February 8 Update

On February 1, Dan Ellingson of Harriman Associates provided the School Committee a brief update on the WHS study.  At this time, the study is 80% complete.  Interviews have been conducted with staff, students, town officials and they have looked at the building itself and space usage.

They are now associating costs with three options.

Last week the firm also met with high school staff to update them on the initial findings. 

A final report is due to be complete within approximately one week, at which time the School Committee and public will receive more information.

 Architect/Engineering Study on Schedule

 I am pleased to report Harriman & Associates is on schedule with the timeline for the WHS Study.

 Thank you to all who have given input so far via meetings, interviews or responding to questionnaires.  The return rate on questionnaires, over 70%, is extremely high and indicates the interest in and support of the study.

At this time, a draft of the Facility Analysis (square footage, program needs, and condition of the building) has been prepared and reviewed for accuracy with school and district administrators.  The next step will be preparing a cost estimate of renovation, renovation plus an addition, and new construction.

An update will be given at the next School Committee meeting on February 1, 2012.  A presentation to the public will follow in February.

Architect/Engineering Study Begins

At the televised School Committee meeting, members of Harriman & Associations provided an update to the School Committee regarding plans for the study.  They will benchmark the existing building and infrastructure and provide a cost analysis.  The cost analysis will look at the building operating over a set number of years and the firm will provide the cost of new vs. renovations along with cost for fixing the life safety items only.  An important component will be assessing the Education Program (how the building is used).  To assist with this, they will be interviewing and surveying staff, students and parents.

Harriman & Associates provided the following timeline:

September 2           Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued

September 26 – 30   Walk-through of WHS for interested firms

October 5               Selection team approved by School Committee

October 6               Closing date for RFQ responses (10 firms responded)

October 7 – 17        Develop short list of firms most qualified to conduct our study

October 18 – 24       Architect presentations and interviews

October 24             Ranking of short list

November 2           Submit list to School Committee for approval and seek authorization to begin negotiations

 Short List Ranking:

1: Harriman Associates

2: Lavallee-Brensinger

3: Oak Point

4: WBRC

On November 2, the WOCSD School Committee made the following motion:

To authorize the Superintendent to negotiate and execute an architectural and engineering services agreement in accordance with Title 5, Section 1742, Subsection 6 for with one of the following firms:  Harriman Associates, Lavallee-Brensinger Architects, Oak Point Associates, WBRC.

Currently, the Negotiations Team (Chair Damon Russell, David Johnson, Superintendent Tomaszewski and Bruce Rudolph) is negotiating terms with the architects.

As a result of a review by the Facilities Committee as well as input from district staff and administrators, we have allocated money in the current (FY’12) budget for an architect study of Wells High School.  The purpose of the study will be to determine how to best improve our education facility for grades 9-12. 

We have begun a rather lengthy process that includes multiple steps.  We will use this site to keep the public informed as the project progresses.

To date we have advertised a “Request for Qualifications” of interested architectural firms.  Led by a team (Bruce Rudolph - Director of Finance & HR, Jim Daly - High School Principal and Jere Pierce - Head Custodian), nine firms took a walk–through of the building in September and October.

The close for materials was October 6 and we have received packets of interest from ten firms.

On Wednesday, October 5, the WOCSD School Committee approved the formation of an Architect Selection Committee for the purpose of recommending an architect firm to complete a comprehensive study of the current Wells High School. Members are:

Damon Russell, School Committee Chair and Ogunquit Representative

David Johnson, School Committee and Wells Representative

Jim Daly, WHS Principal

Jere Pierce, WHS Head Custodian

Jack Molloy, Activities Director

Bruce Rudolph, Director of Finance & HR

Elaine Tomaszewski, Superintendent

This group was intentionally kept small to complete this first task.  They will review the information submitted, interview selected firms and make a recommendation to the full School Committee tentatively in November.  Once a contract is entered into the firm will begin its work.

Upon completion they will present their findings, at which point a Building Committee, made up of a larger number of people with a variety of skills and backgrounds, will be appointed to carry out the next phase.

Throughout the study our intention is to solicit ideas and input from a wide range of participants. 

As we know, the people closest to the situation have the best understanding of it.  I know from talking with our staff they have some intriguing ideas and creative solutions to offer.

This is an exciting project to enter into.  I hope you will continue to check on progress throughout the year.

Best regards,

Elaine Tomaszewski

Superintendent