Temporary Poles at Current Middle School to be Permanent Solution

The Hingham School Committee discussed plans to maintain the existing Hingham Middle School at their meeting thie week.

Heavy snowfall in February caused damage to one of the main beams in the building and since then temporary shoring poles have been installed to provide additional support in the affected classrooms.  This is one main reason why the town is looking to construct a new school.

A new report prepared for the benefit of the insurance company currently paying for the rented shoring poles has highlighted 66 beams with significant cracks. A further 155 beams need minor repairs but are not considered to be a threat to the existing structure. 

The report recommended various methods of repair to these major cracks and could cost anywhere from $120,000 to $260,000.

While Hingham is currently considering building a new Middle School, the consensus by the committee is that the shoring poles currently in use would be sufficient for the time being.

John Ferris, Director of Building Services, advised the Committee at their meeting on Monday that the insurance company believed the report to be reasonable and, provided that the Middle School would continue to use the poles and had agreed to pay 100 percent of the costs incurred in renting or purchasing the temporary supports.

A decision will now be made in October as to whether the new poles will be purchased.  If the cost of the new beams is cheaper than the repair of all the cracks, the insurance company would pick up the bill. 

Roger Boddie, Principal of the Middle School, believes that the students have adapted to the poles and making them more permanent will not cause any  disruption although he hoped that this solution would “not be around as long as the temporary Fore River Bridge.” 

The proposed Model School Project will also alleviate the need to make more permanent repairs to the current Middle School. The Building Committee are expecting to receive two cost estimates this week for the project which will then reconciled and discussed in detail at two meetings scheduled for next week.

In September they will start a dialogue with the Massachusetts School Building Authority that will determine the level of expected reimbursement to the Town, while also appearing in front of the Board of Selectmen to discuss the costs of the project.