School Committee - Regular Meeting

Hello, everyone. My name is John Link. He, him. I'm, the chair of the school building facilities and maintenance committee, and I'm calling this meeting to order. Pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025, this meeting of a city council committee will be conducted by remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting of the city on the city of Somerville website and local cable access channels. Alright. So can we please get a roll call to us

that way?

We can.

This is roll call. Councilor Scott.

Present.

Councilor Saeed. Here.

Chair Link.

Here.

Alright. With that, we

have all members present, we do have

a quorum.

Alright. And now we have to take we have to do our funny dance where we take a recess so that our counterparts can also establish quorum. I believe we need a roll call on that even though we just did this. So So

we don't need a roll call to go into recess. We need a roll call

to get back.

Okay. Great. So let's take a brief recess.

Thank you, chair Link. This is the school committee portion of the show. I am Liron Bitone, chair of this subcommittee, counterpart of the school building facilities maintenance on the school committee side. I will establish quorum. Liz Eldridge, are you here?

Present.

Laura Patone? Looks like she's not here yet. I am here. So we do have quorum, and we will pass it back to you, ChairLink. You're on mute.

Thank you. Yes. Let's return from recess. In case anyone, escaped in those brief couple moments, let's do roll call to establish quorum again.

Alright. Let's make sure. Alright. Counselor Scott.

Probably.

Counselor, so you

Here.

Share link.

Still here.

Great. No one got lost, we do have quorum. Everyone is here.

Fantastic. Alright. So, we start with, approval of the minutes from March 2023. So it's, item one, so 26 dash zero five zero three. Unless anyone objects, I'm gonna lay that on the table for approval.

And seeing no objections, moving on to item number two, twenty six dash zero zero six three. At the Commission of Public Works and the director of engineering, explore the feasibility of establishing a teen center at the Cummings School accessible by School Street, considering current building uses and, provide this council with an analysis on space availability, operational considerations, community impacts, and, potential next steps.

Hello, chair. Richard Reyes, director of infrastructure and asset management. We've brought in a consultant to help us with the evaluation of the building. They have completed that evaluation, have worked up a couple of different options. As I've reported to this committee before, there's a large number of code and ADA upgrades that we would need to do to the building to make it functional.

They have, you know, sort of laid out a couple different options for us. Their cost estimator, has estimated the construction cost of that. We've reviewed drafts, of those concepts and the accompanying cost estimates. We've given them a couple of, you know, comments for vision, so they're they're still working on it. We have expressed to them that we would like to wrap this up by the May and and have a report to hand over. So the work is still in progress, and and I hope to be able to submit to to this committee and to the school committee, by the end of the coming month.

Councilor Scott?

Thank you, mister chair. I'm very excited to hear that we're looking at this in a serious way. You know, director Rache knows how much love I have for that building. So just two quick questions, director Rache. One of which was, what what kind of order of magnitude are we looking at on, the cost projections at this early stage?

I I to the chair, I appreciate, counselor Scott giving me an order of magnitude knowing that I wouldn't want to say exact numbers. But the two concepts that we looked at, and I I think I've expressed this to the committee before, the Cumming School actually consists of two buildings that were built in different eras. There's the Prescott Street side and the School Street side, which is older. The School Street side poses significantly more challenges. So that the two concepts that we've looked at, one was just the Prescott Street side, and the the cost for that are coming in around 10,000,000.

And then to do the full building, which would include the the School Street wing, which has a lot more work that needs to be done on it, is is more on the $30,000,000 range. But we'll we'll have the full report by, for you in May.

Alright. Great. And then, the only other question I had, which is, how much did the consultant study cost us?

That's a good question. I don't have that off the top of my head. That's the sort of thing that Michael Richards would be able to rattle off, for you, but I don't have that one on the top of my head. I can You

can send me a text later. Yeah. Alright. Thank you, mister Chair. I'm all set.

Alright. I I I have one, I guess, quick question. I hope quick. So, you know, you said it's the, the school street side one is, particularly far behind in terms of, like, ADA. Does it what are what are some of, like, examples of something? Like, do we does it have an elevator in it? Probably not.

Yeah. To to to the chair. There are a couple challenges with the school street side, one of which is the the north facade is actually separating from the building, which is why it rains inside right now, which is a little bit of a problem. So that's fairly expensive to to remedy. And the other is that there is no elevator in the building, and that poses an additional challenge because the two wings aren't sort of on equal elevations.

So it would have to be either two, elevators or a very complicated elevator that has, six stops. So that that there's an additional challenge there.

That does sound pretty challenging, actually. Thank you. See oh, I saw him briefly. Oh, Director Megan Williams.

Good evening, Mr. Chair. To you, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Amanda Najam Williams. I also just wanted to flag that we had the Director of Emergency Management here, William Fisher, to speak a little bit to the continuity of operations plan along with this item as it involves the the same building that we are discussing tonight. So I just wanted to flag that as well as an additional piece to the conversation.

