Minutes
Quincy School Committee
Facilities & Security Subcommittee Meeting
Monday, April 13, 2015
A meeting of the Facilities & Security Subcommittee was held on Monday, April 13, 2015 at 5:30 pm at the Coddington Building. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Noel DiBona, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Anne Mahoney, and Mr. David McCarthy, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent DeCristofaro, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mr. Gary Cunniff, Ms. Shelly Dein, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Mr. Walter MacDonald, Mr. Kevin Segalla; Ms. Allison Cox, President of the Quincy Education Association; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Mr. McCarthy called the meeting to order at 5:45 pm and introduced Mr. MacDonald who reviewed the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Accelerated Repair projects: (1) Wollaston, Merrymount, and North Quincy – replacement of windows, doors, and associated hardware; $5 million budget with just under 70% reimbursable from the MSBA; (2) Lincoln Hancock and Parker – replacement of windows, doors, and associated hardware; $2.5 million budget with 71% reimbursable from the MSBA; (3) Beechwood -- roof, windows, doors, and associated hardware and Merrymount -- roof. MSBA will be visiting both schools on Tuesday, April 14.
For Wollaston, Merrymount, and North Quincy High School, all windows and doors have been ordered. Meetings were held with the contractor and principals to review the scope of work. June 29 is the official start date of the project, but some work will begin during the April vacation break. The North Quincy High School gym windows will be replaced and doors will be installed through the spring as they arrive. In early June, once the seniors have graduated, a section of the building will be cordoned off so that work can begin on vacant classrooms. Weekly meetings will be held with the contractors and Owners Project Manager (OPM) and School department staff. Notifications will go out to parents and abutters. At Wollaston, the gym windows will also be replaced during the April vacation week and exterior doors and hardware will be replaced throughout the spring. Merrymount will begin with door and hardware replacement, but no work will be done during April vacation. For Lincoln Hancock and Parker, the contractor will begin working in June. Contractor employees will be completing CORI forms and fingerprinting.
Mrs. Mahoney asked about who will be managing the CORI process; the OPMs will coordinate with the contractors and Kevin Mulvey. OPMs Ms. Vresilovic from Skanska and Mr. Queeney from PMA will verify that only contractor employees who have been screened are onsite daily.
Mr. Bregoli asked for clarification on the doors being replaced at NQHS and Mr. MacDonald confirmed that the exterior doors will be replaced. Mr. Bregoli asked about work being done during final exams and Mr. MacDonald said the work will be in an area with mostly offices.
Mr. MacDonald said the installation of new windows and doors at all five schools will be completed in late August 2015, in order to allow for cleaning and preparation for the start of school. Mr. MacDonald also noted that all new windows will have shades.
Architects Mr. Habeeb from Habeeb Associates and Mr. Barr from Russo Barr shared the drawings and color samples for each school. The new windows and doors will be a significant improvement, restoring the original look of the buildings.
Mr. DiBona asked about the life expectancy of the windows and Mr. MacDonald confirmed 30+ years. Mr. Bregoli asked if there would have been a cost savings from using the same colors, but there are several different manufacturers involved. Mr. Bregoli asked about the energy efficiency of the new windows, Mr. Barr said they must exceed the Stretch Energy code and will be much more energy-efficient, especially important at Lincoln Hancock which has electric heat. Mrs. Mahoney asked about the energy efficiency of the older windows; most are single pane with no energy efficiency.
Ms. Dein spoke about the Bernazzani Elementary School’s new boiler and heat and hot water distribution system. The current steam system is original to the building and generally inefficient. The new system will be hot-water based, conversion to natural gas. Asbestos in boiler room and underground oil tank will be removed. A feasibility study was conducted last summer, design was completed in March, and the project has been posted for bid and should be awarded in May. Construction timeframe is proposed to begin as soon as school ends, with abatement. Over the summer, the underground oil tanks will be removed and the new gas line will be installed. Classroom work will take 7-8 weeks and will be completed by the middle of August to allow for cleaning and classroom set up. Boiler room work will be on a parallel track and will extend into early September. BLW, a Littleton-based company will be overseeing the project, in conjunction with Dave Scott from Public Buildings. Tesco Engineering will be commissioning the project at the end of construction for optimal efficiency.
Mr. Beckett said that this is a new high-efficiency boiler system with new electronic controls, and room occupancy sensors for maximum energy efficiency. Ms. Isola asked about training; Mr. Beckett said that training on every aspect of the system is part of the contract, this is a very user-friendly system with on site and remote access for diagnostics.
Mr. Bregoli asked about the gas line; the small gas line in place is not enough to fuel the new system, so a larger one will be installed.
