Um I will start by reading the um meeting notice and calling the roll. So um welcome everyone. It's April 27th 6:30 p.m. 32. Um, please be advised that there will be a full committee meeting
of the Medford comprehensive high school building committee in person at Medford High School Library at 489 Winther Street and via remoteation. The meeting can be viewed live on Medford Public Schools YouTube channel through Medford Community Media, on your local cable channel, which is Comcast
9822 and Verizon 4345447. Um, the meeting is being recorded. Um you can call or log in on the Zoom um using the following meeting ID. It's 9178502 uh 5669. Um members of the public wishing to
speak on any agenda item are encouraged to review the rules for in meeting participation listed below. Members of the public are also encouraged to submit their comments in writing and many did um in advance of the meeting to aid in the committee and its separation. Um, you can continue to send emails to MHS
project at menver.k12. us and we'll forward them to members of the building committee, although they will likely not be able to read them here um tonight. So, we will get to you after. I'm going to call the role. Uh, Jenny Graham here, Mayor Longo Kern
>> present. >> Dr. Guzy >> present. >> Marta Braw here. >> Joan Bowen here. >> Ken Lord >> here. Libby Brown here. >> Marissa Desmond >> here. >> Uh, Maria Dorsy >> here. Brian Hillyard
>> here. >> Emily Lazaro here. Paul Malone >> here. >> Nicole Morell >> here. >> Pott >> here. >> Bob Dickinson, >> he's online. >> Fiona Maxwell. >> Fiona should be joining on Zoom shortly.
Um Chad Bon >> present. >> Dr. Kim Talbot >> here. >> Will Pimpelli >> here. >> Lori Hodgen >> here. Mclaclin is absent. Paul Rouso. >> Bill Santos.
>> Hi Bill. >> And Lisa Miller >> here. >> There's one right here. Phil, there's the one chair over here. Over. No problem. Um, okay. So, uh, 15 present, zero absent. Uh, we have a
quorum. Um, we have a big agenda tonight, so we're going to try to move as effectively as we possibly can. Um, the first item is, um, approval of the April 15th building committee meeting minutes.
Is there a motion to approve? >> Motion to approve by Emily. Is there a second? Second by Maria. We'll call the role. Jenny Graham, yes. Mayor Longo Kern, >> yes. >> Dr. Galooi, >> yes. >> Marta Brawl,
>> yes. >> Joan Bowen, >> yes. >> Ken Lord, >> yes. >> Libby Brown, >> yes. >> Marissa Desmond, >> yes. >> Maria Dorsy, >> yes. >> Brian Hillyard, >> yes. >> Emily Lazaro, >> yes. >> Paul Malone, >> yes. >> Nicole Morell, >> yes. >> Aaron Lady, yes. >> Luke Fryner,
>> yes. >> 15 in the affirmative, zero negative. Minutes are approved. Um, okay. So, we're going to turn it over to SMMA um in just a second. So, as you all know, we uh in our end of March
meeting went from 29 possible design alternatives um to six. And since then, the team has been sort of taking the feedback that we all provided that evening, as well as over the course of um any number of public meetings and
emails that we've been receiving and comment cards that have come in in all kinds of different ways. And they are going to show us tonight sort of where these designs um have evolved to. So, I'm going to turn it over to them, but I just wanted to say in advance, thank you
to the team. Like, these this next iteration of these designs, I think, is really responsive to everything we've been hearing. And I'm just like, you totally changed my mind about a million things when I got a chance to preview these. So, I'm expecting everyone else to sort of feel the same way. So, um,
please take it away and we'll hold questions until the end. How does that sound? >> That would be great. >> Yeah. And I think what what Jenny just ran through in terms of the the how or sort of the why more so behind why these
design options came to be um and what was informing them is really up on screen. So I won't repeat those first two bullet items. Um but really that feedback that we've been getting from all different sources has been tremendously helpful um in terms of tuning what we're doing. We're not doing this in a vacuum or a void. Um we're
developing things based on the feedback that we're getting from everyone. So, please continue uh to give us feedback and I'm talking both to the larger community as well as to the building committee. Um this is what's going to make sure that um the school design, whichever of the six that we end up with, um is really tuned and tailored to
Medford specifically. Um and then as we've been taking all that input in, uh we've also been able to now get to this next level of detail and study that you'll see a little bit of as we go through the slides. Um, so from our perspective, it's very rewarding to now have the opportunity to focus in on that
