By Theresa Knapp

At its first meeting on July 25, the Milford High School Building Committee voted to hire a consultant to shepherd the town “from eligibility to feasibility.” 

MHSBC chair Jonathan Bruce had a project manager in mind, the owner’s project manager for the former Woodland Elementary School project. 

Bruce said, “We deal with MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Assistance] every 10 years, [the consultant] deals with them every day.”

The consultant’s rate is expected to be $150 per hour, not to exceed $10,000. This person would not necessarily be the town’s project manager for the overall project, they would be required to apply through the regular Request for Proposals process. 

By hiring a consultant, the town would be best prepared to submit its best application to MSBA when the time arrives, which could eliminate costly delays. 

“The sooner we get done, the less expensive that school will be,” Bruce said. “Every week that this takes longer, the cost of this school goes up.”