New Middle School Permitting Process Begins

Hingham’s Permitting Boards were given an informational and introductory presentation by the School Building Committee Monday night.

The presentations  were just another step as the proposed Middle School design enters the next phase of submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

Under normal circumstances, there would be separate presentations to the Board of Health, the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission but because of time restraints of the project, it was agreed that all three would take part in an “unprecedented” televised public meeting.

Scheduled for an hour and chaired by Carolyn Neilson of the Conservation Commission, this was an opportunity for the SBC to present their proposals and designs to the relevant permitting authorities.

Submission of the 60 percent construction documents is due to be sent to the MSBA on February 10 and cost estimates for the project will then be submitted a week later. There will be two public meetings of the SBC on February 8 and 15, with interested residents invited to attend, as further opportunities for value engineering will be discussed.

As this was an introductory meeting on the permitting schedule, members of the School Building Committee along with representatives from Ai3, Pare Corporation and KBA were in attendance.

Raymond Estes, Chair of SBC along with Jim Jordan of designer Ai3 and Andrew Chagnon or Pare Corporation said their continued intentions  are to make the project as environmentally conscious as possible. 

Estes said he was pleased with the way the meeting had gone and was grateful for the chance to present to all three boards at the same time.

“It was fine,” said Estes. “I didn’t anticipate that they would ask any questions, it is a process and they are sticklers for that process which is completely appropriate. It was an opportunity for us to present an account of the full project to the three boards that will sit in judgment as the permit granting authorities. It was also to give the public at home the opportunity to see things that they may not have been able to see in the past. We are far beyond in design where we were, say, in August which may have been the last time that some of these folks had seen the renderings, designs and plans.”