Mrs. Mahoney asked if this system is similar to other systems in place in QPS. Mr. Cunniff said that each system is unique for its building. Mrs. Mahoney asked if this is also an MSBA project. Ms. Dein said the MSBA will only pay for work within the boiler room, so none of the classroom work would be reimbursableThe total cost of the project is just around $1 million. Financing is being managed through the City of Quincy. Don Martin will be the construction manager and Dave Scott will be the technical manager.
Mr. DiBona asked about the removal of the oil tank. Mr. Beckett said it is a newer tank and there is a process in place to excavate, clean, remove the tank and restore the site. Mr. DiBona asked if adding air conditioning is an option, but that is a significantly different cost and not part of this scope.
Mrs. Hubley asked if the room sensors will be individual and Mr. Beckett confirmed that there will be a much more even heat distribution.
Ms. Dein said that NQHS has a new building control system for the schools four boilers, one chiller, and 17 circulation pumps. With this system, also remotely available, the ventilation, air quality, and temperature control will be tremendously improved. 75% of installation is completed, repairs are being made to dampers and thermostats as they go. For the original building, the unit ventilators will operate through new thermostatic devices, allowing for individual control of each room. Dave Scott engineered this item. The wood shop has two new heaters and the Hunt Street lobby now has heating. Rooftop chiller maintenance is scheduled to be performed before the start of the cooling season and maintenance work for the boilers is planned for this summer.
Mr. Bregoli asked if the second chiller will be addressed; Mr. Cunniff said it hasn't worked for 7-8 years and is slated for replacement under the Capital Improvement plan to be considered by City Council this spring. Mr. Bregoli said the Hunt Street side of the building is still cold, but hopefully the new doors will make a difference. Mr. MacDonald said that Mr. Scott's efforts have made some major improvements; considering the harsh winter, there were no leaks this past winter at NQHS or any school building.
Mrs. Mahoney asked if the boilers have been replaced; Ms. Dein said there have been repairs and the new control system has made a difference. Ms. Dein said Mr. Scott has been diligent about diagnosing the underlying problems of these older systems.
For Sterling Middle School, Mr. MacDonald reviewed that the Feasibility Study phase is underway. An Owner's Project Manager was selected in March, Joslin Lesser & Associates. Designer services have been advertised, a walkthrough completed, and ten responses were submitted on April 10. The review process will begin this week and the interview process will conclude in mid-May. After MSBA approval and contract negotiation, the Feasibility Study will be conducted this summer, concluding in October. November 18 will be the submission date for the Schematic Design; April 2016 will be design submission; June 2016 would be local funding approval. The project would then go out to bid with a target date for beginning construction in late 2016 or early 2017.
The Statement of Interest for Squantum was submitted on April 10, but we are not expecting any movement until the Sterling project is further along.
For the Presidents City Motel, Dr. DeCristofaro spoke with Attorney Fleming, the hotel is scheduled to open in July under the Howard Johnson's banner. The fence that is close to Central Middle School cannot be moved until construction is completed. Mr. McCarthy said given the proximity, we will stay on top of this to be sure that fencing and landscaping are completed as promised.
At Quincy High School, there was a leak in a custodial closet sink in January, sensor fail where water ran through the building for several hours. The manufacturer has replaced all sensors in Quincy High School. Mrs. Hubley asked about damage, minimal damage to ceiling tiles, paint, and carpets.
Mr. Cunniff updated on the Central Middle School punchlist. Most items will be addressed by the Maintenance department; the railings will be reinstalled to code by the contractor on April vacation. The major public entrances handicap access will also be addressed, an electrical contractor will be working on this during April vacation.
A section of the roof for Squantum was damaged during the installation of the solar array. This is 2200 sq ft. over the media center and will be replaced during April vacation week, paid for by the contractor's insurance.
Mr. Bregoli asked about Solar City's projected completion date. Mr. Cunniff said that Solar City finished installing the arrays on buildings in November; they did not install on all of the buildings they had originally planned, so Mr. Cunniff said the City is working on renegotiating the contract. Mr. Cunniff said National Grid has approved the installations, but since Public Buildings is not satisfied, the arrays are inactive. Mr. Cunniff said that Solar City has invested millions of dollars, so the pressure is on them to show some returns from that and address the City’s concern.
For Broad Meadows, the roof over the cafeteria and boiler room had a number of leaks develop this winter. A substantial roof patch was installed, but this is temporary. This project is also included in the Capital Improvements plan submitted to the Mayor.
Mr. DiBona asked which school might follow Squantum in terms of building replacement. Mr. Cunniff said there are no standout candidates although there are several elementary schools over 100 years old. This issue would need a more formal review and discussion.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to adjourn the Facilities & Security Subcommittee at 7:15 pm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bregoli and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.