Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts - October 19, 2011
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
October 19, 2011 at Quincy High School. Present were: Mayor Thomas Koch,
Chairman, Mrs. Jo-Ann Bragg, Mrs. Elaine Dwyer, Ms. Barbara Isola,
Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mr. Dave McCarthy, Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Vice Chair.
Chairman
Presiding
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The Superintendent called the roll and all were present. Also present were:
Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens, Acting Clerk; Messrs.
Draicchio, Mullaney, Mulvey, Keith Segalla, Timmins; Mrs. Roberts, Erler,
Fredrickson, Papile, Powers; Ms. Todd, and Ms. Allison Cox, President, QEA.
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There was a moment of silence for Robert DeCristofaro, who passed away recently.
Mr. DeCristofaro was a Department of Public Works staff member for over 30 years.
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Regular Meeting Minutes Approved 10/5/2011
Mrs. Bragg made a motion to amend the minutes on page 4, third paragraph, first
sentence to change “Health Services” to “Special Education.”
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee approved
the regular session minutes for October 5, 2011 as amended. The ayes have it.
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School Committee Clerk appointment
Mayor Koch opened nominations for the vacant position of Clerk to the School
Committee. Mrs. Dwyer nominated Laura Owens for the position and Mrs. Isola
seconded the nomination.
Mrs. Bragg made a motion to close the nominations and Mr. McCarthy seconded
the motion. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.
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Superintendent's Report
After a brief recess, the Superintendent opened his remarks by noting some recent
and upcoming events, including the October 6th North Quincy High School vs. Quincy
High School Volleyball game that raised $5,000 for Breast Cancer research and the
October 18th Mini-Grant reception at North Quincy High School where 50 teachers
received grants from School-Community Partners including Street Works, Boston
University, and the David Ezickson family. Special Olympics are being held at the
Squantum School on Friday, October 21 at 9:30 am, and in the coming weeks,
Merrymount Elementary and Quincy High School will be hosting visiting teachers from
Iceland on October 25th
, the Fall Gathering is on November 17th at the Tirrell Room, and 'Tis the Season is on December 6th at Quincy High School.
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Open Forum
Twenty-seven citizens spoke at Open Forum, all about the subsequently presented
plan for the track at Faxon Field. A range of people from students through senior citizens
spoke and opinions were expressed both for and against the Faxon Field site.
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After a brief recess, the Mayor requested taking the next item out of order and moving to
the presentation of the Faxon Field Track plan.
Mrs. Bragg made a motion to take the agenda item out of order, seconded by Mr.
McCarthy. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Faxon Field Track Site
City Solicitor Mr. Timmins opened the presentation on the proposed Faxon Field
Track site by giving an overview of what would be presented to the School Committee.
Parks Department Director Kristen Powers presented first on the history of the gift
of the parcel of land from the Faxon family to the City of Quincy in 1919. She also
spoke of the 2005 Track Site Recommendation Committee that cited Faxon Field as
the top choice, with reservations related to the construction of Quincy High School
(which was not yet begun at that time). Mrs. Powers discussed the 2009 bidding
process for the track's design and construction. Mr. Paul Frantz, Parks Department
Project Manager, summarized the work done to date for site preparation, including
stripping and stockpiling topsoil, installing structural fill for pavement base, installing
temporary retaining walls to hold surcharge fill (4 feet of common dirt). This
surcharge fill layer is compressing the peat layer to remove water to make a firm
surface for track pavement; all work being monitored by an outside geotechnical firm,
McArdle Gannon.
Joseph Shea, Senior Vice President of Woodard & Curran, presented on the City's
Capital Improvement Plan on flooding mitigation in the 128-acre drainage system
that flows to the Broad Street tide gate. Mr. McCarthy raised a point of information
that Mr. Joseph Shea is the son of City Clerk Mr. Joseph Shea and whether there was
any conflict of interest. Mr. Timmins said that in his opinion, there is no conflict, and
suggested that Mr. Shea proceed with his presentation.
