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School Committee approves Owners Project Manager

John Lovejoy (right), of the School Building Committee, introduced Chuck Adams of PinnacleOne (seated) to the School Committee. PinnacleOne was the firm chosen to serve as the Owners Project Manager for the Minnechaug MSBA project. Reminder Publications photo by Courtney Llewellyn
By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



HAMPDEN A brand new Minnechaug -- or a newly renovated one -- is one step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to the work of the School Committee and the School Building Committee.

The School Committee approved of the firm PinnacleOne, with offices in Boston and Hartford, as the Owners Project Manager (OPM) for the next step of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process at their June 10 meeting.

"The MSBA had to approve of PinnacleOne before we could," Superintendent Paul Gagliarducci explained. He added that Chuck Adams from PinnacleOne will be working as a liaison between the town committees and the MSBA and will also be in charge of providing Hampden and Wilbraham with information on the project.

The committee also approved of a $50,000 limited contract with PinnacleOne for 300 hours of work on the project between July 1 and Dec. 31. Gagliarducci said the 300 hours were an estimate "to get to the point we need to be at" and that as this point, the number of hours are not dictated by the state.

John Lovejoy of the School Building Committee described Adams as a very knowledgeable person.

Adams, who has been working on the Putnam School in Springfield as well, said Minnechaug would be the first school to hire an OPM under the new administration in Boston.

"You've got a lot done," Adams told the School Committee. "You hit the ground running."

Gagliarducci explained that Adams is "part of the team now." The next step in the MSBA's process will be working toward hiring a design team, which PinnacleOne will assist with and then another feasibility study will be undertaken. From there, the project will be up to the discretion of the MSBA.

"We are excited to continue the process and bring the project to our voters for a final decision on the school's future," Scott Chapman, chair of the School Committee, stated.