HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-09-18 School Committee MinutesReading School Committee
Reading, Massachusetts
Regular Session September 18, 2003
Call to Order
Chair Dahl called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the Superintendent's Conference
Room. Present were School Committee Members Carpenter, Dahl, Russo, Spadafora and
Webb. Also present were Superintendent Schettini and Associate Superintendent
Richards. Mr. McFadden arrived at 6:40 p.m.
BILLS & PAYROLL
Bills and payroll were circulated.
Chair Dahl stated that the purpose of this evening's meeting is to interview four
candidates for the project management functions on up to three building projects. He
stated that no public input would be taken this evening.
The Committee reviewed a list of questions and selected three standard questions that
would be asked of each of the project management firms. Chair Dahl stated that the three
questions would be in addition to other questions Committee members wanted to ask.
R. F. Walsh
Mr. Bonfatti reviewed the history of R. F. Walsh and reviewed the work done on projects
similar to the Reading projects.
Ms. Webb asked Mr. Bonfatti to provide an example in a public school project of where
the firm's intervention led to a significant design improvement and resulted in a cost
savings and /or a timeline improvement.
Mr. Naughton stated that they offered an alternative site for the building at BC High
saving $250,000. He discussed the auditorium space at Medford High that was
exceedingly high and their recommendation to reduce the space which resulted in a
savings.
Chair Dahl asked given the fact that our three projects are at different stages, the new
elementary school is in construction with the foundation having been poured, the
Barrows renovation/addition construction bid going out in October, and the high school
renovation/new construction/demolition going out to bid in February, how can your firm
assist the Reading Public Schools in managing all three projects?
Mr. Luxenberg described the scheduling process R. F. Walsh would use.
Mr. Carpenter asked the firm to list a half -dozen actions they will take as they track the
various tasks and resources, and how they would anticipate and provide for risks to
scope, schedule and quality, avoid change orders and if changes become neesary, to
ensure they are requested at the right state in the construction process to minimize the
cost and delay.
Regular Session 2 September 18, 2003
Mr. Bonfatti stated that they would do a schedule analysis and resource loading in order
to identify any problems early. He stated that when things are not identified early that is
when you can run in to change order issues.
Chair Dahl asked if R.F. Walsh would be willing to write names into the contract if an
agreement was reached.
Mr. Bonfatti said he would write the names into the contract.
Mr. McFadden stated that R. F. Walsh is a small firm and asked if they had the resources
to give Reading the attention that it needed for the projects.
Mr. Bonfatti stated that they have ample resources available for Reading.
Mr. Russo asked how many years each person had worked at the firm and what percent
of capacity R. F. Walsh is at.
Mr. Bonfatti reviewed the years of service and stated that the firm is at about 80%
volume.
Ms. Webb asked Mr. George whether being a candidate for a masters in civil engineering
would impact his availability.
Mr. George advised that he was finished except for his thesis.
Chair Dahl asked for an example of something that went wrong on a project where R. F.
Walsh was able to intervene and get things back on schedule.
Mr. Bonfatti discussed a project they worked on where they had to remediate a mold
situation. He discussed how they brought the engineer and contractor together and were
able to get them to move forward.
URS
Mr. Adams reviewed the history of URS and reviewed the work done on projects similar
to the Reading projects. He introduced the URS staff.
Ms. Webb asked Mr. Adams to provide an example in a public school project of where
the firm's intervention led to a significant design improvement and resulted in a cost
savings and /or a timeline improvement.
Mr. Adams discussed the change in the roof design in Worcester and the sodding of the
Marblehead football field.
Regular Session 3 September 18, 2003
Chair Dahl asked given the fact that our three projects are at different stages, the new
elementary school is in construction with the foundation having been poured, the
Barrows renovation/addition construction bid going out in October, and the high school
renovation/new construction/demolition going out to bid in February, how can your firm
assist the Reading Public Schools in managing all three projects?
URS discussed the master plan and master scheduled that would be required for the three
Reading projects. They discussed the resources their firm has to manage the projects.
Mr. Carpenter asked the firm to list a half -dozen actions they will take as they track the
various tasks and resources, and how they would anticipate and provide for risks to
scope, schedule and quality, avoid change orders and if changes become neesary, to
ensure they are requested at the right state in the construction process to minimize the
cost and delay.
They discussed holding weekly meetings with the contractors and ways of holding
contractors accountable for their schedule.
Mr. McFadden asked Ms. Potter about her experience on school projects.
Ms. Potter stated that she worked for the City of Melrose and is working on the
Marblehead Middle School for URS.
Chair Dahl asked if names would be written into the contract.
Mr. Adams said they would be.
Mr. McFadden asked about the turn over rate in the Boston office.
Mr. Adams stated that the turnover has stabilized but two years ago it was not pleasant
because the industry was growing rapidly and people were leaving for more money.