additional level of detail. You'll start to see some different dimensions of the different studies um that we've been able to now dive into. Um the other thing that we wanted to mention before we jump into everything is that we don't yet have updated costs for all of the six different um estimates or the six
different options that we've developing right now. Um that is because a variety of reasons. One is that we're going to be um likely voting to reduce um some amount of square footage this evening. The building committee will be doing that. Um and that'll have a direct impact on cost. So we don't have the ability to sort of forecast what that is
until we get there. Um we're also still waiting on the MSBA feedback from the PDP submission and so there will be some impact on cost as we go through um and see those comments as well and provide a response to the MSBA. Um and then the cost estimators have not gotten these updated drawings that we're going to be
looking at this evening. Um, this is really a precursor to this information going to the cost estimators. Wanted to make sure that the building committee and the larger community has the ability to see what will be going to the cost estimators this evening. Um, so that will be happening on Wednesday of this week. Um, and then we're expecting to
get those estimates back, the updated estimates on the 20th of May. Um, so that's sort of the timetable that's laid out in front of us. Um, and without too much further ado, I'm gonna turn it over to Michael Hardock to run through the
update. All right. Thank you. So, we're going to run through six of the options that I A1 is the code upgrade. B1 is trying to keep most of the existing
school and add to it. And the others are addition renovations. Those are the C's. And then the D's are completely new buildings. So we're going to take a little bit of time with each with each one. And we'll start with the code upgrade. This is probably the simplest
one to understand. This is the existing school we're in bringing bringing every aspect of code. Um this is estimated duration about 54 months. has additional modular classrooms that enables all the intensive really
reconstruction of these spaces pretty much down to structure uh and then rebuilt that includes all new facade and things like that. So, it's like we've said in the past, it's not a it's not a it's not a light touch. Uh we're really coming in and building a brand new
school kind of, you know, within within the confines of of this existing structure. This includes renovation of all fields as well and renovation of the existing pool. >> Can you speak up please?
>> Sure. >> And uh this one of course has a very intensive phasing uh to it. Uh this is over the course of about about three phases. There's an enabling phase uh of site prep that will go into play. Phase
one will I kind of highlight in blue there that's tackling the uh gymnasium um kitchen and the and the C-wing. So that'll happen first along with you see this little M that that designates our
modular classroom. So that's 56 modular classrooms uh located on the site to swing those students out of out of the renovation area. Moving to phase two that is tackling the right now is the
CTE wing and phase three kind of pin uh moves clockwise around the plan working on the science uh and the auditorium and arts wing. All right, let's move into the the first
of these options. This is B1.2 and this one is really taking this existing school and adding vertically uh all the program needed to meet the the educational program. So, it's an additional two floors on top of this
building. This is the all the aspects that we saw during the PDP phase. And as we've been going through the the PSR phase, which you'll see in this slide here, we've been starting to bring these to life. So we're we're uh working with
the educational program. We're working with all the intricate adjacencies between those programming spaces. Uh we're thinking about daylight. We're thinking about the site is a big aspect. We're also thinking about how students and faculty
uh and the public access the school during the day, how it operates after hours. So all that all that kind of goes into the thinking of of this scheme and really really all the schemes. So you'll see that the upper floors have um kind of orient themselves a little bit
differently than the previous plan. That's for daylight and to take account all those adjacencies that we're we're looking at. This again is uh featuring or featuring may not be the right word 56 modular classrooms uh
on site. Then we'll go into the the site plan a little bit later. This has a two and a half story parking deck that's kind of slid under under one of the uh practice fields there.
