2026-09-28 - School Building Committee 13

00:08Thank you.

00:10Um Sean, no I did I'm not aware that you

00:13missed anyone.

00:15>> Uh so we have 12 members present.

00:17>> Excellent.

00:19Um good evening. I hope all staying dry.

00:23I'm glad this is virtual. Um, our first

00:28item on our agenda tonight, uh, or I

00:30guess I should say our second is a vote

00:33to approve the meeting minutes of the

00:35August 3rd, 2026 SBC meeting.

00:42I'd be happy to entertain a motion to

00:44vote or we could discuss.

00:46>> Move to approve as presented.

00:48>> Thank you, Rich.

00:49>> Second.

00:50>> Thank you, Courtney.

00:53Uh is there any discussion on the topic?

00:59Okay. Uh I move to well I will

01:04move forward to call the vote. Uh Sean,

01:06could you help me with the roll call for

01:07that?

01:09>> Yes. Um so all for the meeting minutes

01:12from 8:17. Emily

01:14>> from 83.

01:16>> Is it 83?

01:20The date wrong. I might get another one.

01:24At least that's

01:25>> August 17th.

01:27>> Is it August 17th?

01:29>> Yeah.

01:30>> Then we have it incorrect on the agenda.

01:34>> Unless it's both, but I don't think so.

01:38>> The agenda I'm looking at says August

01:3917th.

01:40>> Okay. My apologies that I'm looking at.

01:43>> I could have an old one.

01:45>> Yeah. No, no, no. That's fine. Um, so

01:47I'm Let's go through this procedurally

01:48because I don't want to get dinged by

01:50open open meeting. Um, may I entertain a

01:54motion to uh take to approve the meeting

01:58minutes from August 17th, 2026.

02:07>> Rich. Yes.

02:08>> Yes.

02:10>> Seconded.

02:11>> Excellent. Thank you so much. Okay. Any

02:13discussion on

02:15>> the 17th? August 17th.

02:18>> Okay. Hearing none. Sean, could you help

02:20me uh with roll call for the vote for

02:22the August 17th meeting minutes?

02:26>> Yes. Uh Emily,

02:28>> yes.

02:29>> Rich R.

02:30>> Yes.

02:32>> Ruen.

02:36>> Yes.

02:37>> Uh Cy Gossson.

02:40>> Yes.

02:42>> Ed.

02:44>> Yes. Chris,

02:46>> yes.

02:48>> Eric,

02:50>> yes.

02:52>> Kathleen,

02:53>> yes.

02:54>> Jesse,

02:55>> yes.

02:56>> Siraj,

02:58>> yes.

02:59>> Courtney K,

03:01>> yes.

03:03>> And Rich H.

03:04>> Yes.

03:06>> All right. All four.

03:09>> Okay. Um,

03:11motion passes. and I have the correct uh

03:14agenda up. So, thank you for bearing

03:16with me. It is certainly a Monday. Uh

03:18the next item is to review schematic

03:20design schedule and work plan. And Lisa,

03:23I'm going to pass it off to you.

03:25>> Great. Thank you.

03:38All right.

03:40Good afternoon, everyone. It's been a

03:42little while since we've got together.

03:45So, um, yeah. So, the full agenda

03:47tonight is to, uh, review the schematic

03:49design work plan. We're going to, uh,

03:51provide a community engagement update,

03:53present the res, uh, the reduced, uh,

03:56parking garage option, as well as, um,

03:59look at the existing, uh, tree review

04:02uh, that we had with the, uh, with the

04:04city. And then we'll do a quick design

04:07update.

04:10Uh, So the past year was focused on

04:13feasibility study. Uh the final stages

04:15of this phase uh includes the meeting

04:18with the MSBA facilities assessment

04:21committee which is on Wednesday and then

04:23the approval of the PSR at the MSBA's

04:27October board meeting. Um however we've

04:30uh started to work on the next phase uh

04:32which is schematic design. This is about

04:35a six-month process um that will be

04:37completed in February of 2027.

04:43So, uh this is our schematic design work

04:45plan. Um and I'm just going to start at

04:48the top uh with the um community

04:50meetings. So, we've already attended a

04:52few community events over the past

04:54month. Uh at this time, we're scheduled

04:56to be at the upcoming uh neighborhood uh

04:59ward meetings. Um, and then we're uh

05:02planning a community forum sometime in

05:04early November. Um, and then we'll um

05:08more events I'm sure will follow as we

05:10progress through uh schematic design.

05:14We're going to uh continue our uh

05:16monthly meetings with the school

05:18building committee. Uh my next slide

05:20will um propose a few dates and agenda

05:23uh for these meetings and then we can um

05:26vote on that or discuss that at the end.

05:29see if it all works. Um we are working

05:33with the city's mobility team to develop

05:35solutions for circulation and parking.

05:38We have um completed the transportation

05:41scoping memo um which has been reviewed

05:44by the mobility team. Uh and our uh

05:47traffic consultants will uh begin

05:50existing condition uh traffic studies

05:52within the upcoming week. Sorry. Uh once

05:56the data is collected, then we'll work

05:59with the city's mobility team to develop

06:01a comprehensive impact study. Uh this

06:04will include uh pedestrians, bicycles,

06:07and uh transit. Um the study will uh be

06:11formally submitted to the mobility team

06:15in um February of next year.

06:19So uh a long process um but a lot of a

06:22lot of things to look at and consider.

06:26All right. Um, so during uh schematic

06:28design, we'll be meeting with the

06:30teachers to discuss educational needs

06:32inside the classrooms and also in other

06:35uh specialty spaces throughout the

06:37schools. So those are going to kick off

06:38soon. Uh when we met with the planning

06:41board, they asked us to hold some

06:43neighborhood uh meetings with the

06:45abutters to keep the neighbors uh

06:48informed throughout the process. Uh so

06:50we'll be setting those up.

06:53Um and uh we'll also um have more

06:55meetings with the city's uh first

06:57responders uh during this phase of work.

