HANOVER — Now they wait.
SST has sent along all necessary paperwork from its feasibility study to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), according to Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey at the committee’s Wednesday, Nov. 16 meeting.
The information packet included the motions and vote taken to voted to move forward with the feasibility study process for planned renovation project at the school last month, and that meeting’s minutes.
“The next step is waiting for MSBA to give feedback on the procurement documents when we go out looking for an OPM (owner’s project manager),” Hickey said. He indicated he would like to stay on as aggressive a timeline as possible.
“It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t, but I submitted documents early enough in the hopes that they could give us feedback this month and we could go out on the street, put it out to bid, if you will, in December.”
That bid process indeed, began this month, as he met remotely with the committee Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 6 for procedural votes on advertising a request for services and adoption of the documents issued and to designate an OPM selection committee, to me populated with what is currently the four members of Capital Projects Subcommittee and Hickey as a non-voting member.
“Then we could move it forward,” Hickey said. “It buys us a month and that can add up over time.”
He foresees a “paper screening” right after Christmas and interviews right after New Year’s.
“We’re going to turn this around rather quickly, and hopefully, have a project manager recommended to MSBA so they can give their approval at their February OPM Panel Review Committee,” Hickey said.
Meanwhile, Marshfield officials has indicated the town is “supportive of a framework” that would allow them to join the SST regional district.
“It is something I think we can move along at a reasonable pace, but there are several things we have to do,” Hickey said.
The Department of Education has to provide feedback on the district’s regional agreement, which Hickey estimated is “90-percent done.” If the Education Department approves it, the district can bring it back to the regional agreement subcommittee to look at, while having the district’s counsel KP Law review it.
The subcommittee would then vote on recommending an amended regional agreement for the full committee to take action on it, putting forth an amendment to the agreement, possibly at the Wednesday, Dec. 21 meeting.
“My agenda has been, if it has to be changed, of course we’re going to change it, but I’m not interested in adding a lot of housekeeping changes,” he said. The key question is how Marshfield would share in the district’s debt burden.
The aim is for the issue to become a spring Town Meeting warrant article, with two communities — Abington and Scituate — holding those sessions in early April, the revisions need to be in place by late January, Hickey said.