Oh, wonderful. I would I just before handing it off, let's, I'd love

to hear from director Fisher.

Thank you, Chad. Through you. So, just to be clear, it doesn't just, like, involve this building in the physical structure, involves a agreement with this building for use for the warming center. So just to give you guys a brief update, I'm glad to re come back and report. I'm actually very excited that, you know, when this plan is it's finally completed to to present to not only the the full committee, but the school committee as well because there's been a lot of work done.

So just to give a brief summary of some of the work we've done, we established a planning team, myself and Danielle Barry from the school's side of things, along with some pretty strong support from the administration of the city and the school. And we've been meeting, since about just before the beginning of the year, weekly. And we've worked through and we completed the base plan for the continuity of operations, and now we're working through the nuances of the school specific. So what that looks like is we wanna make sure we're we're touching and identifying all the critical resources, staffing, and services that are provided at each individual school and make sure that we have a plan in place that if we do have to move temporarily to a new location, we're continuing that high level of education services. So we're working through that portion.

We're about 70% done with that, at this point. And so from there, we'll be looking to take that draft plan and conduct a tabletop exercise where we can have a discussion around simulated school disruption because it's a very large plan. And so there's gonna be a lot of areas that I think once we kinda sit down and go through it, we may identify some areas that we need to bridge some gaps. Once we complete that, we'll take that information, put it into an, after action, report and improvement plan, integrate them into the plan, and be able to come back to the committee with a completed, well defined comprehensive plan. And so for I'm sure someone's gonna ask you about timelines.

It's hard to give a timeline, but I will say that the timeline we're looking at right now is tentatively into August being done because of the nuances of the, school vacation, the budget season, because we have to do that exercise, and that takes getting a bunch of people together in the room. But we are moving forward. We haven't stopped since the beginning of the year. It's an important initiative to everybody involved. We've had very receptive, conversations moving forward. So that's the biggest message I wanna give because I'm very excited to pass it on.

Also, Syed?

Through you, TrailLink. I just wanna say I'm really excited to see that we are looking into this and staff are meeting both city and school to see how we can make this happen. It's something I I and many of my colleagues have advocated for, for years. So, yeah, I look forward to, reading that report plan. I heard lot of plans. So thank you all. And, yeah, once, we have the numbers and we receive a detailed plan, yeah, I'm excited about next steps.

Yeah. Very it is extremely exciting. Yeah. I was talking today, with, the director of Parks and Rec. And, yeah, talking about, like, spaces, it's just it's so it's so important. We've got these, like, great spaces that, you know, in terms of location, it would, yeah, be really lovely to see us utilizing them. Okay. So seeing no further questions or comments, hand oh oh, that was an accident. I'll hand it back over, to Chair Petone.

Thank you, Chair Link. Noting for the record that my colleague, Laura Petone, has joined us. Hi, Laura. Even though you have my name somehow. Glad to see you. Are there any questions or comments on this item from my colleagues? Ah, I see Ms. Anofcke has her hand up. Go ahead.

Thank you through the chair. I just wanted to say, a big thank you to director Race, director Fisher for all of their work on making sure these plans are in place. And I know it was connected to the MOU that the school committee entered into with the city around use of the warming center, and this was something that was very important to us as a district. And so we really appreciate the follow through on this because as you guys have all mentioned, it's important space. We need more space, and and and this is a step in the right direction. So I just wanted to say thank you very much to to the, city administration for working with us on on this.

Thank you for those comments. I, heartily endorse them myself. I I will say, you know, I will share additional exuberant thanks, in a couple months, it sounds like, when we have a fuller item for discussion. I don't see a reason to belabor it at the moment, so I'm gonna hold, questions until that point. So, seeing no other comments from my colleagues, I will hand it back over to you, chair Link.

Alright. Thank you very much. So I believe we'll leave this one in committee, so that we can

Yes, please.

Alrighty. So that brings us to our next item, item agenda three twenty six dash zero four nine one. Let the administration update this council on plans to upgrade electrical and air conditioning equipment for the gym and cafeteria at the Edgeley School.

Well, again, chair. So I we've, we've been concentrating on, getting the bid package ready for, Healy Room, 208, and the acoustic treatments in the cafeteria. We've also been getting ready to bid the, roof at the West Somerville neighborhood school, which is a high risk item. I I think as we've discussed before, if that roof fails, then we're displacing those students. So those have been our our priorities.

We've also been getting ready to bid the the DPW roof, which not directly related to the high school is to to the schools is very important for the DPW staff who support the schools. So the the plan is after we'll we'll concentrate our efforts on the another summer slammers at the West for the roof in Healy 208. And then following the construction season, we'll then prioritize the the electrical upgrades for the as as a capital project. So we'll you know, we won't have much to report from the electrical upgrade standpoint until next fall or or spring. But in the meantime, DPW director Weissman, I think, does have an update for what DPW is doing in the interim.

I might have lulled Eric to sleep with my dulcet tones. Hey.

Can you guys hear me?