07:01So um down here at design, the uh

07:05schematic design focuses on the design

07:07of the exterior interior of the

07:08building. Uh our consultant team will be

07:11heavily engaged in developing drawings

07:13and system narratives for the robust

07:16schematic design pricing set that will

07:19be submitted to the MSBA.

07:22We'll begin with um we'll begin Teddy

07:24modeling next month to confirm the

07:26compliance with the energy code and

07:28develop um or begin to develop the most

07:31energy efficient approach for the new

07:33school. Um then we'll be looking at uh

07:36exterior and interior materials so we

07:38can develop our outline specifications

07:40for pricing.

07:43We'll need to continue our work on

07:45environmental and uh geotechnical site

07:48assessment to confirm the scope of the

07:52um subsurface conditions. Whoops. Sorry,

07:54I advanced too much too quickly. Um

08:00all right, lost my place. Um so, uh and

08:03then uh after that the um all this

08:06information is going to be packaged

08:08together. The schematic design pricing

08:10set will be uh submitted to the cost

08:12estimator in January on January 12th.

08:15The estimates are due on February 5th.

08:18Uh we'll reconcile the estimates around

08:21February 10th and then present the

08:23budget to the um to the SBC and the

08:25school committee on February 15th uh for

08:29a vote to submit the project to the

08:31MSBA. Uh so the submission to the MSBA

08:34would be due on February 24th uh for

08:38review and approval at that April board

08:40meeting. So that pretty much maps out

08:43the um the next few months. Any

08:47questions before I move on?

08:56>> You do you do have a hand up.

08:58>> Yep. Do you want to start with I think I

08:59see Courtney's hand up.

09:02Yeah, just question on um the note about

09:05Teddy modeling. Did that mean you've

09:07determined you're going the Teddy

09:09approach and not passive house?

09:11>> Um well, it's our first start to see if

09:14the if we're able to um make the um meet

09:20the requirements of the Teddy model. Uh

09:22but it's not 100% determined that we

09:25that we won't take a passive house

09:26approach. Um Dan, I don't know if you

09:29want to add to that. [snorts]

09:31I think that that's true. Um,

09:35>> is that something we'll be disc I'm

09:37curious to um have an opportunity to

09:40hear more about that as you're getting

09:42getting there? I have seen studies local

09:45studies done that passive house approach

09:47gets to better outcomes even if they're

09:50both acceptable models um to use for

09:55high performing building modeling. So

09:59you might have different D I see you

10:02might have a different take on it. Um

10:04and I could share with you what I

10:06learned last year.

10:07>> Yeah, I mean I think a conversation

10:08about it would be good. So we'll get

10:11we'll we'll note that we will um start

10:15that modeling and we'll have a

10:16discussion about what we find before we

10:20make any final decisions.

10:24>> By doing the Teddy modeling, are you

10:25then

10:27is it a

10:29Are you including it by not doing the

10:32wolfy model for passive [clears throat]

10:33house also?

10:34>> No. No.

10:36>> Okay.

10:39>> Okay.

10:40>> Very good.

10:41>> Lisa, you may have already said it and I

10:43I didn't hear it. I apologize. You are

10:45on the FAS agenda for this week.

10:48>> Yep. Uh it's um on Wednesday the 30th

10:51and I think it's like a 9:25 meeting. Do

10:53I have that right, Sean?

10:55>> 9:30. They just want us to log in at

10:579:25 for technical issues, but the

11:00meeting starts at 9:30.

11:02>> Thank you.

11:03>> If anyone has any issues registering for

11:05the meeting through the MSBA, um if you

11:07if you're registering, you you will have

11:09already known that you are to be at the

11:11meeting, uh just let me know and I can

11:12help you through that process. You

11:13should have got an email from Claire

11:14last week.

11:19>> Very good. Um any other questions that

11:20I'm not able to see or

11:23No. Great. I will move on to the next

11:26thing. Um so

11:30these are the suggested meeting dates uh

11:32for the upcoming uh school committee

11:35meetings. Um the agendas uh just

11:38starting with uh November uh we'll

11:41review preliminary facade design and

11:44exterior some uh preliminary exterior

11:46materials. Uh we'll look at the

11:48development of the site design. Then in

11:51December, we're going to review the user

11:53meetings uh user meeting input. Um we'll

11:57have some updated uh floor plans and

11:59some inter uh preliminary interior

12:02materials to look at. Uh we'll also um

12:05look at building systems and uh present

12:08uh some interior images of the

12:10classrooms and breakout spaces. In

12:13January, we'll share schematic design

12:16progress and give an update on uh the

12:19mobility study. Um then present images

12:21of the uh lobby and cafeteria at this

12:24meeting. In February, we'll be um while

12:28we're waiting for cost estimates, um

12:31we'll be uh doing a review of the

12:33schematic design pricing set um that was

12:36submitted for pricing. We'll look at the

12:38room data sheets um that we put together

12:40based on the user meetings

12:43um and then we'll uh present some images

12:46of the uh media center and the teacher

12:49spaces and and then that last meeting

12:52hopefully on February 15th which I think

12:55actually might be the start of school

12:57vacation week. So that's why wanted to

13:00kind of address this early. Um, but we

13:02were hoping to be able to get uh a vote

13:04in so that we can um get everything

13:07ready for that February 24th uh

13:10submission to um the MSBA.

13:15So, I don't know if we want to come back

13:17to this at the end or if we want to stop

13:19and discuss now.

13:27So I think just to underscore this a bit

13:30um it's important for all of us to um or

13:33at least eight of us uh have February

13:3615th on our calendar um because we do

13:38not want to miss the deadline for the uh

13:40February 24th submission. So it is

13:43important for us and there there will be

13:45some obviously more meetings leading up

13:47to this but I would say of um the

13:50committee it's really critical that um

13:53you prioritize the February 1st and

13:56February 15th um meetings. Looking at my

14:00calendar, February 15th is President's

14:02Day

14:06>> would a Tuesday meeting.

