Cost Cutting, The Priority For Middle School Project

The School Building Committee is currently working at keeping the cost of the new Middle School as low as possible.

The project is scheduled to run for three years starting in June, but if everything goes to plan  the school could be occupied as early as Fall 2014.

Until that process begins, any costs will continue to be estimated and the School Building Committee said they understand that the price figures are of great interest to the residents of Hingham.

“We are still looking to cut costs anyway we can,” said Raymond Estes, Chair of the SBC. “I have reassured the Selectmen that we will continue to value engineer where appropriate and that we are still committed to making this the most cost efficient project possible for the taxpayers. As we get closer to bidding, we are hopeful that we will be more accurate, one way or the other.”

Until the construction documents are finalized, there are still many decisions for the SBC to take.

January will see a series of meetings take place at the Middle School to discuss the proposed food and technology services that will be installed at the new building. Designer  Ai3 will be undertaking a Furniture & Equipment Survey to see what can be salvaged from the present building to reduce the cost of replacement.

One of the features of the new Middle School will be a commitment to renewable energy sources and environmental design. A condition of the MSBA reimbursement is that the building achieves at least LEED (Leadership in Energy & Design) Silver Status and the choices that the SBC makes will impact how this can be achieved. Sustainable strategies such as the generation of electricity through solar panels, waterless urinals, radiant heat panels or increasing energy efficiency with the installation of argon gas windows are all considerations that will be discussed by the SBC in order to reach the goal of LEED Silver.

Optimizing energy performance in the new Middle School could lead to a cost increase in the planned construction and the SBC will be holding meetings with the Energy Action Committee to ensure that all possible cost options have been explored, especially in view of the time constraints that have been imposed.

“Cost cutting remains a priority,” Estes said. “The schedule is tight and aggressive but achievable.”

The School Building Committee will be presenting their work to the Board of Health, the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission on January 23 and the public is invited to attend.