Middle School Must Wait For Town Permits

Last week may have been a victory for the School Building Committee in getting the Town to agree to the Middle School Project but now the waiting game begins.

The School Building Committee's intention is to begin work on the school project by the start of this summer and they must now wait for various town committees to issue permits before they can begin construction.

To gain permits from the Hingham Conservation Commission, project designer Ai3 must  be able to submit drainage calculations as soon as possible.

The Hingham Board of Health also needs  100 percent of the school's sewer plans before they can issue their permit.

The School Building Committee plans to present  the Planning Board with the site layout, the construction access points and the pavement widths before they will be issued a permit.

 The Zoning Board may also be approached but Ai3 are awaiting verification as to whether they need to do this due to the height of the building and distance from any residential area.

Jim Jordan, an Ai3 Designer, said he is aware of the challenges of the permitting process and advised that they would be adopting a cautious and conservative approach with the various elected Town boards.

A total of 60 percent Construction Documents are due to be completed by February 2 and the bidding from Construction Companies is expected to begin in March

“We’ve always been committed to saving money and getting it done as soon as possible,” said Tim Collins, Vice Chair of School Building Committee. “The Selectmen asked for a further commitment and I assume that every person that voted yes expects the same commitment. They need to be expecting that of their Town Officials too. The Town spoke very clearly that they want this project and we don’t want to skip any hoops in the process.”