Minutes
Quincy School Committee
Facilities & Security Subcommittee Meeting
October 19, 2017
A meeting of the Facilities & Security Subcommittee was held on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 5:15
pm in the Coddington Building. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mrs. Kathryn
Hubley, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent DeCristofaro, Deputy Superintendent Kevin
Mulvey, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Mr. Walter MacDonald, Mrs. Maura Papile, Ms. Madeline Roy, North
Quincy High School Student Representative Luke Malloy; Quincy Education Association President
Allison Cox; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Director of Transportation and Safety & Security Michael Draicchio presented the Safety & Security
Program Improvement Plan, thanking the Mayor and School Committee for the funding to continue
to make improvements to the security of our school buildings. On a daily basis, Mr. Draicchio
interacts with all school sites, coordinates on maintenance and technology issues, and has the good
fortune to collaborate with many community partners. The community partners include the Quincy
Police & Fire Departments, Brewster Ambulance, Norfolk County District Attorney and Sheriff’s
Offices, Transit Police, Department of Children & Family Services, and the Department of Youth
Services. The School Resource Officers, DARE Officers, and Traffic Supervisors are directly involved
with our students and families every day.
For the fire, bus evacuation, and lockdown drills, Quincy Public Schools has moved to a model of
unannounced visits. This allows for a more accurate assessment of preparedness and has been wellreceived both by the first responders and by the professional staff at the school sites and ensures
adherence to emergency procedures in place. Mr. Draicchio coordinates the participation of the
Quincy Police & Fire Departments and Brewster Ambulance, almost all fall drills are completed. An
additional benefit is for the first responder staff to become familiar with the different school layouts.
For school security, Quincy Public Schools is continuing to assess equipment needs and install
additional cameras or replace aging equipment as needed. The Safety & Security team are also
collaborating about traffic at school sites, recommending additional signage and traffic monitoring
and supervision as needs evolve. Professional development opportunities will be offered to the high
school Security staff on early release Tuesdays, including training and certification for CPR, First Aid,
and CPI. For the Sterling Middle School construction site, have been collaborating with the project
team on safety and traffic management.
Looking ahead, upgrading exterior door locks will continue, including coordinating with Beechwood
Knoll on the new door installation. Della Chiesa has been completely re-keyed now that the former
Ward 4 room has become integrated into the building as classroom spaces. Mr. Draicchio is working
with City IT on installing dedicated internet connections for the access control boxes at each school.
The Security department continues to issue staff IDs for new staff members, name changes, and
replacing lost cards.
Mr. Bregoli asked about issuing Quincy Public School IDs for School Committee members and Mr.
Draicchio said this can be done. Mr. Bregoli asked if CPR monitoring is done by Safety & Security, but
it is done by the Athletic Directors in collaboration with Health Services Coordinator Rita Bailey.
Mrs. Lebo noted that there are new regulations around AEDs that may require portable AEDs to be
on field trips. This will be followed up as Policy and procedures may need to be updated. Mrs. Lebo
thanked Mr. Draicchio for working with the Quincy Police Department on the discussion about
limiting parking on Puritan Road. Mrs. Lebo asked about the emergency protocols, is there always a
staff debriefing to inform all staff of an event. Mr. Draicchio said that principals do meet with staff
and copy them on any communications. Mrs. Lebo said that in this era of social media it would be
helpful to ensure that staff have the same information as students.
Mrs. Hubley asked about how much advance notice do principals have for their drills to ensure that
students with anxiety are prepared. Mr. Draicchio said that students needing assistance are part of
the school’s safety plan. Mrs. Hubley asked about the flashing lights that need repair, Mr. Draicchio
said several have been repaired and he will follow up.
Mr. Bregoli asked if the Athletic trainers have portable AEDs to bring to outside games. Mr. Draicchio
will follow up on this issue.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to accept the Safety & Security Program Improvement Plan. Mrs. Hubley
seconded and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Public Buildings Director Walter MacDonald presented on the major summer projects completed at
all school sites. At Beechwood Knoll, two new concrete ADA accessible entrance ramps were
installed in the front and the back pathway from the parking lot was paved (new access point to be
added). In the gymnasium, a lift was added to make the stage accessible. In the old wing, all new
ADA accessible bubblers were installed, the student restrooms were modified and the teacher’s room
was remodeled with new cabinets, appliances, and countertops. The nurse’s room was completely
renovated, including an all-new bathroom; the principal’s office and main office were painted and
new carpeting installed. Installation of the windows at the school was delayed due to manufacturing
lead times. The windows for the new wing have arrived and will be installed on Tuesday afternoons,
evenings, weekends, and school vacations throughout the school year. The new roof installation is
completed and an infrared scan will be done on November 8 to verify that the building is weathertight. The design of the school with the pyramid skylights added to the complexity of the project.