Yes. We can.

Yes. We

can. I don't know what's happening with my camera, but I am here. I apologize. Can you see me? Oh, wait.

We cannot. There's

Hi. It's it it, the simplest technology of all the cover on my camera. Eric Wiseman, commissioner of DPW. So we spoke with the school department about this issue, and we understand that one of the most pressing issues for the the department in the building is the kitchen area. So we went and procured a, like, a commercial air conditioning unit that can be installed in the kitchen, and we'll cool that space for the, the food service staff, and other people in the cafeteria.

And the the electrical work, was done in house, already. The the, the air conditioning unit itself will take a couple of weeks to be delivered, and then there'll be some ductwork, which we are procuring in the meantime. So in the next four weeks or so, there should be air conditioning in that space.

Any questions from my colleagues? No. Okay. Well, I'm I I'll say that I'm yeah. I'm very keen to see this, you know, continue to move forward, but I am heartened that we've taken some steps to to ameliorate the the biggest concerns.

And I assume that doctor to Weissman, we're talking about, like, one of those kinda, like, big chunky guys that so it's gonna have but there's duct so I guess Yeah. I'm glad to hear that there's ductwork that's gonna get installed. Because I've seen it before where people just kinda, like, try to stick it in, like, a window or whatever, and it just pops out half the time and ends up heating up the room.

No, mister chair. I'm not an expert on this, but this is, like, a five ton unit that is, yeah, going to be wired in and That could help.

Alright. Alright. Well, chair Vuitton, I'll hand it off to you.

Thank you, chair Link. Before I go to my colleague, I I think miss NOCK, which, for the record, chief of staff of some of the public schools, Amara NOCK, for, clerk Delaney. Amara, did you have, something you wanted to add there?

Through the chair, thank you so much, Trevor Tone. I just wanted to say that this is so important because our AIM program is there in the summers. And for, for us to be able to provide warm food for that program, it's very difficult when the cafeteria is incredibly like, too hot to do that. So I'm just so grateful to DPW and IIM for making this happen. It was a lot of strain on our food services department, and, obviously, making sure that our our kiddos have warm food in the summers is a huge priority. So we're very grateful.

Thank you for adding that, context and gratitude, which we all share. Member Eldridge, I saw your hand first, but it came down. We'll go to, member Patone.

Thank you, through you, chair. I apologize. I took my video off because my Internet is spotty. I just wanna acknowledge and appreciate the, interim solution. I am I missed the notation that mister Wiseman said about is it sized only for the kitchen, or is it sized for the full cafeteria space to cool the whole thing? I'm just curious. You may have answered this, but I couldn't. I missed that.

Sorry. I believe it's for the kitchen, but, sorry. Through the chair. I believe that's it's for the kitchen, but, I can get back to you on that.

Okay. Because it isn't it an open space? I might be wrong. I I thought

they weren't separate.

This is yeah. Through the chair. This is where I'm not a 100% certain, the language we were using was the kitchen. In my mind, it was the cafeteria. I need to clarify that.

Yep. Yep. Thank you. And that can go through I don't know if you're gonna keep this item open, but, obviously, that can go through

Oh, I'm sorry. I

just got

an I

hate to interrupt. I I apologize. I just got an update that it was sized for both.

Well, that's exciting. Thank you so much.

Okay. Member Patone, did you wanna continue with the question?

No. I'm off.

Okay. So seeing no other hands on my side, I will just, take this opportunity to express appreciation for the diligent planning despite the fact that we didn't have capacity for the, what do you call it, mister Reyesha? Summer slammer? I love that. So summer slammer twenty seven.

I'm printing out posters and T shirts right now, at the. So looking forward to that work. I'm wondering for you, Mr. Reich, what, can you describe kind of what the limiting factors are for, including, you know, work to put out a bid or put something out for bid on a particular timeline. I'm imagining it staffing.

So I I'm thinking that's what I'm gonna hear, and it it could relate to procurement budgets. But I'll let you answer the question rather than myself speculating. Go ahead.

Chipson, you're you're essentially correct, on on both counts. The the constraint on being able to progress work is largely staffing constraints. You know, we we can we can only do so many projects at at the same time. But this to advance this work, well, we also have to work with Eversource because as I as I think I've said before, there isn't enough electrical capacity in the panel in the building. There's also not enough electrical capacity in the neighborhood.

And so we need to install an additional transformer. That is something that we have to coordinate with Eversource on, but it is a customer cost. So Summerville will have to purchase and install the transformer someplace adjacent or in the building because there's no pull capacity. So there's there's costs associated with with that Eversource coordination, which we also have to budget for.

Appreciate that. I'll just say in response, and then I'll acknowledge my colleagues, that as we transition to a zero carbon city, right, relying more and more on electricity, the idea that we do not have the capacity to, bring in more and more electrics electricity into the city is really distressing for me to hear. In my day job, I I worked to approve a permit for offshore wind farms. Really excited about the capacity for electricity, zero carbon electricity to be coming into our state. But if we can't accept that electricity, that's, hadn't even crossed my mind.

