybe rendered site plans or rendered elevations or whatever just because people now at this point want to
also see what it's going to look like so I think if we can pull those things together have those plans in the back pocket as you said Steve that anticipate questions that people might be asking and be prepared to to answer them yes uh Mark you're absolutely right we've been
talking with the working group about uh materials and some design features that the school needs and so in the next couple of weeks we're going to be wanting to meet with the design and sight selection subcommittee to go over this and hopefully by them we'll have
some solid options to show you and then the goal is definitely to have some really nice exterior renderings maybe a rendered site plan in time for the May 6th meeting and can I just can I just add on to that too so there's a really there's a really
delicate balance here between that um assumption that we're like I said we're building the kids a castle when people are seeing like this is only pre through two and the majority of our voters don't have students going in to the school they
don't we care but they don't really care what it looks like in the grand scheme of they want it to be a beautiful School obviously it's a staple of our community you don't want an ugly building but if we are showing images of this grandiose thing and in their head saying like well
why do we need it to be like that when the kids are doing okay in this like where's the happy medium so that it kind of opens up those questions so I just want to throw that out there that it's the money that they care about right now and the function and the that we're
providing for the kids um the bells and whistles just kind of add another layer of like why do we have to why do we have to have that for the kids right now that's a stab right in the Architects all hard ouch I know know it's
so no I I get it I totally get it and you're absolutely right because you run the risk of somebody looking at this thing and going oh my God that looks expensive even though we might know actually that's one of the least expensive materials we could choose you know like people just don't know what they don't know
right concept we would be doing now is the time to be creating this rendering anyhow so we can choose when we get closer to the date whether or not you want to show it and I think if we do decide to show a site plan then we can talk about how the building is located
so we can give as much property as possible to make it available for Town use like the lower portion of the site with the fields and then the community use inside the building so I think that would help our cause of making this just beyond pre to 2 right it's really for
the whole town yeah it's less like the the learning dens and stuff remember that's the tiny portion of our community that's going to be using that stuff they're and they're not but like yes shared Community spaces having access to the building like that is what I think is the most important thing to push that
it's not doors are closed at two o'clock and nobody can use it so you're paying for something that you have no use for um so yeah great and they'll be investigating all of this as we go through schematic design they'll have options for the exterior just like they're going through options for everything else will it be a masonry
building will it be a metal clad building in masonry will it be a pre-cast panel building with M masonry I mean this town's a big you know New England brick type of town so maybe the assumption is it'll be more masonry than not there's cost that go with that so these guys are going to investigate all
of that um and come up with the costs that are going to be within the budget um and then hopefully have a a nice looking building that everybody would be proud of and want to use but keep been all about in mind Stacy it's absolutely critical it's a very good point oh sorry go ahead well I just I
love this input Stacy because it's got me thinking about Mary Lee and I can talk about this with our team and we'll come up with some ideas but Ryan this reminds me of the conversation you and I had when we were walking around the schools that we toured
together and there's this bottom line cost which is what most people don't understand you're going to pay for an hbac system and you are going to pay through the nose for it you're going to pay through the nose for just having electrical wiring in this building right like these are the real expenses and then people are worried about like what
kind of ceiling are you going to put on or what kind of masonry are you going to CL it with and those are really not the big costs in the building so I'm thinking we might even think Mary Lee about doing a diagram that kind of makes that point and brings it home so I think I love these you should come up with all
the challenges because then it gets us thinking how do we respond to it okay how can we give you information that will really be responsive excellent that's a great idea yeah I mean we had this conversation today at our meeting and and
uh I mean Stacy you're right and then there's the opposite end if you you design something that looks like a warehouse people aren't going to want to put the money into it either so it's it's that midpoint you know the sweet spot so to speak how do we get to that
and I I really like the idea of you know making sure our public understands that a lot of the cost of that building you really don't see it's hidden and um that that'll you know significantly help our discussions and we're trying to create a design that that that's inviting but uh
not over the top any other questions before we move on this is Chu I'm going to jump in uh just a couple comments if I okay um Stacy mentioned you know there's a lot
of projects that's you know people have concerns about um a lot of expenses a lot of projects so obviously people are worried about their their taxes um that has led to a number of people saying okay so if we did this when are we going
to be looking to do the Russell Street school and why didn't we look at doing Russell in Shaker all together at one at one site so that's that's something to pack a bag for um and just a comment
because I've gotten a phone call on a new resident of Littleton who lives at 37 Shaker Lane who was not aware of the project when she bought the house and house is literally surrounded by the school property that green house that has the the piece of pie that sticks
into the the school property so U Mily mentioned site PL I just um I would ask that somebody from the schools uh visit the resident and um Steve or Kelly or whomever want to
reach out to me I can give her her contact information but um she's got some very real concerns excuse me if you could uh send us her her name Chuck that would be great we'll certainly reach out to her I
will send it to you Kelly y you back okay thank you three three minutes to a keeping everybody's time um important I just want to say the last issue on the new business we had was um what what I mentioned before about proposals that came in for the additional soil testing
in coordination which came in right after our last committee meeting so we weren't able to bring it to your attention we reviewed the information approved it sent it to Ryan Kelly and Steve Moore for their review they approved it because the work was
happening over February school vacation so we had to give the okay to Studio G to give the okay to the Consultants to get the work done so that's been done now as part of your packages the proposals um are there it's a total amount of $22,000 approval by the committee
tonight we'll follow it up with amendment number five for that for that amount so he I'll take a motion to approve the additional soal testing in coordination work that happened over the February vacation in the amount of $22,000 please and Mark and that was included in that the budget already that
you present presented right correct right yeah so could I have a motion to approve the invoice in the amount of $22,000 so moved second second
Stacy yes Chuck Chucky muted Chuck the coast is yes Steve Stephen yes Ryan Ryan yes Bob Bob's
gone Bob's golfing yeah Mike Mike Mike scudo yes Michelle Michelle yes Kelly yes motion carried and as not noted that the next meeting is scheduled for
Wednesday April 16th thank you Ryan do we have anybody wanting to uh no there isn't I just looked okay perfect uh motion to adjourn I moved
second Stacy Stacey yes chuck chuck deos yes Steve Steve yes Ryan Ryan Ferrar yes Mike Mike scudo yes Michelle and Kelly yes Michelle yes
Michelle Michelle yes right thank you very much everybody have a great night e