Mr. MacDonald said it was a lot of work to get the school ready for the school opening, but
everything was completed due to the close collaboration with Principal O’Keefe, Mr. Kevin Segalla,
and Dr. DeCristofaro.
For the MSBA boiler projects, the projects at Atherton Hough, Beechwood Knoll, Merrymount, and
Wollaston are all at the punch list stage and all of the heating systems are up and running. In
addition to replacing antiquated boilers and hot water heaters, the boiler rooms have been
completely renovated with new walls, lighting, mechanical systems, painting. Mr. MacDonald will
share before and after photographs at the next Facilities & Security meeting. At Wollaston, the
restrooms near the gymnasium were completely renovated and the entrance ramp was upgraded to
be ADA compliant.
Other projects included the gymnasium upgrades at Wollaston (exposing the original wood ceiling,
painting the ductwork, and refinishing the gym floor). The Maintenance Department trades
completed carpentry projects at Beechwood Knoll (converting the Sawyer Center into three
classrooms, installing acoustical ceilings and custom-built bookcases) and Della Chiesa ECC
(converting the former Ward 4 space to 2 classrooms, installing cabinetry and sinks). At Atherton
Hough, cabinets were moved from one room to another and at Lincoln Hancock, the staff assisted
with the renovation of the Music room. At Montclair, the nurse’s bathroom was completely
renovated by Maintenance department staff, saving significant funds and finishing the work before
the start of school. At North Quincy High School, a space for Maintenance carpentry shop was
created. At multiple schools, ceiling and floor tiles were replaced, walls painted, and acoustical sound
panels installed at Squantum. For electrical work, light fixtures were upgraded in the Wollaston
gymnasium and the new classroom spaces at Beechwood and ECC. Wiring for a new computer lab at
Atlantic was completed. Plumbing upgrades were completed at Montclair in the basement rest
rooms. HVAC upgrades were completed at NQHS, Wollaston, and QHS. Maintenance also completed
moves for furniture and classroom materials between schools for transferring programs and staff
members.
North Quincy High School was accepted into the Accelerated Repair Program for replacing sections of
the roof in June 2017. The design process is underway, testing will be completed this weekend, and
the work will be completed in summer 2018.
Mr. MacDonald said the Sterling Middle School project is on schedule. Steel is due to be delivered to
the site by November 1, with the goal of enclosing the building envelope so that utility work can
continue through the winter weather. In preparation for the opening of school, a parking lot was
created on Roberts Street and a path and staircase built for staff to walk to the school. Lighting will
be installed in the parking lot before the end of Daylight Savings Time in November. Some
adjustments have been made within the building to mitigate the disruption, including air conditioning
for rooms facing the construction site and installing donated equipment to create a room to conduct
physical education space.
Preventative maintenance was performed on emergency generators at multiple sites over the
summer. At Quincy High School, a new computer lab was donated by Granite Telecommunications,
Public Buildings coordinated with the outside contractors.
For the water system replacement, steady progress is being made. All school buildings are in
complete compliance with state and federal levels. Since each building has fixtures that are below
the standard level, it is clear that the issues are related to local fixtures or pipes and not the water
service to the building. Affected sinks that are for health care or food preparation have been
repaired, other sinks will be addressed. To date, 10 of 15 elementary bubblers are replaced, 1 middle
school bubbler is still to be replaced; and multiple bubblers at North Quincy High School are still to be
replaced. All schools with bubbler issues were provided with bottled water dispensers.
Mr. Bregoli said this is an incredible amount of work that was completed this summer. Mr.
MacDonald said the hardworking staff was supplemented with outside contractors where it is costefficient. Mr. MacDonald said we have reliable subcontractors who can assist us and it is a team
effort to coordinate all of these projects. Mr. Bregoli asked about the clock replacement at Central,
these were defective units that were under warranty and were replaced.
Mr. Bregoli asked about a timeline for the new projects that were authorized under the most recent
Capital Improvement Plan appropriation. Mr. MacDonald said that engineering needs to be procured
for some of these projects, so that will be the first step. Mr. MacDonald said long-lead items for
HVAC equipment will be ordered as a priority, given the competition from hurricane-damaged areas
in the south.
Mrs. Lebo thanked Mr. MacDonald for the incredible work that has been done for our school
buildings.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to adjourn the Facilities and Security Subcommittee Meeting at 6:20 pm.
Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.