So I'll be curious to hear more about that moving forward.

Yeah. To to the chair, just for your knowledge, it is it's a, huge problem, in the region, but in Summerville in particular where we've got our, our stretch code in effect. We are we we have reserved staff capacity, to in advance, an analysis of what needs to be done at the schools for decarbonization. That's a including the upgrades, you know, for transformers in the grid. That's a a a joint effort between capital projects and office sustainability in the environment.

So I gotta check-in on their progress. So I I I don't have an exact data when we're gonna publish that, but that's coming. But it's it's also a problem, across the board, you know, in even for our private developments because we have adopted the the stretch code. We're having a lot of issues with the need for transformers for even things like free family homes and and locating that, within, you know, the the private property because we're we're not giving up sidewalk space for it. We don't have to give it up. It's it is a a big issue that the the city is, grappling with, with several departments involved.

Fascinating. Thank you, Rich, mister Reish. Member Eldridge. Thank

you. I'm not understanding fully what the AC unit entails in the space, but if you could possibly just reassure concerned constituents that currently are navigating the high temperatures in the cafeteria and or or the cafeteria, like, we could expect. I understand that there's a longer permanent fix in the works, and that is fantastic. And I'm so glad to hear that you have an interim fix. Can we expect a, like, a measurable change in temperature in those spaces and, like, making those environments a bit more comfortable, again, not knowing anything about the specific units that you've chosen.

I have to defer to commissioner Weissman and superintendent Bennett.

Thank you.

Through the through the chair. I I don't have a great, way to quantify that. I'm sorry. I could I could come back to you on that.

If I could just follow-up on that that question and answer, and maybe share a link. This is something we could add a second item, to, get a progress report on the temperature differential just to see how it's working, for maybe June, you know, once we have this in place. Great. Okay. I'm seeing thumbs up from my colleague. Member Piton.

Thank you. Through you. Commissioner Reish, is this a project that could qualify for the MSBA accelerated repair, which is initiating in, I think, January 2027, which I'm just flagging to everybody on the table here that we should start planning for that now, and I'm sure there's other things that commissioner Reyes has on his mental agenda. But, you know, it's about energy efficiency. It's about cost savings, windows, doors, heat pumps. I mean, I haven't read it all in detail, but, I'm just curious.

To the that's an interesting question. The so the the decarbonization plan that I I mentioned that we're working on jointly with OSC is intended to position us for that at the other schools. Another project that we're working on is that I think the committees know we've had some issues with the facade at the east, and the option that we've landed on would not only provide, you know, sort of repairs for for that, but then also significantly increase the insulation factors on that facade. And I I I have a suspicion that that might be eligible. So I I can't I I don't know that the the Edgely one would meet the the criteria, but we'll we'll explore that along with with the other ones that we're we've got in the pipeline.

May I do a quick follow-up?

Of course.

What would be your timeline in kind of creating the proposal of not completing the proposal, but making a recommendation to the city and the the school district about which things projects you think are gonna be appropriate for this so that we're primed for that 2027 application.

Yeah. I I so you know, our CSO, plan was formally submitted to the state, about two hours ago. So that has, been taking up so much of my mental bandwidth that I have to check back in with my capital projects team on a on a time frame for that. I don't have it off the top of my head, but I can I can follow-up with that?

That's combined sewer overflow plan for those paying attention.

Thank you. Yes.

Yes. This

is a question for you, chair. I don't know if I'm allowed to make a suggestion that this topic of, you know, the scope of the accelerated prepare program get put on a future agenda for this body?

Yeah. Of course. That's appropriate.

Yeah. And you guys can figure out the timing and, you know, basically, it's like the MSBA, building project. They fund many projects to focus on this energy efficiency, but also improvements to buildings and an accelerated project. So you work with particular consultants that they already have lined up to do the work. And just for context, last year, Medford got or two years ago, whenever it happened, when Medford got accepted into for the high school, they also got two accelerated repair at the same time.

So we don't have to think, well, because we already have the Winter Hill in the pipeline that they wouldn't consider our accelerated repair repair project. But every year is different, so I'm just giving everybody that for context that it's always worth putting in for this stuff because it's very, valuable investment and can really make our money go further. So thank

Thank you, member Patone, for that valuable insight. Awesome. Alright. Seeing no other discussion on our side, I will hand the gavel back to you, Chair Link.

Thank you very much, Chair Patone. Doctor Ish, just to make sure I understood correctly, the in in terms of you it sounds like I knew about the transformer for this particular location, but it it sounds like this is I did not realize how widespread the issue was until this terrifying moment that we had just a couple seconds ago. So I'm I'm curious. You it's it sound like we're we're evaluating that for all the different schools to see where they're at. Is is there, like it sounds like we don't have that kind of that work done yet. Is that something that's going to be that will have, like, a a sense of that, you know, in the next month, in the next six months?

