Municipal Building Committee - Malden River Works – Jul 9, 2026

Where
Not listed on the city's Agenda Center
Time
Not listed

What was decided

The committee lacked a quorum, so no votes or decisions were made. Members and the designLAB team discussed cost-saving options for the Malden River Works Salt Shed & Boathouse project, including salt shed hoop options, boat house cable and storage rack choices, a salt shed deduct alternate, boathouse siding and roofing materials, soft costs, and the bid timeline. The meeting adjourned at 10:40AM.

The minutes do not record any votes or decisions.

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Municipal Building Committee:

Malden River Works Salt Shed & Boathouse

Agenda

| July 9, 2026 | 10AM | Virtual Teams Meeting | |---|---|---|

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/19%3ameeting_YTkxZGI0ODYtY2FlMC00NDQ4LTkwYTAtNTIzZmQ3YjkyNjY0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%224a074cd1-7906-46af-b38f-90cd429d7f1b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22651237f4-9307-4b52-8dcf3f04c3fa328b%22%7d

Chair Nelson Miller noted that the group did not have a quorum for this meeting. Discussion ensued, and the notes are below, but no decisions or votes were made.

Roll Call

  • Deborah Burke - Present
  • Peg Crowe - Absent
  • Amanda Linehan - Absent
  • Nelson Miller - Present
  • Paul Myers - Present
  • Eric Rubin - Absent
  • Stephen Winslow – Absent

Ron Hogan, while not a committee member, was also present at this meeting, as was the designLAB team.

Committee to Approve Minutes

Committee to approve the 6/25/26 meeting minutes.

  • Committee could not vote on this.

Malden River Works Salt Shed & Boathouse Project Updates

Committee to present feedback to and ask questions of designLAB regarding cost-saving choices, including about the following:

  • Salt shed hoop options
  • The last meeting minute notes on this were shared with designLAB prior to the meeting, but no discussion took place on this.
  • Boat house MC cable option
  • Nelson is waiting to hear from wire inspectors on this.
  • Boat house storage rack options
  • Nelson shared that the committee is leaning towards keeping boat racks in the initial bid.
  • Salt shed as a deduct alternate
  • Sam with designLAB shared that this is not necessarily a strategy to reduce the salt shed costs, but that the benefit is getting more detailed information about pricing and having the option to opt out of the salt shed during this bid phase.
  • Nelson asked if the project would be less desirable to bidders if the salt shed is a deduct alternate. Sam advised that the group should not try to get in the mind of the bidders, as it's too hard to say.
  • Boathouse aluminum siding
  • Sam reminded the group that the boathouse's design has always been largely wood siding, except for the area with the bathrooms and office. Switching to wood siding in that area may yield some savings, but switching the whole building to aluminum siding would increase the project cost significantly.
  • Boathouse corrugated metal roof
  • Nelson noted that the committee is leaning towards switching to the corrugated metal roof.
  • Boathouse storefront window system
  • This was not discussed.
  • Soft costs
  • The group asked designLAB about what numbers we should be carrying for soft costs. The only unconfirmed cost at the moment is the OPM cost, and Sam noted that he does not know what OPM costs would look like for a project like this. Sam did offer to connect the group with some OPMs. Ron noted that the group should ensure that the OPM's scope is limited to only the critical tasks needed for this project.
  • Sam also noted that the City should be carrying a cost to furnish the coach's office with a desk, chairs, a computer, etc.
  • Bid timeline
  • Sam noted that the City will need to have an OPM in place in order to go to bid on this project.
  • Sam noted that once the committee can officially vote on their final design choices and give designLAB the "go ahead," his team will need two months to put together the construction documents to be ready to bid.
  • Ron Hogan noted that there needs to be a discussion with Mayor Christenson before the committee can take that vote, to get a sense of the Mayor's appetite to bond for this project. Ron will arrange this discussion.
  • Sam noted that there is a time limit on bid prices, so the City needs to be ready to accept a bid relatively quickly after proposals come in.

Invoice Approval

  • N/A

Adjournment

  • Nelson adjourned the meeting at 10:40AM.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Maria Luise, ADA Compliance Coordinator at mluise@cityofmalden.org or 781-397-7000 Ext. 2005

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Minutes posted on the city website (PDF, 93 KB). Saved copy (opens in new tab), saved .

Agenda

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Terms used here

ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law on access for people with disabilities.

All the terms in the glossary

Source

This meeting's agenda in the City of Malden's Agenda Center (opens in new tab). First recorded by Malden Publick on .