14:08>> My calendar might be wrong, but

14:11>> uh and your concern is that uh the city

14:13is closed that day.

14:15>> Yeah.

14:16>> Yes. I work for a private institution

14:18and we don't get that as a [laughter]

14:20holiday. So I'm trying to figure out how

14:22to politely say that.

14:24>> I've got I've got openings, Emily. I've

14:26got openings. [laughter]

14:28It's also uh school vacation week, is it

14:30not?

14:31>> Yeah, that's what I was that's what I

14:32was concerned about it as well. Um I

14:35think what we working backwards from

14:37that February 24th date, I think we want

14:39to give ourselves a little time to

14:42collect signatures and and things like

14:44that. Um, so if there's a a good date

14:48sometime um maybe between the February

14:5211th or 12th and

14:55I don't know, maybe um February 20th

14:59um that we can that we can find. That

15:01would be great.

15:03>> Well, actually, can we can we pause for

15:04a moment? Lisa, if you could take the

15:06screen down. Let me just pull pull the

15:08crowd.

15:09>> Um you know, in terms of sort of like

15:12thumbs up, thumbs down. Um, how do you

15:14feel about having a meeting during

15:16school vacation week? Would you like us

15:17to avoid that and go a little earlier?

15:20>> Yeah, I'm seeing some nodded nodding

15:22heads. So, I want to respect people's

15:24vacation because it's few and far

15:27between. So, um, would we feel

15:30comfortable with a date that's perhaps

15:32off schedule, but let's say uh the

15:37Thursday the 11th

15:39um, to avoid the Friday. with that that

15:42that feels better. Okay. So, Lisa, I

15:45think let's let's plan for the 11th.

15:48>> Okay.

15:48>> So, we still make the target. Um it's

15:50just going to be a tighter turnaround

15:52with you for cost estimate and getting

15:54pulling stuff together, but I think that

15:57>> that's going to go a long way to make

15:59sure that we respect people's vacation

16:01time and and of course um Rich's

16:03observation of the holiday. Um,

16:05>> and for some of us, January 4th is also

16:08school vacation week still. I think it's

16:11professional development day. So, if

16:12that one could be moved up day to the

16:15fifth, that would be

16:17>> Yeah, sounds good. Superintendent

16:18Carmola

16:20>> um through the chair. So, February 1st

16:22is we have a meeting on the first. Is

16:24that is that what I heard?

16:26>> That's proposed. Yes.

16:28>> Because we we have a leadership meeting

16:30there uh that is usually from 3:30 to

16:325:30. And so Chris, so uh both

16:35principles will be tied up with me on

16:37that meeting. So um

16:40I just need to know um if that's the

16:43only day for everyone, then I have to

16:44make some arrangements.

16:47>> I think we can be flexible. Um unless

16:49I'm hearing other people um would

16:52Tuesday work better

16:57that Tuesday, February 2nd.

17:01>> That works best. Yeah.

17:03Okay. Um, others,

17:06would that work if Tuesday? Yep. Thumbs

17:07up. Okay, great.

17:10>> And then the fourth was also an issue

17:12right on in January.

17:14>> January 4th. Yes.

17:21Correct. There is no school that day.

17:25I think pull the crowd. Would do we want

17:28to move the January 4th as well?

17:32Seeing one one head nod. Yeah. Okay. Is

17:36less enthusiastic than February, but

17:38still important. Um, can we move to uh I

17:41know this is going to be a busy day for

17:42everyone. Uh, Tuesday, January 5th.

17:47Looks good. Okay.

17:51See, we we did this.

17:52>> Nice.

17:53>> Okay.

17:55>> Teamwork. All right.

17:57>> Excellent. Good. Let me steal the screen

17:58again.

17:59>> Yes. Thank you so much, Lisa, for

18:01pausing for that.

18:03>> There we go. All right. I even plugged

18:06it in while we were talking, so

18:08>> amazing.

18:09>> So, all good. Great. All right. So,

18:11that's great. Um,

18:14all right. Let's move on to our

18:16community engagement update. So, since

18:18our last meeting, we've had a we've

18:21attended a few community events. Uh,

18:24starting with the back to school fair. I

18:25think that was in late August. Um then

18:28we went to civic day and then last week

18:30we attended the ward 4 uh neighborhood

18:33week meeting. Um this week we have uh

18:37the ward 5 neighborhood meeting and then

18:39that's followed by uh ward three and

18:42ward six. Uh I believe that's later in

18:45the month. Um and then we are trying to

18:48set up a um community forum in November

18:52uh to give a project update as well as

18:56um sustain um have our sustainability

18:59and lead uh meeting on that time as

19:01well. So um so that meeting uh we're

19:04still working on a a date for that with

19:06the uh communications team. So hopefully

19:09we'll have that soon.

19:13All right. So, at uh back to school

19:15night event um where there was actually

19:18a number of community members that

19:20stopped by to get an update on the new

19:22school project. Um some people provided

19:25uh comments. Um many of the things were

19:28things that we've heard in in the past

19:30um such as um storage for community

19:34programs, um community access to the um

19:38uh to the outside play spaces and um and

19:42any shared space in the building, um

19:44seating at the multi-purpose fields. Um,

19:48a few of the new items included um

19:50discussions about uh possible splash

19:52pad, organic paths, and um designated

19:56storage for community bikes and toys. Um

20:00so we can keep looking at that um as we

20:03develop the design. We also had the kids

20:05vote again on their um their favorite

20:07play structures and the once again the

20:10tall climbing structure uh received the

20:12most votes. So that's kind of been a

20:14consistent consistent win amongst the

20:17Somerville uh kids. So they like to

20:20climb. Um civic day was also uh a

20:25successful but um very windy event. As

20:28you can see, we have bricks holding down

20:30the boards. Um even had to tape the

20:33boards to the uh to the tables. Um but

20:36uh but it was nice. A lot of people uh

20:38were at this event as well. um few of

20:41which stopped by to um you know to hear

20:43about the progress on the on the new

20:46school project. So, and then we've been

20:49tracking all of the feedback that um

20:52that we've been getting at each one of

20:53these events. Um so, it's uh nice to see

20:57there's a lot of consistencies and some

21:00few new thoughts along the way as well.