So these are the series of plans you'll see throughout and I just wanted to maybe on this first one highlight some of the the colors. So the the purple is arts, the pink is CTE, the yellow is uh like
dining commons and circulation and the dark red is kind of this uh what we've been calling the other space. It's spaces like central office and early childhood and green that lime green is the media center. Anywhere where you see
this kind of hatch on the north end of the site that's indicative of um earth. So that's unexavated that's below grade. Uh we know the site is has a nice has a nice slope to it. and and all these do their do a really good job of trying to
navigate navigate navigate that that grade change all the way down from the access drive all the way to the back of the site. So on this this first one, I think a few of the key highlights are the front door would be located really on the the west
side just outside the library doors today. That'll kind of point pointer to these spaces and that'll lead um through through into the dining commons which is really about the heart of the school that that would be a skylit dining commons. You know, this is be on the
lowest level there. uh rounding out the first floor is really on the what is the front of the school now is kind of rebuilding the the auditorium and arts wing and then locating some of those more public facing CTE spaces like
culinary uh facing facing the south there. Uh moving up to the second floor CTE along the back bar kind of in the same position they are today. We know that has as the site slopes up, they all have ground level access back there. So those
are those little tiny arrows whereas the big blue arrows are kind of those uh more uh larger entries. Just moving up to the third floor. Third floor is the gym as it is today, just renovated. And you'll start to see some
of these light blue spaces. These are more of the academic spaces starting to to come into play. And it's not it's not it's not a kind of a wedding cake where it's CT on the ground floor and academic on the top floor. We're doing doing a pretty good job of uh inter
interspersing CTE with academics as we elevate through the building. And then in the middle here, we're kind of recrafting recrafting a courtyard that's allowing daylight to get into these into these more central spaces.
And then the fifth floor, more academics in this L-shaped car. So here you can see how how that program is starting to to unfold on the site. And we have Kate here uh from from agency who may say a few words about the
site design. >> Sure thing. I think the big picture here is that because the parking can be tucked into the parking deck which sits below your existing practice field um to the west of the school. Uh that opens the arrival coming up Steve Miller Drive to be a little bit more green, a little
bit more activated. um still allows um separate circulation for buses and cars for high school drop off and early childhood care drop off and circulation around the school um up to Edgerly Field. Um and then vertical circulation back down um through that uh parking
garage um to make a full loop around the school. And the the point here is just to note that that vertical circulation provides that valuable um way for cars to make a full loop. um emergency vehicles and service vehicles would still turn around
to the northwest of the school. Um and then there's that separate drop off opportunity for buses, high school, and early childhood care. Um and then we've been asked to think a little bit about what it would look like to eliminate the garage. And really that's the same parking that you have today out in front
of the school about 450 spots. Um and then one fewer field, uh two fewer fields, sorry, because you've also lost the ability to have a full field above the garage. Um so a little a little less fields um but surface parking at the front of the school than we experienced
it today would be the option. And then phasing of of this option. Again, it's three phases. Uh again, 56 modular classrooms. Uh working clockwise similar to the previous uh gymnasium and the C-wing, academic wing being
renovated, uh working our way through the CTE in phase two, and then tackling the the the science wing in phase three with a new build of the the auditorium. Like I'm going just add in here as well
in terms of the modulars. These first two options, the code upgrade and then this B1.2 option are still showing the 56 modular classrooms being needed. We did hear and listen to the all the feedback that we got regarding the modular classroom. So when we look at the next four options, we've been able to come up with phasing scenarios that
avoids the use of modular classrooms. Um but with those first two, there's just really no way to do that because we're dealing with the existing footprint primarily either building above it or just renovating itself. So there's no way of avoiding it there, but you will see options moving forward, more options
that have no modern classrooms involved. All right, let's move on to C2.2. So originally, this one was, if you remember, uh these kind of interwoven wings that were located on the western side of the site, taking over one of the
upper fields and trying trying our best to avoid the existing school footprint. Um and and by doing that um you can see here previously we said maybe 56 modulars but
as we worked through it uh we were able to reduce that to zero modular classrooms. So I think that's a a huge improvement for for this option but we've also started to kind of tidy up the you know the building was getting maybe a little little elongated. So
