Minutes
School Facilities and Security Subcommittee Meeting
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A meeting of the School Facilities and Security Subcommittee was held on Thursday, April 19,
2012 at 4:30 pm in the 2
nd Floor Conference Room at the NAGE Building. Present were Mayor
Thomas Koch, Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mrs.
Anne Mahoney, and Mr. David McCarthy, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent
DeCristofaro, Mr. Walter MacDonald, Mr. Kevin Murphy and Mr. Steven Wessling, Mr. Robert
Cala, and Ms. Linda Werks from Wessling Architects.
Mr. McCarthy called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm and introduced the staff from Wessling
Architects who presented their overview and design for the renovation of Coddington Hall into
Quincy Public Schools administrative offices. The Quincy City Council has a proposal in review
in the Finance Subcommittee to appropriate $18 million for renovations to Coddington Hall
($9.8 million) and Old City Hall.
Wessling Architects has approached the renovation plan for Coddington Hall from a historic
perspective; the plan is to modernize the facility while retaining historic details. The building
has no structural issues, and bearing walls will be retained within the building. Mechanical
systems (electrical, HVAC, plumbing) will all be replaced, along with the windows. There will be
new restroom facilities on each floor of the building.
The basement level will house the City and School Information Technology Departments, along
with storage and shared conference spaces. The first floor will house Custodial, Transportation
and Security, Athletics, Business, Personnel, and public spaces including a large conference
room and the School Committee meeting room. The second floor will have the Special
Education, Curriculum, Student Support and Health Services departments, Assistant
Superintendent and Superintendent’s offices. The third floor will be home to the City’s
Planning Department.
For the building’s exterior, work will be done to restore the slate roof, replace the copper
gutters and downspouts, and repoint brick where needed. The building’s landscaping will be
redone to blend with neighboring structures and signage added. In terms of parking, the lot
can hold 98 cars and will be secured access. Other possibilities for parking in garage or at
Quincy High School will be explored for overflow and visitor parking.
During the discussion that followed, questions were asked about possible water issues in
basement level and whether a sump pump and drain would be installed. For the first floor, is
there any way that the School Committee meeting room and adjacent conference room could
be connected by a movable acoustical wall. This is very expensive option but further research
will be done. Mrs. Hubley inquired about the elevator and was reassured that it will be
refinished and any code issues addressed. Mrs. Mahoney expressed concern about the overall
cost for the project, the value of the dedicated School Committee room (and the funding source
for the attendant Audio/Visual equipment needed), and whether there was space for growth
within the floor plan. Mr. Cala reminded everyone that the drawings shared were for space
planning and budgeting purposes and not the final design. There are options for additional
storage along the corridors and under stairwells and office and conference spaces can be
reconfigured to reflect organizational changes. Mr. Bregoli inquired whether a custodian would
be assigned to the Coddington Hall building.
Mr. Wessling and Mr. Cala concluded by explaining their estimate for a construction timeframe
is twelve to fifteen months, but the funding is yet to be approved and the project will need to
go out for public bid. In the meantime, work will be done on finalizing the floor plans and
project cost estimates.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:35 pm on a motion from Mr. McCarthy and seconded by Mrs.
Mahoney. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.