21:04All right. Um, anyone have any questions

21:07about the community events before I move

21:09on?

21:12Great. All right. Um, so we were asked

21:16to look at a reduced uh parking garage

21:19option um a few months ago. So um so

21:23here's uh here's a study that we did. Um

21:27we uh we took a look at how we could

21:29reduce the parking garage down to 50

21:32spaces. Um, so the smaller GR garage

21:36below the building um actually would

21:38still incur a lot of the a lot of the

21:41costs that we still had on the larger

21:43garage will end up with the additional

21:45stop for the elevator uh the two

21:48stairways um areaways to uh ventilate

21:52the garage.

21:53Um, in order to get the 50 spaces uh

21:57below the building, we still had a a lot

22:00of areas along uh Sycamore Street where

22:03we have very deep um excavations uh

22:06right along the property line um of of

22:10St. An's Parish as well uh which is

22:12right here. Um this is this structure is

22:15right in the property line. So, uh,

22:17we'll have to keep an eye on that and,

22:20um, what's going to be required to, um,

22:23underpin or or put in sheeting and stuff

22:26along that property line. The the deeper

22:28we go, the the tougher it is. Um, we'll

22:31also incur in incur some cost with um,

22:34pumping uh, the underlab drainage um,

22:36especially at this lower end of the site

22:38when we uh, pitch the the garage down

22:42um, uh, well below grade here. Um, so,

22:46uh, based on the review from our cost

22:48estimators, they gave us a number of

22:50$320 a square foot. So, um, this area

22:54here is, uh, 200, um, 26, uh,,000 square

22:59ft, uh, which was given us a budget of,

23:02um, 8.3 million. Um, there's still some

23:06unknowns with the, uh, the ledge removal

23:09that we're, um, going to continue to

23:12study. Um and then um obviously some

23:16other incurred cost with um with

23:18foundations and waterproofing. So we

23:21took that number and we just divided it

23:23by 50 spaces just to kind of understand

23:25the cost of what each parking space

23:27would would cost the city. Um which came

23:30up to $166,400

23:34per space. So, um,

23:40any questions on the diagram?

23:44Oh, I see, uh, Jesse has his hand up.

23:47>> Yeah, thank you, Lisa. Um, really just a

23:49question to Rich. I know I saw you at

23:51the Ward 4 event and we discussed um I

23:55know we've approached the the um arch

23:57dascese before about selling the

23:59building. I know that that doesn't sound

24:01like it's very likely, but I was curious

24:04um if if you've if you guys have talked

24:07to Rich at all about even just some sort

24:10of easement or or some sort of uh a

24:13piece of the property

24:16uh on that edge where it really comes up

24:19close to their property line. Um

24:22especially where you had mentioned that

24:24you know we're in need of a spot for a

24:26um

24:28um what do you call it? Junction box or

24:30whatever uh

24:32>> transformer.

24:33>> Transformer. Yeah. Yeah. Transformer. Um

24:35is that something that Rich can bring

24:37back to the administration to try to

24:39approach them? And would that money have

24:42to come out like would it have to be

24:44rolled rolled into this or would there

24:46could there be a

24:48like a purchase

24:50separate from this the budget for this

24:52or does it have to be included if it's

24:54going towards the project?

24:58>> Uh

25:00so uh I haven't reached out to um the

25:03arch dasis about this. I can. Um, and in

25:07terms of the the funding and financing,

25:09you know, there's any number of ways we

25:11could do it. Um, so once we understand a

25:15their willingness and b their price, um,

25:18we can then talk about how to finance

25:20it. But I I can reach out to the parks

25:22dasis and see what smaller options we

25:25have available to us.

25:26>> Yeah. I mean, I just wanted to advocate

25:28for that in in the case that the the

25:32design team wanted, you know, thought

25:34that that would be um something that we

25:38really should do um to make this, you

25:40know, project work a little better. So,

25:42I just wanted to put that out there.

25:43Thank you.

25:49>> Any other comments,

25:53>> Lisa? As we move towards pricing, um

25:55what is your intended expectation for

26:00like will this be an alternate that gets

26:02priced?

26:05>> Um

26:06from a structural

26:09design uh standpoint uh and schematic.

26:13Um I don't know, Dan, do you think we

26:15could do this continue this on as an

26:17alternate? I'm just trying to think of

26:19what challenges I might not be

26:22thinking of at this point.

26:23>> Well, it sounds like you've already

26:24priced it in order to get the per

26:25parking space cost to it. I'm just

26:29curious.

26:30>> No, and I'm wondering like as we

26:32progress through schematic design, um I

26:34mean I I

26:35>> I've got I've got to say I think this is

26:37one that has sort of systemic impacts

26:40throughout the building. it it's the

26:44site, it's the structure, it's there's a

26:46whole lot of things. So, um you know, if

26:50if we need to do more to come to a

26:54decision, we should do that. Um

26:59you know, we should have we should have

27:01a discussion about that. Um but you know

27:05I is this enough to understand like the

27:08order of magnitude

27:10costs um to then dive a little bit more

27:14into all of the implications feasibility

27:16and and the like um or does this say oh

27:19yeah this is easy let's do this or boy

27:22this is you know not how we want to be

27:24spending our our money. I think that the

27:27rough order of magnitude is

27:30you know it's rough but but it

27:34[clears throat] might be enough to

27:38understand if this is like in the

27:39ballpark or out of the ballpark and we

27:41do need to kind of uh you know provide

27:45any more information that's needed etc.

27:48I think sooner rather than later because

27:51[snorts] the this is one that the longer

27:53we

27:54carry it on um the less time we have for

27:59other things that really are important

28:01to try to understand and resolve so that

28:05that estimate for SD is as accurate as

28:08we can make it.

