As approved by the Town Council on 1/9/2023 and approved by the School Board on 1/10/23.

COMMITTEE CREATED: There is hereby created a School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC) to consist of nine members. The Committee shall be a joint ad hoc advisory committee of the School Board and Town Council, assisting them in their respective responsibilities for development of a school building project and funding which meets the Department of Education guidelines for major capital school construction projects and submit to the Town voters. 

COMMITTEE CHARGE: The Committee shall work with professionals to assess the previous school building referendum proposal and to advise the School Board and the Town Council on a Building Plan and funding to address our school building needs. The work should develop the project concept sufficiently to propose the general project(s) solution and estimate the cost for referendum purposes. This work will include but is not limited to the following: 

1) Recommending a budget for this committee’s work to the Town Manager;
2) Recommending a project plan and scope to address the school building needs to the School Board and Town Council;
3) Recommending a target referendum dollar range to the Town Council and School Board;
4) Conducting public outreach and engagement; and
5) Recommending a target referendum date and timeline for deliverables to meet that deadline, and report deliverable timeline back to the school board and town council. 

The Committee shall consult with both bodies regarding its work and recommendations. Final approval of any Building Plan, and of building design and construction decisions, including award of project contracts, shall be by the School Board and final approval of any referendum amount, and bond sale matters and other bond-related financial decisions shall be by Town Council. Further, approval of construction funding is subject to a referendum vote of the citizens of Cape Elizabeth. 

SCOPE OF WORK: The Committee shall: 

  Issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a third-party owner's representative (Owner's Rep) for the Project, including the activities of this Committee, interview interested firms, and make a recommendation for selection of the Owner's Rep.

  Recommend the design team based on assessment of completed work for all three schools.

  Develop a range of options for the Building Plan, including analysis of the financial impact and benefit of each Building Plan option.

  Seek public input throughout the process, and educate and inform the public throughout the process.

  Engage a consultant to create and conduct a community survey(s).

  Explore funding options and alternative funding sources.

  With feedback from the Town financial team and community, make a Building Plan recommendation for selection, further development, and referendum submission.

VOTING MEMBERS: The Committee shall have co-chairs, with one chairperson being a School Board member and one being a Town Council member. Two members, including the co-chair, will be from the membership of the Cape Elizabeth School Board and shall be appointed by the School Board Chair. Two members, including the co-chair, will be from among the membership of the Cape Elizabeth Town Council and shall be appointed by the Town Council. 

Five public members shall be recommended by a joint appointments committee consisting of three members of the Town Council Appointments Committee and three members of the School Board, selected by the School Board Chair, with appointment confirmation votes by the School Board and Town Council affirming. 

NON-VOTING MEMBERS AND ADVISERS: The Superintendent of Schools and the Town Manager shall be non-voting ex-officio members and shall serve as the staff liaisons to the Committee. The Facilities Manager, the school Business Manager, and town Finance Director shall be invited to participate in Committee meetings to serve as a non-voting staff resource. 

The Owner’s Rep will participate in meetings in a non-voting capacity. 

The Superintendent of Schools shall be invited to designate school staff members as needed to advise the Committee on opportunities and issues arising from the current school facilities and how to address those issues with any future building design. 

The Town Manager shall be invited to designate finance staff and the Town’s financial advisor as needed to advise the Committee on funding sources and debt structure, financial costs and impacts, and mitigation of budgetary impacts. 

The Architectural Design Team will also be invited to meetings as warranted to update the Committee. 

The Committee shall also establish subcommittees as deemed necessary to advise the Committee such as but not limited to school design, finance, and communication. 

Other third-party consultants such as Financial Advisors, Survey Firms and Communications Specialists may be engaged to advise and assist the Committee as required. 

PUBLIC INPUT AND OUTREACH: The Committee shall seek public engagement and input in its deliberations through a multi-channel public outreach campaign, which may include websites, social media, e-mail, public signage, notices in the newspaper and direct mail. All public correspondence relevant to the SBAC received by the Committee, Town Council and School Board will be made available to the public via the town website. 

COMMITTEE BUDGET: The Town Manager, in consultation with the Superintendent, is responsible for the Committee budget for Town Council approval, and to manage the approved Committee budget. This budget includes estimated costs of the Committee through referendum, including the estimated costs for the Owner’s Rep, the Design Team, and the Committee’s consultants. The costs of the School Committee’s proposed contracts with the Owner’s Rep and Design Team payable under this budget, as well as the costs of the Committee’s contracts with other consultants for its activities, must be submitted to the Town Manager for budgetary control approval. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Committee chairs will regularly update the School Board and Town Council on the progress of the Committee. 

DEFINITIONS:

Building Plan - Proposal(s) to address educational and physical building needs at Pond Cove Elementary, Cape Elizabeth Middle School, and Cape Elizabeth High School, including, but not limited to new construction, addition, and or renovation of existing buildings. 

Design Team - Architectural and Engineering Firm(s) 

Owner’s Rep(resentative) - The individual or firm tasked with representing the interests of the owner (Town of Cape Elizabeth) throughout the duration of the project and reporting to, as applicable, the committee, the Superintendent of Schools and/or Town Manager. 

Consultants - Third party professionals engaged to advise and assist the committee. 

EMAIL SCHOOL BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

COMMITTEE MEETINGS & CORRESPONDENCE