AD
Mr. Dunlap reviewed the history of AD and reviewed the work done on projects similar
to the Reading projects. He introduced the AD staff.
Ms. Webb asked AD to provide an example in a public school project of where the firm's
intervention led to a significant design improvement and resulted in a cost savings and/or
a timeline improvement.
AD discussed the maximization of composite steel design system they did that saved
about $200,000. They also discussed cost savings of about $50,000 on pre - fabbed rather
than built in storage units
Regular Session 4 September 18, 2003
Chair Dahl asked given the fact that our three projects are at different stages, the new
elementary school is in construction with the foundation having been poured, the
Barrows renovation/addition construction bid going out in October, and the high school
renovation/new construction/demolition going out to bid in February, how can your firm
assist the Reading Public Schools in managing all three projects?
A13 discussed the scheduling they would do on the three projects and the documentation
they would require on the projects to get started.
Mr. Carpenter asked the firm to list a half -dozen actions they will take as they track the
various tasks and resources, and how they would anticipate and provide for risks to
scope, schedule and quality, avoid change orders and if changes become necessary, to
ensure they are requested at the right state in the construction process to minimize the
cost and delay.
AD discussed the tracking software they would use, the review of documentation they
would complete, the review of specification and cross checking that would be completed
to be sure all language is correct and sub bids match drawings.
Mr. Russo asked for an example of drastic action that had to be taken due to a failure.
AD discussed an issue between the electrical contractor and the general contractor at the
Lynnfield projects and discussed how they resolved the issue.
Daedalus
The representatives from Daedalus reviewed the history of Daedalus and reviewed the
work done on projects similar to the Reading projects.
Ms. Webb asked Daedalus to provide an example in a public school project of where the
firm's intervention led to a significant design improvement and resulted in a cost savings
and/or a timeline improvement.
They discussed the Bridgewater State project where their recommendation to increase the
size of the drainage pipes resulted in a savings of $200,000. They discussed the money
they were able to save the Town of Reading by being creative in the selection of material
for the town seal on the police station.
Chair Dahl asked given the fact that our three projects are at different stages, the new
elementary school is in construction with the foundation having been poured, the
Barrows renovation/addition construction bid going out in October, and the high school
renovation/new construction/demolition going out to bid in February, how can your firm
assist the Reading Public Schools in managing all three projects?
Regular Session 5 September 18, 2003
URS discussed their plans for working on the three projects.
Mr. Carpenter asked the firm to list a half -dozen actions they will take as they track the
various tasks and resources, and how they would anticipate and provide for risks to
scope, schedule and quality, avoid change orders and if changes become neesary, to
ensure they are requested at the right state in the construction process to minimize the
cost and delay.
URS discussed the different types of scheduling and the communication required for the
three projects.
Chair Dahl asked the Committee to rank the architects 1 to 4 with 1 being the highest.
Superintendent Schettini stated that the references on all four firms were for the most part
positive.
Mr. Grabowski stated that he would be happy to work with AD.
Mr. Russo stated this would be a difficult decision. He stated AD was clearly the top but
stated his concern that they are a small firm and if something happened to one of them we
could have a problem.
The Committee ranked the project management firms as follows AB was the top ranked
firm, R.F. Walsh was second, Daedalus was third and URS was fourth.
Mr. Spadafora moved that the School Committee enter into contract negotiations
with AB, the top ranked project management firm, as ranked by the School
Committee at the meeting of September 18, 2003, to begin work on the Reading
Public Schools' building projects as per the request for proposal dated August 15,
2003. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr.
Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb.
Mr. Spadafora moved that if the School Committee is not successful in negotiations
with AB, the School Committee so moves to begin negotiations with the second
ranked firm, R. F. Walsh. Ms. Webb seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -1 Mr.
Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb voted yes, Mr.
Russo voted no.
Mr. Spadafora moved that if the School Committee is not successful in negotiations
with the second ranked firm, R. F. Walsh, the School Committee so moves to begin
negotiations with the third ranked firm, Daedalus. Ms. Webb seconded the motion.
The vote was 5 -1 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Spadafora and Ms.
Webb voted yes, Mr. Russo voted no.
Regular Session 6 September 18, 2003
Mr. Spadafora moved to authorize the Chairman of the Reading School Committee to
negotiate on behalf of the Reading School Committee a contract with the selected project
management firm for the Reading Public Schools' building projects. He further moved
upon negotiation of the contract the School Committee shall vote on whether to approve
of the negotiated contract. He further moved after the School Committee has approved
the contract that the Chairman of the Reading School Committee shall be authorized to
sign the contract on behalf of the Reading School Committee. Mr. McFadden seconded
the motion.
After discussion it was the consensus of the Committee that language be included in the
contract that protects the Town from a sudden change in personnel of the project
management firm.
At 11:05 p.m. Mr. Spadafora moved to adjourn. Ms. Webb seconded the motion.
The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr.
Spadafora and Ms. Webb.
Superintendent of Schools