Needham panels approve $550,000 in invoices, advance Pollard redesign
Needham building panels approve $550,000 in invoices, weigh Pollard cost cuts.
Other Committee · Meeting of February 9, 2026
Needham building panels approve $550,000 in invoices, weigh Pollard cost cuts. Chair Richard Crean presided as the Permanent Public Building Committee and Pollard Middle School Building Committee approved a $244,622.37 requisition for the library's young-adult project, now delayed about a month, plus a combined $46,150 for Center at the Heights renovations. Architect Matt LaRue of HMFH Architects presented a revised Pollard design shifting the auditorium and gym out of phase two, cutting the building's calculated height to 51 feet from 64 feet.
Members questioned a plan to route up to 17 buses through neighborhood streets, with one warning, "not going to make people happy." A committee member said, "we've got a hugely expensive project" the town cannot yet fully fund. The panel also approved a $75,000 HMFH change order for wetland and geotechnical testing near the Pollard site.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,039 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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