Yeah. Through the chair, think we're we're looking at more like a six month timeline. I this the the this effort won't be finished for, you know, in time for budget this year. This this is more like a a fall publication.

Okay. Wonderful. Alright. Thank you very much. Alright. So, seeing nothing else, no one else wants to discuss, we'll move on to the next item. That is item number four.

Cherilyn, sorry. Not to cut you off. What would we like to do with this item?

Sorry. I apologize.

No worries.

Yes. So it sounds like maybe we I think maybe we can mark this one as work complete and then set up a a new one to check on the progress. Alright.

So Thank you.

Mark, this is work complete. Great. And, that brings us to item four, 26 dash zero five two one, that the commissioner of public works address the radiator dysfunction in one of the Kennedy School classrooms. Director Weissman?

Hi. Thank you, chair. Yes. So this is an issue that, came up in, I think, Classroom 209. There were this this is an unusual classroom where there are, two it's a corner room, so there are two separate systems. Both of them seemed to to have an issue. There was a valve issue on the, on the ventilator heater on one side of the building that was addressed, and then there was also a control issue, with the fin tube radiator on the other side, and then that was addressed. So, the space should be responding now as expected.

Councilor Singh?

Through your chair link. So I put in this order, and you just wanna say that a parent reached out to both myself and, member Piton. And, I contacted commissioner Wiseman, and he he very quickly sent staff there, had you know, just took all the steps necessary. So I'm very grateful for, yep, addressing this issue that's been going on for a while and really finding the root cause and addressing it. Thank you, commissioner.

Fantastic. Yeah. And it it sounds like another game of maybe a much smaller game of whack a mole in in terms of there being multiple issues. It's a funny setup. Alright. Seeing no further discussion on, this side, I'll hand it over to chair Tom.

Thank you, chairlink. So I'll just echo the gratitude for the quick attention to this matter. No one wants to sit in a a boiling hot, classroom in in June, let alone in in March. So really grateful. I'm I'm positive that it dramatically improved the, learning in that classroom.

My question is, is this an item that, oh, so I guess, like, it's great that that was, addressed through the sort of constituent, reaching out to school committee and city councilor for the ward and then to DPW. But I'm wondering, was this, provided to 311 within the school notification system as well? And because that's supposed to be our sort of notification system that things sort of regularly work through. And perhaps this was happening in parallel, but I'm just curious if that if that's how that went down.

To the chair, thank you for the question. So so my staff receives a number of three one ones all the time on any number of issues in the buildings. This is an issue that was elevated to me, and that that's why I put particular attention to it. I I would imagine there was a three one one on it as well. Sometimes building issues take multiple paths to get, to me.

Sometimes it comes through three one one. Sometimes it comes through, my staff that are in the buildings, and sometimes it comes through, a city council agenda item. So, yeah, I'm I'm not sure, but I imagine that there's a three one one on this item.

Thank you, Commissioner Wiseman. Job security for us, I suppose. Ms. Annocik, I'll direct the same question to you, if you have any awareness of the issue. Do you know whether this made its way through that process?

Through the chair. So you're asking about the radiator issue. Did it did it go through the three one one process? Yes. I'm sorry. Okay. Good. I just wanted to make sure I heard that.

Yeah. Sorry to put you on the spot.

No. No. No. You not at all. I get I get cc'd on every single three one one. I do not remember this in particular, but I can go through and and see. I can imagine that that this came through. And it looks like, commissioner Weissman has his hand up.

Yeah. Through the chair, it, it it it came through multiple times.

Okay. Alright. Excellent. That's that's great and, actually a reassurance. So thank you for that.

Member Patone.

Thank you. Through you. My understanding is Digger three one one, but I also wanna add and this is just more sort of the anecdotal context of, you know, families or people overhearing someone at DPW saying things like, I don't think it can be fixed till until the summer. So there were sort of some kind of misrepresentation. I don't know if they heard things properly.

I'm not implying that anything anybody did anything wrong because I know how thoughtful everyone is. But that's kind of how it got at least elevated to me was sort of this we know they're working on it, and they've tried multiple things and it's not fixing it, which is life, you know, things. Sometimes you have to try a few things before it gets resolved. But there was some misunderstanding, and that's where the escalation came to me was that sort of someone mishearing or misunderstanding that, it it was stated that it wouldn't be able to be resolved this year, which this school year, which I'm so happy it was, and I just wanted to provide that context.

Thank you. Commissioner Wiseman, did you wanna add something there? No. Okay. Sorry. Alright. That's looks like all on our side. And, member Patong, thanks for that clarification also. I, that's really helpful. So turn it back over to you, Chairlink.

Thank you. Counsel, I see your hands down now. You're good? Okay. Wonderful. Yeah. Thank you for the quick action, and actually getting it done. I having taught in a classroom that was in the nineties once I know it's miserable, horrible work. So both just doing it and also trying to have all the students do it with you. Yeah. So thank you. Thank you. Alright. Moving on to item number five, which is another Kennedy School item. This is 26 oh, sorry. Disposition.

