Design Development, Construction Documentation, and Bidding: The District and its team continue to advance the project and the MSBA continues to monitor the project to ensure it remains on track and meets the expectation of both the District and the MSBA as defined in the Project Funding Agreement. In general terms, the MSBA ensures that the project team works within the requirements contained in the MSBA’s Base Contracts and Base Contract Amendments for Owner's Project Managers (OPM) and Designer Services. Additionally, the MSBA assigns a Commissioning Consultant to the project who facilitates an intensive quality assurance process and ensures that the new or renovated building operates efficiently and as the owner intended. Specifically, the District and its team generate construction documents which are reviewed by the MSBA in accordance with the requirements prescribed in the above-mentioned contracts.
In addition, as set forth in the Project Funding Agreement, the District is responsible for meeting all of the applicable procurement requirements in connection with its project, which may include M.G.L. c. 30 §§ 39F, 39J, 39K, 39N, 39O, 39P and 39R; c. 70B; c. 149; chapter 193 of the Acts of 2004; and all other applicable provisions of federal, state, and local law. The Department of Labor Standards ("DLS") is responsible for determining if and when payment of prevailing wages is required. For contracts requiring payment of prevailing wages, the awarding authority (the school district) must request a prevailing wage schedule from DLS at www.mass.gov/dols. In addition, bidders and proposers must agree to comply with the Prevailing Wage Law, as administered by the DLS.
Please be advised that payment of prevailing wages may be required for certain statewide and department contracts available on the Commonwealth Procurement and Solicitation System (Comm-PASS). Districts also should consult with their counsel to ensure that they are using a statewide or department contract properly. If a particular commodity or service is not clearly covered by a statewide or department contract, then the District likely will have to competitively procure that commodity or service separately. Statewide contracts with construction components worth over $10,000 must be competitively bid under M.G.L. c. 149.
Questions regarding the use of statewide or department contracts generally may be answered by calling the Operational Services Division at 617-720-3300 or by accessing OSD’s website www.mass.gov/osd. Questions regarding the Prevailing Wage Law may be answered by accessing the DLS website www.mass.gov/dols or by calling the DLS Prevailing Wage Program at 617-626-6953.
For each Design Development and Construction Documents submission, in accordance with the contract for Project Management Services, the Owner's Project Manager shall review and reconcile the construction cost estimates of the Designer and the CM at Risk (CMR) using the MSBA's Cost Estimate Reconciliation Form. For Design/Bid/Build projects, or for projects which have not received an independent cost estimate from the CMR, the OPM is to provide a separate independent cost estimate along with the Cost Estimate Reconciliation Form. The MSBA monitors the projects against the total project budget throughout the Design Development, Construction Documentation, and Bidding Phases using the MSBA’s Cost Estimate Comparison Form, which must be updated by the OPM and included in each design submission. In addition to the Cost Estimate Comparison Form, the OPM shall provide the Value Engineering Summary Tracking Worksheet, which must be updated and included in each design submission and following the bid process when submitting the Schedule of Values, and associated documents. Following the award of the construction contract, the MSBA works with the district and its consultants to develop a revised project budget that reflects actual bid costs. The Project Funding Agreement will then be amended to reflect the revised budget. If at any point during the project, the District chooses to make changes to key personnel on the project team, these changes must be approved in writing by the MSBA.
In accordance with the contract for Project Management Services, for each submittal to the MSBA, the Designer and District must transmit the required materials to the OPM. The OPM shall compile the submittal with the items indicated in the Designer and OPM Contracts, confirm that the District’s School Building Committee has officially approved the submittal, and verify its completeness and conformity to MSBA requirements. All required documents should be grouped into one submittal for delivery to the MBSA and the OPM shall then forward this submittal to the assigned MSBA Project Coordinator along with a separate cover letter signed by the OPM. The cover letter shall include a certification from the OPM that (1) the OPM has reviewed and coordinated the materials; (2) the submittal is complete; (3) the Proposed Project as documented within each submittal is within the District’s Budget, and (4) the District has approved the materials for submission to the MSBA. The MSBA will review each submittal for the following phases in accordance with the review comment templates labeled Design Development, 60% Construction Document, and 90% Construction Document:
- Design Development
- 60% Construction Document
- 90% Construction Document
- State Site Permit Tracking Worksheet
These same templates can also be found on our Policies, Forms & Guidelines page under "Design Submission Review Comment Templates." Please refer to these templates for each project and submittal to ensure that all required information is included in each submission.
The District and OPM will provide notification to the MSBA, using the MSBA “Designer Evaluation Notification Form”, to confirm that designer evaluations have been submitted as required to the Division of Asset Management and Maintenance ("DCAMM") and the Massachusetts Designer Selection Board ("DSB") at the completion of the "Study" phase (at completion of schematic design) and the "Design" phase (at completion of 100% construction documents). Please see Project Advisory 79 for more information on MSBA Designer Evaluation Notifications.
For the Design Development, 60% Construction Document, and 90% Construction Document submittals please provide; (1) electronic copy of the full submission via email that includes (1) copy of the binder of materials per the review comments templates, one (1) complete set of drawings, and one (1) copy of the project manual.
As of the October 30, 2024 Board Meeting:
There were 22 projects in Design Development: 7 Accelerated Repair Program projects and 15 Core Program projects. The 15 Core Program projects are listed below:
Elementary School Districts |
Middle and Middle/High School Districts |
High School Districts |
Other Grade Configurations |
Amherst (K-5) New Bedford (K-5) Scituate (PK-5) |
Clinton (5-8) Lynn (6-8)
|
Agawam (9-12) East Longmeadow (9-12) Revere (9-12) |
Brookline (PK-8)
|