28:10>> Yes, I I think that makes sense. I'm

28:12going to um have comments and then I'll

28:14follow up with my own personal comment

28:16afterwards. Um Rich H Highleberg and

28:18then uh Eric, go ahead.

28:22>> Um thanks. Um I completely agree with

28:25Dan that um the first thing you do when

28:27you build a building is you dig a hole

28:29and we really need to know how big it

28:30needs to get dug, right? Because it has

28:32all sorts of implications for everything

28:33else. Um, so in order for us to make

28:36this decision, is there a number for the

28:38larger garage per total and per space

28:41and other impacts it would have on the

28:43structure so that we can just look at

28:44that and kind of figure out what we're

28:47what we're picking here?

28:50>> Yeah, I mean we we did have those um

28:53those earlier estimates uh as um at

28:57alternates when we did the uh the PSR uh

29:00pricing. Do

29:00>> you know do you know those numbers off

29:02the top of your head? I don't remember

29:03them.

29:05Um, I do not. Um, Sean, do you happen to

29:10have it in your

29:11>> I'm I'm looking for it now. I'll pull

29:13them open as we as we talk here. Um,

29:17>> I mean, there's there's obviously

29:18numbers that would speak uh to that

29:21would make it not really a decision. And

29:22then there are numbers where it would be

29:24a decision, right? Um,

29:27[clears throat]

29:29okay. Um, did someone else had their

29:32hand up while we're

29:34>> Eric, did you want to say something?

29:36>> No, I'm also next.

29:37>> Okay. Um,

29:40just just two things. Um, one of the

29:43best Well, how do I say this? Um,

29:46there's a graph that that I've used in

29:48presentations often. you know, when we

29:50think about costs, one of the best times

29:53to start um making changes or exploring

29:56ideas or also making critical decisions

30:00to to Dan's point, um you can have the

30:03the greatest cost impact at this moment

30:06in schematic design, right? As we move

30:08forward with the design, as we go into

30:10design, development and construction

30:13documents, the order of magnitude for

30:15saving money um becomes uh more

30:18challenging, right? because systems have

30:20been decided and decisions have been

30:21made. So I think as we're move for

30:23moving forward with this, I want to make

30:26sure that we're um that we're quite

30:29clear um and have these difficult

30:32discussions uh regarding these decisions

30:35now rather than um putting them off or

30:38saying that we can do them uh in the

30:40future. So, I think that's, you know,

30:42I'm not saying that we need to make this

30:43decision now, but I think this is

30:45something that I want to challenge the

30:47committee to to really lean in on and

30:50say what we need to say uh so we can get

30:53to where we are. Um, and this is a much

30:55finer point, which is I don't love the

30:58entrance of Medford Street, and I don't

31:02love that sort of 90° turn that you have

31:06to take twice um to come in or out. Um,

31:10so I don't, you know, that's just from a

31:12design standpoint. Um, I totally

31:14understand why it's there. Um, but but I

31:17think, you know, it's it's just a it's

31:20challenging and I'll just leave it at

31:22that.

31:26>> Any other comments? Go ahead.

31:28>> Just to say we don't we don't dispute

31:30that. Um, we're trying to get under

31:32under the building from as low a point

31:35as as we can. So, uh, we agree with you,

31:38Emily. Yeah, it will definitely have to

31:41be a 5 mph uh drive ramp with um

31:45probably a patience thing of one car in,

31:47one car out. Um but assuming that

31:51everyone's coming in at the at the same

31:53time and leaving at the same time. Uh

31:55the other thing that um is challenging

31:57as well with the um with the

31:59kindergarten uh prek play space down

32:03here is um that connection over to the

32:07uh um to the side of the site where um

32:10some of the um

32:13spaces we have egressing out to this

32:15little side area uh we get gets

32:18interrupted by by the ramp.

32:21Um, so

32:25I don't know if we can get it lower

32:26enough, but

32:27>> and I think while while we were talking,

32:29uh, Rich put uh the price for the

32:32previous parking in at what 15.5. Rich,

32:38is that what you put in?

32:40>> Sean,

32:41>> Sean,

32:41>> I put at 15.5. Yes.

32:43>> And I just conf uh confused the two of

32:46you, so I apologize for that. But yes,

32:47the number was 15.5.

32:49I'm just looking to see if I can find

32:51how many parking lot counts.

32:53>> Come on.

32:54>> I think we were close to 100. Um,

32:57>> okay,

32:57>> Sean. Yeah, like 98 or 97 or something.

33:01>> And that may not have full

33:06um

33:07refinement in terms of the cost of

33:10spaces to the south versus the north.

33:13which is to say that the north the gray

33:16area has uh excavation requirements that

33:20are

33:21greater than those at the south.

33:24>> Yeah, we might hit more ledge um based

33:27on some of the based on some of the

33:29information we have now. We might hit

33:31more ledge up here um

33:35from the from the borings, but obviously

33:37we could still

33:39>> the the full lot would be more expensive

33:41than we initially had it at because we

33:43have more information about the site at

33:44this point.

33:45>> There's there's uh greater risk there in

33:48terms of the site excavation cost. Yes.

33:52>> Great.

33:54Um anything else about parking garage

33:56option, Lisa, or do you want to move on

33:57to the sidewalk? Uh if there's um no

34:01additional questions, I can move on to

34:03our sitewalk.

34:06Okay, great.