Good catch. I

just wanna keep going. So I think we can mark this one as work complete.

Got it. Thank you.

Now on to item number five, that the administration reports to the school committee and to this council on indoor air quality concerns at the Kennedy School specifically regarding mold and humidity levels and on the steps being taken to address them.

Thank you, chair. This item is somewhat new to me. I I don't quite know the history of this issue. I did look into, the the history of three one ones regarding mold or humidity. I didn't find a ton of information on it, but we we have been meeting with the school department on this issue.

I will say that, like, when it comes to mold and humidity, like, it's really critical for us to respond immediately to leaks and intrusions of water. And I think, like, that's our first line of defense. So to dry out the surface, the the or sort of to take a step back to secure the building envelope and then dry out any moisture, remove any standing water, remove any soggy materials. So that's, like, normally what we would do in those situations. We try to do that as quickly as possible.

And then, as there are complaints about air quality or or mold or something like that, that is something that we would work with the school department to investigate, before taking, like, the step of, monitoring and testing and things like that. So, this is something that I think, it doesn't seem like there's a formal process to date, something I would like to work with the school department, as part of our regular check ins on establishing, a process for for handling these type of complaints. But I don't have a, an update on specifically on mold and humidity levels at the school at this point.

Thank you, doctor Reisman. I'm I'm curious. Do we have the the tools necessary to to measure things like humidity and and mold?

So thank, thank you, chair. Yes. We do have tools to measure humidity. Mold testing, I think, is is something that we would we would seek an outside vendor to do.

Great. And I'm assuming we it's it's I've my experience my my personal experience with that is that, it can be kind of a little tricky in that a lot of times if you pick the wrong people, they will always tell you that there is mold that needs to be remediated. Yeah.

Through through the alright. Thank you, chair. Yeah. I'm not an expert on these things, but my understanding is that there aren't established, like, safe levels for mold or thresholds that are easy to point to. So most organizations point to, like, doing a a visual investigation, looking at moisture, looking for visible signs of mold, for smells of mold, and then really using, like, air quality testing as a last step. But I think we can we can sort of, like, get a process in place for for these things.

Wonderful. Alright. Council site?

Through your shared link. I just want to say, personally, the first I heard of this is during office hours, with the Kennedy with member Piton. Member of Biton may have more information about this. But, yeah, this is a concern that was raised, and, yeah, would love for DPW to look into this.

Thank you. Happy to work with the school department on this.

I just realized I haven't asked one question. Is the the where is the the the potential mold? Is it I guess maybe l. Alright.

You can acknowledge her. We don't have to Okay. Have a firewall here.

Never pretend.

Oh, thank you through both of you. My understanding that they was mentioned the there's a PTA room, which I think was formerly a closet, and that they were seeing some water situation there. I can't I didn't see it personally, so I can't speak to it, but that was one of the spaces they brought up. I don't I'm gonna look through my notes while we're continuing to talk on that and see if I missed something else.

Thank you through the chair. I understand that there have been leaks in the past at the Kennedy School. There's also been some dripping pipes and things like that, certainly, an opportunity for moisture to to collect, but we do the best we can to respond to those as quickly as possible to remediate the the moisture, but happy to work further with the school department on this.

Sure. The tone will leave the rest to to you.

Thank you, chair Link. So, commissioner Wiseman, I I wanna share with you some language that the well, as a little background information, every year, the school committee meets with the Summerville, Council of PTAs, which, is kind of an umbrella that, brings together all of the PTAs across the city. And we do that in during budget season, and each of the PTAs shares with us some of their, you know, both successes during the year and also some of their concerns that they would like addressed. So I wanna just share with you one of the things, and that Kennedy gave us two requests. And one of them and so, usually, that's like these are high level things.

So I'm just gonna read to you from what they delivered to us. They said they were requesting an action plan and timeline to alleviate concerns about health and safety for educators and students. Concerns about general air quality and specifically about mold have been bubbling up by educators through recommended channels, but it seems there hasn't yet been action on testing and remediation or communication about a future plan for the same. That's how this item first came to my attention. And, you know, it it sounds to me like the recommended channels, that would be the three one one process that we talked about before, hasn't resulted in you described your search earlier through items for mold, and it sounded like there was really scant information in those three one one requests.

And so, you know, here we are now, and it's still you know, we don't have a a concrete plan for testing, some ideas, and I'm and I'm grateful for that direction and effort and collaboration with the schools in particular. So, I'm wondering, you know, the channels that we have, these official three one one channels and the meetings with, Ms. And Ms. Barry from the school department, is this a matter that you've discussed with them during your regular check ins?

Yeah. Through the chair. This came up as this this item, came up. So I think where we got to is that we really need to have a process for handling these requests. Like, a like, it it sounds like they're they're looking for a process and a plan in progress, and I think we need to have an overall plan for intake of requests of this nature, what the next steps would be, who's responsible for what, and then how to follow through on them.

