The Norwood Middle School Building Committee on April 14 authorized the Town of Norwood to prepare engineering plans, specifications and bid documents to convert two town‑owned lots near Cochran Middle School into permanent parking.

Why it matters: the town purchased two adjacent lots and cleared structures with the intent of adding parking to serve school and town needs; the committee's authorization starts the engineering and bidding phase under Town oversight rather than under the project's AI3 contract.

What the committee approved: a member moved "to allow the Town of Norwood to prepare engineering plans for use for bids for construction of the parking lot"; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous roll-call vote. The recorded roll call showed committee members voting yes, and the chair noted the vote was unanimous.

Technical details discussed: Mark Ryan, town engineer, presented initial survey information and recommended that at least one lot (the one closer to Hawes Pool) be connected to the school's access drive rather than Washington Street to avoid driveway conflicts. Ryan said the engineering department can perform the necessary survey, produce plans and specifications, supervise bidding and oversee construction. He estimated the lot could yield "at least six" parking spaces (the line in the transcript: "it looks like we can get at least 6 1"), and noted he will perform one additional survey before finalizing plans. Town staff cautioned the lot likely would not be completed this year because it will be used during demolition and temporary parking, and construction sequencing means the temporary lot availability affects schedule.

Schedule context: construction staff said temporary parking arrangements should allow the lot to be available for construction staging by mid‑June, and that accessing the site for tennis-court work will use the gravel lot during fall operations. The committee approved the motion but acknowledged timing constraints tied to demolition and staging.

Attribution and next steps: the town engineering department will prepare plans and bid documents and bring those materials back to the committee. The motion did not include final construction funding authorization; bidding and cost estimates will follow engineering completion and will be presented for committee approval.

Direct quote: Mark Ryan, town engineer, told the committee that "we can engineer this. We can put bids, plans and specs together, supervise the project, get it built."