34:10All right, my slides advancing. There we

34:12go. Okay, so um early in the month, we

34:16walked the site with the tree amigos. Uh

34:18we talked about what trees uh we would

34:22be able to save during construction. We

34:25identified the uh I identified the four

34:28large trees on Medford Street uh to be

34:32protected uh during construction. Um and

34:35we'll put a plan together uh when the

34:38project um goes out to bid uh to ensure

34:42protection and um as well as reviews by

34:46uh arborists uh probably like monthly

34:48reviews so that we can make sure those

34:50trees uh stay healthy um through the

34:53construction phase. We also identified

34:57uh four other trees at the corner of

34:59Evergreen and Thirsten Street um that

35:02would be saved uh protected and saved

35:04during construction. Um and then there

35:07were two more trees uh further up on

35:09Evergreen on the north side of the site

35:12um that the um the city would like for

35:15us to try to save. Um, I think we have

35:17to do a little bit more work to to

35:19understand um these trees because a lot

35:23of our deep excavation um occurs uh

35:27right along this property line for the

35:29for the cafeteria and for the um uh

35:32rooftop play space. So, um, so we'll

35:35look at it a little a little further,

35:37um, to see what can be done, but, um,

35:39we're not 100% confident that we can we

35:43can save these two, uh, trees, um,

35:45during construction.

35:47However, um, new trees will be planted.

35:51Um, our, uh, landscape architect will be

35:53developing a planting plan, um, in which

35:56we're going to share, uh, with the, uh,

35:58the tree amigos. Um I think we said we'd

36:01submit it at the end of October for them

36:03to review and comment on. I know um uh

36:07caliber size of the trees as well as uh

36:10which trees have better canopies and and

36:12things like that. They like variety as

36:14well uh will be an important part of the

36:16review. So um so trying to keep them

36:19involved uh throughout the process so

36:21that um we can uh uh meet all the

36:25requirements and expectations that the

36:29um that the city's looking for.

36:31>> Lisa, have you had any initial

36:33conversations with urban forestry?

36:35>> Yes, that's that would be the um that's

36:38the tree amigos, right? Rich right? They

36:40are twothirds of the tree amigos.

36:42>> Two3s of Okay.

36:43>> Okay. I wasn't sure if Tree Amigos was

36:46the consultant that you were using or

36:48[laughter] if it was a it was a familiar

36:50name for urban forestry.

36:53>> It's it's the combination of urban

36:55forestry and uh the arborist who sits in

36:58DPW. So they they are the tree team

37:04affectionately known as the tree amigos.

37:06>> Thank you for clarifying. Somerville

37:09just got cooler. Okay.

37:11>> As though that were possible. I was told

37:14everybody knew them by that name. So, um

37:17>> I do not. I know them as [laughter]

37:18urban forestry

37:19>> and I believe I believe they

37:21>> not cool.

37:24>> I believe they told me all three of them

37:25are actually arborist as well. So, um

37:28but uh yeah. So, great. Um any questions

37:31about our assessment?

37:36Great.

37:39All right. I'm gonna hand it over to Bob

37:42to give a uh a brief update on the

37:45plans.

37:47>> Sure. Thanks, Lisa. Um, not a lot has

37:50changed. Um, these plans are arranged a

37:53little bit different than what you're

37:54used to. It's a very difficult geometry

37:56to to kind of um, you know, increase the

38:00size of, but uh, the lowest level is on

38:02the far right. Um, and that's our prek

38:06kindergarten. that pretty much remains

38:07the same surrounded by green space. Um

38:11the hillside going up sycamore as well

38:13as on the church property um does uh

38:16rapidly increase. So some of what you

38:19have on the site right now with um uh I

38:23don't want to call them areaways, but um

38:26you know kind of daylight pockets uh to

38:29to make sure we there are windows and

38:32and some daylight getting to those rooms

38:34is something that's going to continue.

38:35although we're studying making it

38:37significantly wider. Um in the middle

38:42plan level one um it's pretty much the

38:46same. So this is where the rooftop over

38:49the calf and kitchen is green space. Um

38:53the gymnasium and the calf um have this

38:55uh we'll call it level one but basically

38:58you can access the building from the uh

39:01multi-purpose field side. That hasn't

39:03changed. um that can be a decision on

39:07whether that's an arrival point or if

39:08it's just um reserved for coming and

39:12going outside from the calf and gym and

39:14maybe on special events. So that that's

39:16something that can be managed. The um

39:19here we also have uh shared spaces in

39:21the middle, music, theater, health,

39:24classrooms, everything you see in green,

39:26those haven't really changed. The purple

39:28rooms are special education and we've

39:32deliberately dispersed them, but on

39:34occasion you'll see two in a row, which

39:36I'm guessing when we have our FAS

39:38meeting, the dees will will prompt us to

39:41try to try to spread those out and not

39:43have two next to each other. Um, but we

39:45are also trying to stick with the

39:47geometry of having uh two classrooms

39:50with shared uh pull out or small group

39:53space between. So there are increments

39:55of the program that we're working with

39:57here um that make that a challenge. So

40:00on the far left, this is now the main

40:04floor level. Um the corner of um

40:08Sycamore and Evergreen really is the

40:09high point of the site and that's the

40:11the entry level here. Um if you come in

40:14the main entry, you can look down and

40:16visually connect to the cafeteria and

40:18the gymnasium. Um and that's intended to

40:21have really good outdoor views and

40:22connections. So it'll feel like a a nice

40:25arrival. And you know, the plan here is

40:28to make it very understandable. When you

40:30walk in this main entry door, you can

40:31see down to community spaces. You can

40:33see in the other direction down the

40:36academic corridor. So relatively simple.