Alright. Thank you. And I think you said pretty much exactly that before, and I appreciate you repeating it for me so that I could get it through my skull. So that that's helpful. I will be oh, and I see, miss Annocik has her hand up, so go ahead.

Thank you, through the chair. I just wanted to add that the SCU in our in our contract, there's a biannual sorry about that. There's a biannual report that we work on with the city departments, and they do touch on air quality and and filtering. And and so that's where we were getting some of our updates on how the air quality was for some of the schools. But I agree completely with Commissioner Weisman that a more formalized process is needed in light of some of the requests that have come in through this process.

Okay. So it sounds to me like that's the the need for a a process is is a more general kind of how do we deal with this sort of approach. And then with respect to the specifics of this request, do we have a timeline for taking action to, to conduct those tests and identify a solution?

So thank you. I I think that the that the immediate step will be to to conduct an investigation of the complaints, with my staff and SPS and then determine the next step whether testing is warranting, whether it's appropriate, define what we are testing for, and then and then if we determine the testing is necessary, then do the testing based on that process.

Understood. Member Piton.

Thank you, Mike. Can you hear me?

Yes. We can hear you.

Yeah. I I must just not be in a great location. Through you, I just was looking through my notes, you know, you know, notations around more transparency around quality concerns. The references were wet ceiling tiles, mold, quote, more visible mold. Now I don't know if there is or is not. That's something that you would do in your assessment. Testing of air quality, ongoing monitoring, and the specific reference to the PTA closet, which is behind the stage, something about saying it was, like, 30% too warm. I don't know if there's, like, a a challenge. It's a closet, not a space. So, you know, it might not have the same requirements.

Yeah. So those were my notes. So I'm I didn't add much, but I at least wanted to let you know what I had heard. And I appreciate what mister Wiseman is saying about having some type of investigation and deciding what the next steps are. I I think that's good to hear.

Thank you. Through the chair, we will absolutely look at this, and, I appreciate you, being as specific as possible about the space.

Excellent. I will also relay in in my conversations with with one, parent that the space feels measurably different this year than it did in past years. So there's something that has changed.

Through the chair, I assume you you're saying worse, not better.

That's right.

Okay. Thank you.

Yes. Yes.

Understood.

Awesome. So chair link, my recommendation will be that we keep this in committee.

Yeah.

And I'll hand the gavel back.

Thank you. Yes. So, we will keep this one in committee, and, hopefully, we can hear more about this specific issue and then maybe the the the general plan to to handle issues like this. Hopefully, this can be used as a to the whatever we come up with can be used as a template for for future ones. Okay. That brings us to, item six twenty six dash zero two four one. That the administration provide the committee, on school buildings, facilities, and maintenance with regular updates on the Massachusetts School Building Authority, process for the Winter Hill and Brown schools.

Thank you, So I I believe at our last meeting, I reported that we submitted the preliminary design program to MSBA for their review. It is still in their review process. They did give us some preliminary request for additional information, including the condition assessment of the Brown School building at Willow Ave. I'm gonna brag here. We had already anticipated a question like that and done a full evaluation of the building.

So we had all the data on the shelf and were able to turn that in immediately, which had we not anticipated that could have been months of delay. They also interestingly asked for a test fit at the Willow Ave site for the 925 student population, which our architects were able to turn around pretty quickly, which would be a very slender high rise that would make the copper mill development in Davis Square look quaint. We've we've also, so we we know, on a more serious note, you know, we're there. MSBA is still reviewing that. We will, anticipate some additional comments.

Team is still continuing on with with the work of, fleshing out the, schematic designs for, the, you know, the the things we know we want to, advance on. Team has also been, doing a lot of community outreach. We had a fairly well attended community workshop that focused on sustainability. We did have parents at that, but more importantly, we had sort of our usual suspects from the sustainability and environment sort of folks in the city, so we were encouraged by that. We also had sort of a a young children workshop where the kids got to play with Legos and give us some ideas that was a ton of fun.

We will have a school building committee meeting on Monday, May 4, live long and prosper, and we're continuing on with work.

Alright. I I just wanna say huge kudos on making sure that, that we have the information so that we could just keep that process moving. I know that, parents are desperate to see this keep going, and as quickly as possible. So the fact that we, anticipated that and had it ready is just it's huge. So, thank you. Thank you very much, director. Councilor Scott, I see you put your hand up.

Thank you, mister chair. So just for you, I just wanted to, understand what I what I heard about the Brown School evaluation. So that was that the a new building to accommodate the a total load for combined schools, or where where did that student load come from for that?

Yeah. So through through the chair. You know, the MSBA process is defined two student enrollment numbers for us to investigate. One is the six ninety, which is all future district needs less the student, capacity of, you know, East West Healy, Argentinian, in and the Brown, and then the nine twenty, which is all future, enrollment needs just less the East West Healy, Argentiano, Kennedy. So those are the two numbers.