we've been trying, you know, with with this scheme and others that they'll always think about that how compact uh can we make the we make this very large building. Um, so you'll see that in a scheme and and trying to rationalize like all these spaces in between the
wings we're using for outdoor space either for CTE yards so that those those uses can spill out and there's always a really tight um kind of circulation that we're exploring. You know, you see all these active uses all the way around
this building. So every every edge is really really being utilized and we're working hard to avoid these pinch points that can happen. Okay. So again that that hatched area is uh
below grade and here here you see kind of a a theme for for many or a few of these options. That first floor is a very small floor and that's the early childhood uh center that has its own front door. So it's imagined that you
know that program is served there and then the rest of the site slopes up. So you actually drive around and enter on the second floor um as you're as you're rising up and take talk a little bit more about that when we get to site. But
you'll enter in the corner of the site to the right. Again, more of these public facing CTE uh programs and then you enter into a space that has a large stair that'll take you up to to the third floor. And the third floor kind of
being the think about that as maybe the start of the you know most of the high school program. This has the gymnasium, the auditorium right off of that kind of yellow dining commons, and then there's
CTE spaces in in pink that are occupying this. As you move up to the one more floor to the fourth floor, see those white boxes? Those are the double height CTE spaces. They require a little bit more floor to floor height. So those are just spaces that are double pipe as well
as the gymnasium and and the auditorium. That lime green volume is the media center. So it's got a really nice uh prominent view probably out to the the Boston skyline which we think would be pretty nice. Then working back on that
wing uh more academic programs and more CTE programs. All those all those spaces have uh accurate access as we as we wrap around the building and then the upper floors become uh more
or more academic spaces. That's the fifth and the sixth floor. So, as Michael said in this option, the site and the building are working hard together to step up the grade difference between when you arrive on site at Steve Miller Drive um and the height of Edly
Field, right? So, you can have those at grade connections for CTE that he just spoke about. So, as you arrive in this um scheme, you're coming in and you again have a much greener approach to the school. Um you have sort of plantings um and entrance to a below grade garage um which sits below that
track and field um stadium um above uh you can circulate around that to drop off um and kind of get up to that higher level to drop off at the school high school entrance and then to drop down again to u make the good connection for drop off for early childhood care. Um,
you can also circumn around the building again kind of uh going up um at an accessible grade um to provide service access um and ability to load into and out of the CTE programs that are at the the height of Edgerly. Um here you can
see that you have the track and field um with one field within it and then one preserved field up where Edge sits today. So two two total fields plus a track. Um and here just a note again that um you know there is the ability to um
circum navigate up to the highest levels here um for service and access um and a turnaround at that upper level for service vehicles um in order to provide um service and emergency vehicle access all the way to the back of the school. Um and then those dedicated dropoff
points for high school, for bus, and for early childhood care as well as the parking access um really close to the street. um for getting underneath the track. Um eliminating the garage in this case um really means that you lose um the
ability to have a track um and you can still preserve one field with surface parking closer to the entrance to the school. Um those those fields would be fields and parking would be stepping down in grade. So you'd see some terracing and have um some steps and seat walls to navigate to go up and up
and down there. Okay, basic for C2.2 is two phases. First phase really looks at building this new building, attaching it to the west side,
and then going back uh demolishing the school, then adding adding just a little bit of program on the front of the gymnasium so that we're not looking at, you know, when you're driving up to the school, not looking at big a big blank wall. We confronted that with with
program C3.4. So this as you remember featured these kind of arcing volumes that were sliding past the gymnasium. Um this one as well um originally projecting this 56 modular
classrooms and then working over the course of the last few weeks getting modulars down to zero. So, that's another benefit for for any of these projects that are um saving the gym, renovating the gym, the pool, and attaching on the on the west side. Um,
this one has really been, I think, developing uh nicely. We've gotten rid of some of those, you know, broad curves and kind of rained those in a little bit and kind of gave it a little bit more breathing room um the program um to
allow daylight and access um down the middle of the building as it wraps around the gym. So, working from the first floor here again, early childhood on the left, public facing CTE spaces on the right,
then entering into the dining commons, um, which would have a a large stair that would start to draw people and students up through the building, which has always been the challenge with locating a building. here is how do we