The Citywide Infrastructure Capital Improvement plan includes twelve storm water
projects, including the Russell Park area and the Broad Street tide gate. Woodward &
Curran are looking at many issues of drainage in Quincy, including hydrology and
hydraulics, proposing rehabilitation and change, with an end goal of permitting and
constructing these changes. For the Russell Park neighborhood, they reviewed
drainage reports and the existing hydrology study, are inspecting (via video camera)
and cleaning the drainage system, and recommending modifications. All Faxon Field
track site drainage will be directed away from the Russell Park neighborhood towards
the Southern Artery/Coddington Street drainage lines. Items to be completed under
the capital improvement plan include replacing the Broad Street tide gates, spot
repairs of physical deficiencies, replacement of approximately 2,000 feet of drain
pipe, addressing the 24-inch pipe that runs across the wetland to Coddington Street,
installation of an equalization pipe in Russell Park neighborhood with flow control
device, and installing additional catch basins in the neighborhood. Construction is
projected to begin in July 2012 and be completed in December 2012; estimated costs
are $1.240 million. In addition, two hydrological models were developed: pre- and
post-development. The post-development drainage plan for the track calls for water
to be released at a lower rate and volume than the site currently releases water into the
city's drainage system.
Bill Seymour, Director of Civil Engineering for Gale Associates, presented next. Mr.
Seymour has designed more than sixty tracks for public and private schools in the
region. He assured the Committee that there is no premium for costs associated with
building at the Faxon Field site; the project has been successfully bid against the
budget, peer-reviewed, and fully vetted through the state's Department of
Environmental Protection. The track design is fully certifiable through the MIAA
and meets ADA requirements (handicap-accessible parking on site). The Faxon Field
site is long and narrow, but not unusually so. The track has a 100-foot radius;
standard radius for MIAA tracks range from 90 feet to 135 feet. Multiple venues for
field activity allow events to be held concurrently, including multi-approach high-jump area. There is a 300-person grandstand at the common finish line.
The final presentation of the evening was by Mr. Geoff Hennessy, coach of the
Quincy Track Club and middle school track program. He addressed the School
Committee in support of the proposed Faxon Field site and detailed research done
previously on other sites around the city as part of the 2005 Track Site
Recommendation Committee.
In the ensuing question and answer time that followed, Mr. Shea and Mayor Koch
reiterated that the Capital Improvement plan is separate from the Track issue and that
these improvements will be completed in the time frame outlined in Mr. Shea‟s
presentation. The plan for drainage at the Faxon Field track site will account for the
water at that site. Mr. Seymour clarified that the track surfacing comes with a 10-
year warranty, that there is sufficient space for field events (regulation-size football
field within track oval), the design specifications include two fencing systems, one
with gates around perimeter and one within to keep spectators apart from competitors.
At 10:58 pm, Mrs. Bragg made a motion to continue the School Committee meeting
which had now exceeded the time limit. Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion. On a
voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mr. Hennessy confirmed that most children at the Quincy Track Club are
accompanied by their parents and that there are anywhere from 17 to 25 volunteers on
a given night supervising the track and field activities. Mr. Timmins provided
information about costs to date: $95,000 has been paid to Gale Associates for the
track design work and $90,000 has been spent on Faxon Field site preparation; the
latter was funded through a credit from Gilbane for the Quincy High School project
plan that called for Faxon Field to be restored as baseball fields.
At the conclusion of the discussion, Mrs. Bragg made a motion to table all of the
remaining agenda items with the exception of New Business, Items V. C., Out of the
Country Travel and V. D., Out of State Travel. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion. On
a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Bragg then made a motion to approve the Out of Country Travel of North
Quincy High School to Italy in April 2012 and Out of State travel of North Quincy
High School to the University of New Hampshire on October 31, 2011. Mrs.
Mahoney seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Resignation
The School Committee noted the following Civil Service resignation:
Junior Clerk & Typist Michelle Greeley
Retirement
The School Committee noted the following Civil Service retirement:
Utility Food Worker Frances DiSalvio
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Adjournment
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mrs. Dwyer, the Committee
adjourned at 11:35 p.m. for the evening. There was no executive session.
The ayes have it.