For some reason, they they asked us only to do the test fit for for the for the 09/25. It was real I I I suspect they knew it was going to be a paper exercise, largely driven from the fact that again, as I've I've said before, they want communities to explore more than one site. And so, you know, our package only had the Sycamore site and Trum Field. Interestingly enough, I I it doesn't seem as they're pushing back on our elimination of Trum Field, but they wanted us to give them one more site for the documentation and and selected Willow Ave as unaccommodating as that lot would be for such student enrollment.

Yeah. So it would be what if we took down the Brown School and used that lot to handle all future capacity growth? Oh, okay. Yeah. Well, not for nothing. How tall are we talking?

Oh, I think it was something like 23 stories or something crazy like that.

Oh, we got that in the Bacon Building. We could do that.

Yeah.

Alright. Thank you, mister chair.

Alright. I'll hand this over to you, chair Patel.

Thank thank you, chair Lank. I I'm very curious. Mister Rej, can you share that, the the drawings of that? I would love to just see a 23, mock up. It's if they funded that and they said this is what you have to choose, we would not move forward as a city with that selection. I just wanna see it.

Yeah. I I can I can get that to you? Thank you. And we'll we'll we'll, once it's in, sort of a a public consumable format, we'll put it on the website anyway.

Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you. Yeah. I think everyone will enjoy that. Okay. Any questions from my colleagues? Alright. Seems like we're good. We'll hand this back to you.

Oh, and and just I'll share from school committee side, gratitude to Mr. Reish and the the team working on this for their diligence and preparation, so we didn't have additional delays. Like, that work, that planning is is measurably, impacting our students. Right? In 2031, when we open up, we'll have your, value and efforts to thank for that, not losing months at a time because we didn't have something ready. So, like, pat yourself on the back. You deserve that one.

Thank you. ShareLink. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Again, that is is really huge. Alright. So we will leave this one in committee and move on to item seven, which is, an officer's communication. Is oh, I I believe this was, we already discussed this one, but, there was potentially some questions. So this was the, infrastructure and asset management, or the strategic asset management plan report. I can't remember who was that. I had some questions. Yeah.

Yeah. Chair Link, member Patone, was had requested some additional time to review this, and, we got it in the committee for that purpose. You're all set.

Alright. That was an easy one.

Alright. Thank you. Sorry.

Let's mark that as work complete then, and move on to, our last scheduled item, which is item 826Dash0135 that the director of infrastructure and asset management update, this council on when the school buildings maintenance project website will be available.

Through the chair. Unfortunately, this one, I can't give you a positive update. We just have not had the bandwidth, to to dedicate to this either I'm or comms. We've been very busy on whole bunch of other stuff, not least of which is the CSO combined to our overflow program. So I I don't have a report on this or really a projection of when we're gonna be able to get to it as we're jumping into construction season.

Got it. Council site.

Yeah. Thank you, director Rachel. I was surprised to see it on the agenda. I thought maybe there was a it was an update. But, yeah, I would keep we'll share a link if we can keep this running committee. And, again, I will keep requesting and asking that we have this up so that families are informed, especially with everything that's going on. I think this committee is one of the few opportunities when they get to have updates and know what's happening. So, yeah, so got you a link. If we can keep it, that would be great. Thank you.

Absolutely. And, yeah, I just to echo what the the counselor from Fortify was saying, I I I think that's yeah. It's a it's very important to families, and I think we absolutely need to have it. I communication is always one of the things that people talk a lot about, wanting more of, and I I think that that'd be good if we can make sure we we are communicating as well as we can. Alright. Chair of the tone?

Any questions from my colleagues? Comments? Not see oh, member Piton. Go ahead.

And through you, I'm I just wanted to put forward my enthusiasm and looking forward to seeing this when there is time and space to work on it.

Alright. I think she speaks for us all. Chair Link, back to you.

Great. Thank you. Yeah. Now that CSO is, totally solved, we should have tons of bandwidth for that. So, great. Okay. Alright. So we'll we'll keep this one in committee. And that brings us to the end of our agenda. Clark, do we need I guess yes. Do we need to take a roll call on, I guess, the the minutes?

Yep. So I'll approve the minutes, and we can approve and adjourn with the same roll call if we'd like.

Yes. I make a motion that we do so.

Great. And the school committee also needs to do their recess whatnot or adjournment.

If I may if I may just pipe in to say I neglected to circulate the, report from the last meeting. So we'll hold that approval for our next, our next subcommittee and just do a twofer.

Sounds good.

Okay. So we're good to approve on our end, though?

Yes.

Great.

Alright. School committee, are you adjourning? Or

Oh, we'll just wait for you to adjourn, and then we'll adjourn quickly.

Great. Alright. Approval of the minutes and adjournment. Councilor Scott? Yes, please. Councilor Saeed?

Yes.

Chair Link?

Aye.

Alright. With that, it is 07:08PM, and we are adjourned.

And so are we. Thank you so much. Have a great night.

Thank you, everyone.

See you, everyone. Thank you.