Cumberland has new panel for school projects

CUMBERLAND – The town has appointed a five-member building committee to oversee an $83 million project to renovate and improve the district’s school buildings.

Mayor Jeffrey Nutting appointed two of the members – Rick Bealieu and Amy Panco – and the School Committee appointed one member – Stephen Hess. At it meeting on Wednesday, the Town Council appointed the two remaining members – Paul Gusmini and Mark Lindgren.

The committee will be tasked with preparing schematic drawings and outlining specifications for the project, contracting with contractors to work on the project, approving design and construction expenditures, and overseeing the construction and successful completion of the project.

“There is a lot work that needs to be done and we have been meeting frequently with the architects to start the process,” said Schools Superintendent Robert Mitchell.

Mitchell said the town has received five bids in response to its requests for proposals to hire a project manager, which will provide advice and consultation with respect to design, engineering, cost estimates and qualifications for the general contractor and subcontractors.

The town is facing a February 2019 deadline for final project plans.

Mitchell says principals of the companies vying for the project manager’s job will be interviewed next week and that a project manager should be on board within the next few weeks.

“This company will be playing a really important role over the course of this project,” he said. “We are educators who understand the education businesses and what it takes to improve the performance of students. We are not construction management professionals so we need help

in that area of expertise.”

As part of the $83 million project, all schools in the district will see significant upgrades, which Mitchell says will transform them into modern learning environments.

Additional areas of focus include, remodeling classrooms and labs for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math instruction; safety and security upgrades in every school; renovations

to kindergarten classrooms across the district; additions to cafeterias to decrease overcrowding; structural repairs; and upgrades to conform with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“There is a tremendous amount of work that has to be done in preparation for the work on these facilities,” Mitchell said. “The School Committee will play a key role in deciding how this mon-

ey will be utilized to improve our facilities district-wide.”

The $250 million state school construction bond includes incentives that could boost Cumberland’s state reimbursement rate for school construction from the 45 percent reimbursement rate in fiscal 2019 to approximately 65 percent of the $83 million. With the 65 percent reimbursement, Cumberland taxpayers would be responsi-

ble for $29 million of the $83 million worth of renovations and improvements.

The initial list of proposed improvements for the multiyear project was created in collaboration with Torrado Architects of Providence, and includes projects identified in the State of Rhode Island’s “Jacobs Report.”

In addition to the renovations and security and ADA improvements at all schools,

school-specific renovations will include new windows, new art and music rooms, new elevator, transitional building renovations, new ADA restrooms, cafeteria and kitchen additions, clinic renovations and bigger kindergarten classrooms

“This once-in-a-generation opportunity for Cumberland really is a win-win for our entire community,” Mitchell said.