Officials approve design plans, budget for GMS project
By Mike Berger
An aerial rendering of the exterior of the proposed new middle school courtesy of Ai3 Architects
The Galvin Middle School building project took a big step forward last week with the unanimous approvals of a final schematic design — complete with a new turf field, outdoor lighting and partial geothermal energy plan — and overall project budget of $241.58 million by the seven-member GMS School Building Committee.
Both the plans and project budget will now be put to a vote at the June 26 School Committee meeting before a final submission to the Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA), which will then determine the rate of state reimbursement funds for the project.
At the June 12 meeting of the School Building Committee, Linda Liporto of LeftField Project Management estimated the total reimbursement to be around $74.6 million, or nearly 31 percent of the project costs. The remaining costs, totaling just under $167 million, would be borne by the town, subject to the approval of a debt-exclusion vote — first at a Special Town Meeting slated for some time in late November, and then in a town-wide special election planned for early December.
Liporto noted that the reimbursement figure she cited was only an estimate and is subject to change based on further review by the MSBA and determination of eligible and non-eligible items.
Justin Thibeault of Ai3 Architects said the overall project budget covers construction costs, pegged at $195.3 million, plus cost overruns and funding for equipment, technology and software.
Plans call for the new building to be constructed on the grounds of the existing middle school parking lot. The approved design includes a new 800-seat auditorium and two gymnasiums, in addition to the turf field and outdoor lighting.
The plan also calls for the use of geothermal heat pumps to provide heating/cooling in the public spaces at a projected cost of $2.86 million. Geothermal, or ground source, systems make use of the stable, more moderate temperatures underground as an efficient and renewable source of heating and cooling. The committee had also considered a plan to use geothermal wells to support the HVAC equipment for the entire building but determined that the costs (projected at over $14 million) were too steep.
Canton Finance Director Randy Scollins said that once the MSBA reimbursement rate is determined (expected in late August), then he will be able to better determine the taxpayer impact of the planned debt-exclusion vote. He did note at last week’s meeting that some other town projects will be coming off the books, which could lessen the tax impact of the GMS project.
In other news, officials reported that there was $11,632 remaining from the initial town meeting appropriation of $1.5 million to cover the GMS feasibility study. That is enough to cover all remaining invoices billed by LeftField, Ai3 and Consigli Construction Co. as of May 31.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=124928
Posted by Mike Berger
on Jun 21 2024. Filed under Top Stories.
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