40:40Um we've talked about it before, but

40:41when we get into the academic

40:43neighborhoods, there's a little bit of a

40:44spllay to the plan. Um and that's to

40:47create a little bit more space. We plan

40:49on using that. There'll be many design

40:50studies that determine how do we create

40:53um flexible use space there but maybe

40:56also visually connect between floors

40:58because we want the grade clusters of um

41:02prek through three to feel a bit

41:04connected um and that they share kind of

41:06a zone within the school as well as the

41:09um four to six and then and then the 7

41:11to 8. Um, the one thing that's changed

41:14in the plan is on the south wing, you

41:17wouldn't know what's changed, but where

41:19you see the grade one or grade two

41:21classrooms, we actually shuffled the

41:23rooms around a little bit. We moved a

41:25specialed room to the opposite side of

41:28the corridor, and we were able to

41:30shorten the wing slightly uh while still

41:34having this generous play area. It saved

41:36about 3,000 square ft. So, that's

41:38something we're always looking to do to

41:40try to tighten up the plan where we can

41:42make sure it still meets all the

41:45educational objectives. But, um, that's

41:47really the only change to the plan. We

41:49can go up one more level. And

41:51>> actually, um, Bob, before we move on, I

41:53just want to point out where you've got

41:55the future edition where you were able

41:57to pull back. That's a remnant of the

41:59MSBA because they always want to know

42:03like you to think ahead to the next

42:05moment. If you did have to do kind of a

42:08a late game edition or future edition,

42:12where would that go? Um, I'm assuming

42:14that's not what you're proposing, but

42:16you do have to show that for MSBA

42:18because it's one of their fun facts that

42:20they make you do.

42:21>> Yeah, I'm actually really glad you that

42:23was on my mental list to describe. No.

42:27And no, but I totally forgot to. So, um,

42:29we're not proposing a future edition.

42:31The MSBA requires a 10% expansion

42:34potential. Um, and so, we have here, I

42:39forget the exact number, 47 or so

42:40classrooms. So, um, this would represent

42:43five classrooms that that would stack on

42:45top of each other. It just means that

42:46we're going to design the structure, um,

42:48at that lowest kindergarten level to be

42:51able to translate up in the future and

42:53allow this addition to happen. um your

42:56spaces like music, theater, they

42:58actually all have scheduling capacity.

43:00So, we don't need an additional room

43:01there. We know your cafeteria is

43:04designed for um three lunch seings when

43:07the reality is it's likely to be four or

43:10planned to be four. So, that gives you

43:11capacity and the gym also has scheduling

43:14capacity. So, you know, basically we're

43:16planning for the long longterm future,

43:18not knowing um how the school may need

43:22to evolve and

43:25>> keep going.

43:26>> Oh, it could be expansion not for

43:28enrollment but just for special needs

43:31programs or maybe more innovation um

43:33offerings. You It could be for a number

43:35of reasons.

43:36>> Yeah, because there has been uh examples

43:37in the past where um a school district

43:40uh builds a building and then

43:41immediately they realize that they need

43:42more. Um, so the MSBA just wants to make

43:45sure that communities are responsible

43:48with taxpayer money. Uh, Courtney, you

43:50have a comment.

43:51>> I just had a question. What the where it

43:54says rooftop in the middle

43:57>> um will that be usable rooftop space or

44:01just condensers and

44:03>> Yeah. Our plan is you won't know that

44:05it's rooftop. It'll feel like a

44:08combination of uh playground, green

44:11space, um basketball court. It will feel

44:14very much what it feels like now. Um

44:18we've we've buried the cap.

44:20>> This is future that's future expansion

44:22or that is

44:23>> No, I think she's talking about the one

44:25on the south above um the [snorts]

44:27outdoor uh classroom space that we have

44:29off of uh the first grade.

44:32>> Oh, yeah.

44:33>> Yeah. So the kindergarten level is um a

44:36larger footprint than when we get into

44:38the first, second grade and every floor

44:40above. So that gives us a usable rooftop

44:43that we think faces south as well. So

44:46it's a great opportunity for could be a

44:48continuation of academic outdoor

44:51learning and gardens. it would not be

44:53readily uh accessible to the community,

44:56not easily accessible to the community,

44:58but we um have so much of the other

45:01green space. Uh the majority of all

45:03green space and outdoor space is

45:04accessible to the community. This would

45:06be the maybe one exception. Maybe

45:08there's

45:09>> But it is actually in the plan, not the

45:11future expansion.

45:12>> It is.

45:13>> Yeah. So, Courtney, when if you look at

45:15the um the level one versus lower level,

45:18do you see the alignment of the um

45:20stairwells?

45:22>> Right. You can sort of see how the

45:23kindergarten one has some pink

45:25underneath it, right? So, that footprint

45:27extends out and obviously you have to

45:30put a roof on that. So, um it it it

45:32affords some interesting rooftop space

45:35closer to Medford than was previously

45:38done at the school.

45:39>> Yeah, that's great. I hadn't seen that

45:41detail before that there'd be that

45:43little green space. Wasn't sure. It

45:45sounds like it'll be used as a

45:48amenity, not just condensers.

45:51That's nice.

45:52>> What's funny is I had dotted lines that

45:54allowed you to visually see how this

45:56stacks across the plan and the MSBA made

45:59me take them off. I don't know why.

46:01>> Yeah, graphic clarity. Give me a break.

46:04Okay.

46:06MSBA wise. Awesome. Thank you.

46:08>> Where's the wetland delineation?

46:11>> The wetland delineation.

46:13>> Was that a joke?

46:15[laughter]

46:16>> I hope so. No. Yes, it is.

46:19wrong project.

46:21>> Um, the floors above, uh, I'm calling

46:24them level three, four, and five, but I

46:25think we've actually renumbered them so

46:27it starts from one. So, this would be

46:29four, five, and six. But, um, again,

46:32nothing's really changed here. We've

46:34just tightened up that south wing that

46:36has third grade, 7th grade, and eighth

46:37grade. Um, and, you know, not

46:41compromising some of the design

46:42objectives. So when you're in that

46:43shared corridor space or you're looking

46:45down the corridor, you're going to see

46:47outside, you're going to see treetops.

46:49Um, so very much visually connected to

46:51the landscape.

46:54>> Okay, any questions?

46:59>> I'm curious any comments from the

47:01educators. Um, I know that you're in

47:03user group meetings right now. I think

47:06things that you're looking for or any

47:08reactions to these designs.

47:20>> Okay, I think we can keep moving.

47:23>> Yeah, we're just in the phases of the

47:25the focus group. So, uh we we haven't

47:29brought that discussion to

47:31>> uh the teams yet. So um I think very

47:33soon we'll be engaging with faculty.

