Hingham Selectmen Approve Middle School Project Funding Agreement

Hingham Selectmen approved a Middle School Project  funding agreement Tuesday night between the Massachusetts School Building Association and the Town of Hingham.

The agreement ensures that the town will be reimbursed in a timely manner while the new Middle School is being built. It also ensures that the town will stick to their originally proposed model.

Mary Mahoney, a Project Manager of  the project’s architectural and design firm Knights Bagge & Anderson, said the Town will be reimbursed 43.87 percent  by the MSBA during each month of the project.  However, a total of five percent of each payment from the MSBA will not be paid until the project is finished.

Mahoney said once the project is executed, the school department can ask for reimbursement on a monthly basis, and will be paid within 14 days.

Selectmen Laura Burns pointed out that this reimbursement process is much more efficient than previous Hingham town project.  Burns said when the new Hingham High School and South Elementary School were built, the town had to wait until the entire project was finished in order to receive a reimbursement check.

Mahoney along with School Building Committee chair Raymond Estes said the final cost of the project can not be determined until it is near completion, however they are still aiming to build it at an estimated mid range price of just over $60 million.

Selectmen Bruce Rabuffo and John Riley expressed concern that the project's estimated cost would increase but Estes told them not to worry.

“We’re not locked into any price,” Estes told Selectmen.  But the School Building Committee Chairman did say that the project has been tweaked with an eye at saving dollars.

He explained that the committee is planning to build the school’s lab space in a more flexible manner for multi-purpose usage, which will save the town money down the road.

He said he would not support moving forward with a higher project price without going back and seeing what changes could be made. 

The School Building Committee will submit their next project submission to the MSBA by Feb.17 with a full set of plans including outlines of furniture and equipment, and updates to the budget.   The final project plans for the  Hingham Middle  School Project must be submitted to the MSBA by March 30.

The School Building Committee will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in the School Dept. Superintendent's Office and the public is invited.  Estes said the committee plans to give a presentation of the project to the public at their Jan. 23 meeting which is expected to be televised.