47:36>> Amazing. I look forward to to hearing

47:38some of the reactions because I think

47:39anytime you bring it in front of a

47:42larger group, you always discover new

47:44things.

47:47>> Very good.

47:51>> So um we brought just some images of

47:54what we've also been working on in the

47:56background. We actually are developing

47:58two different scaled models. So you can

48:00see these are a few uh visual

48:04perspectives of uh a model we have right

48:07now where the building is only masked

48:08out. It doesn't show any articulation of

48:11materials or windows or anything. Um and

48:15it shows the surrounding neighborhood,

48:17the church um to help give a sense of

48:20the size and scale and mass. Um

48:24and then uh and so this is something

48:27that we'll continue to develop. This is

48:29done with 3D printers. The cork is uh

48:32the base is made out of cork. Um so as

48:34the design develops, we'll be swapping

48:36out pieces. Um and kind of playing with

48:40how we can make it, you know, better fit

48:42nest into the neighborhood. Um but it

48:45gives everybody a sense of of the scale.

48:49>> I'm always waiting for neighbors to ask

48:51if they can have a copy of their house

48:53as as things go by. But um this is these

48:56are always great conversation topics

48:58especially to those who are um you know

49:00in different different levels of

49:02understanding architecture.

49:05Okay.

49:07>> And then uh okay, we have a larger scale

49:10model we're also working on as well to

49:12get a little bit more detail and we've

49:14had design uh sharets within our office

49:17even in pulling in design talent from

49:19across the nation to talk about ways to

49:23um really make that lower kindergarten

49:24pre-K level. Fantastic.

49:29>> Okay.

49:31Um, and we we also want to just give you

49:34an update uh regarding mass, not timer,

49:37but timber. Uh,

49:38>> oops.

49:39>> Oops. That's all right.

49:42>> Uh, keeps it light. Um,

49:44>> this is why education matters. Okay,

49:46keep moving. [laughter]

49:49>> Uh, anyhow, uh, you always see something

49:52when it goes up on the screen, I think.

49:54Anyhow, um, we we're looking at at mass

49:57timber. we know we need to give you, you

50:00know, a fullthroated explanation of the

50:03the pros and the cons. Uh what will the

50:06impacts of implementing it be? Um and so

50:09we're working with that. Uh most

50:11recently

50:13uh we've met with some select folks from

50:16uh the city uh together with some uh

50:20construction manager friends as we're uh

50:22collecting some data um about recent uh

50:26local regional projects

50:30uh in terms of uh cost but also in terms

50:34of sort of overall risks and benefits.

50:37Um and those conversations will um will

50:41be continuing with uh more people being

50:44pulled in and pulled and discussed so

50:47that we have a full uh sort of idea

50:50about everything from first cost, carbon

50:54impacts, uh operation and maintenance

50:56impacts if if any. Um, and so we'll be

51:00able to come back to you then soon. Um,

51:04so that we can update you on uh the

51:08breadth of the information we pulled

51:09together and and come to a decision

51:12about is this a good choice for this

51:16project for you.

51:22>> Any questions?

51:27Okay. Okay.

51:30All right. That brings us to next steps.

51:33Um, so we actually already completed our

51:37next step of setting our meeting dates

51:39for schematic design. Uh, and um, we

51:43talked a little bit about getting

51:44direction on the parking garage. So, uh,

51:47looks like um, that'll kind of be

51:50discussed over the next week or two, I'm

51:53assuming. Um and then our um MSBA FAS uh

51:58meetings upcoming as well as the um

52:01October uh board meeting approval which

52:04isn't that far away either. I believe

52:06that is that the 28th? Do I have that

52:08date right Sean? I think it's October

52:1028th

52:12>> of the MSBA.

52:13>> Yeah, for the board meeting.

52:16>> I'll look it up. I don't know off the

52:17top of my head. That sounds right.

52:19>> Something like that.

52:20>> Yeah. So, um, and then, um, that's all

52:26we have for today.

52:30>> October 28th. Yep.

52:40>> Any additional questions?

52:46>> I don't see any on the comments. I don't

52:49see any hands up. Okay. Um, with that,

52:53uh, I will open it up for public

52:55comment. I know that we have two

52:56attendees. If you are in, actually, it's

52:59one. Um, Ed, you're in there twice. Um,

53:02if you are interested in speaking, let

53:04us know. Uh, indicating by, um, see, I

53:10think you can raise hand or chat.

53:21Okay. Uh, not hearing any public

53:23comment. Uh, I move to Well, I don't

53:28move. Uh, I look forward to a motion to

53:32adjourn the meeting.

53:37>> Motion to adjurnn.

53:38>> Thank you, Courtney. Second.

53:40>> Thank you, Rich. Uh, Sean Burke, can you

53:43help me out with the roll call on this

53:44one? Sure. Um, Emily,

53:48>> yes.

53:50>> Rich Ra,

53:51>> yes.

53:52>> Reven,

53:54>> yes.

53:55>> Courtney Roslin,

53:56>> yes.

53:58>> Ed,

53:59>> yes.

54:01>> Chris,

54:05>> yes.

54:06>> Kathleen,

54:07>> yes.

54:09>> Jesse,

54:10>> yes.

54:11>> Sash,

54:12>> yes.

54:14Gordon Cole.

54:15>> Yes.

54:16>> And Rich H.

54:24>> Is Rich still on?

54:26>> He's on, but he's muted.

54:32>> Uh, do we have enough for a quorum vote?

54:35>> You do. Yes.

54:36>> Okay, great. Oh, Rich, you're back. Do

54:39you vote to adjourn the meeting?

54:41>> Sorry about that. that I was picking up

54:42John at Brown. Um yes, [laughter]

54:465:30.

54:47>> All right.

54:48>> Amazing.

54:50>> Amazing. Um the motion passes. We are

54:53adjourned. I will see you all on

54:55November 2nd. Thank you so much.

54:58>> Thanks all. Take care.

55:00>> Thank you.