use the building to not have students just climb up three flights of stairs to get to um their classroom on the first part of the day, but how do we make that more integrated into the experience? Um, so you'll see these the use of these
these stairways that that are a little bit more generous than a than an emergency era stair. That second floor features the gymnasium, features the auditorium, which are always uh highly used spaces even after
hours and a media center tucked in the back. Then more more CTE spaces around around the west side. All all with that great access. Third floor again, more CTE spaces on on the north side of the the building. All
with access and some of these double height spaces coming through. And then as we elevate to the the fourth and and fifth floors, more academic spaces. And what we try to do here is create a a loop of circulation. So there's no dead
end um to to this. We can kind of circulate all the way around and through the end of the gym and and back down around and these white spaces, this negative space in between the gymnasium volume and these these arcing wings,
these are actually uh courtyards that both allow daylight and might allow some some outdoor controlled learning in those spaces. then up to the the quick floor. >> So, no need to belabor the site scheme here. Again, it's doing the hard work of
stepping up um in multiple grade. Um and you have parking tucked below a track and field stadium um in the foreground of the site. Um the the road circumnavigates all the way around the building with a turnaround for emergency vehicles and service. Um and then uh two
separate drop offs for um early childhood care and high school. The next slide um again you can just see the way that road is kind of circumnavigating all the way around the back side of the building providing access to those at grade connections um up at the edge field level and the practice field
level. Um and then um yeah, big picture um you know, eliminating the garage really um does does a similar move as as the last scheme where you lose the ability to have a track and field. Um you can preserve one field and have surface parking um that terraces down to
that field. Um you're actually navigating even more grade in this scheme because of um some of the existing grades. Um and so there's there's a need to really step up quite a lot in that foreground landscape. and a sim similar phasing diagram. Building as much as we can um on the
back side of the site doing in phase two a little bit of demolition of the ceiling and the and that to enable this front half to be built. All right, let's look at D1.1. This is building on the front parking lot. And I
think some of the the comments we heard about this scheme was it's really compressed as you're entering the site. So that's one thing the team really worked hard on was to kind of loosen up that that front entry so you're not running right in right
into the building. Uh this one had 76 modular classrooms during PDP and we've worked really hard with the existing footprint to reduce that down to zero modular classrooms. It's like a a lot of
choreography on the site to make this happen to have a building that avoids uh kind of overlapping with the existing building. Um so it gets within 15 or 20 feet of the existing building during construction. Um but we've worked pretty
hard to kind of create a create a diagram for this building where the ground floor uh first floor here is predominantly CTE space gymnasium and auditorium. So there you kind of enter on the west side here into a a dining
commons. Then you have these four or five wings um that are radiating off of this the center part of the building. Moving up to the second floor, you see that's a little bit sparsely populated. Again, that's those double height CTE
spaces uh that that need a little bit more headroom. Here we're showing some central office and a second floor of the early childhood education center. So that that you know we kind of see that as maybe the the podium of of the building. And then as you move up to the
third floor, that's essentially the, you know, the where the academics start to the to come into play here. And there's maybe some some opportunities for some outdoor outdoor learning on some of these um some of these rooftops that
that face west. This one is really uh compact trying to be a compact school. um partly because we're building on a very very constrained site up there. Uh and I
think in the previous uh PDP we had a sixfloor school but we've been able to uh manage this down to five five floor school up front here. So, we think that's a a real real benefit, not to not
to exasperate the verticality, but to figure out clever ways to do it within within five floors. So, as Michael said, the team worked really hard to give this scheme kind of space and brace as you arrive up coming up Steve Miller Drive. Um, and so you
can see the way that the school has stepped back a little bit. that provides a little bit of room for drop off and the plaza uh for the high school um drop off area and bus drop off. Um and ECC drop off would be back behind the building where that um childc care
center is. Um you can navigate around the building by a by car and the parking is tucked um in a parking deck below the two fields that are closest to the school. Um here we have tucked a track and field stadium into where Edgerly is. it just barely fits um with a little bit
of retaining wall. Um but you can you can fit that program up there if it's desired. Um and then you can see all that grade gathered between Edger where Edgerly field and the new track field would be um stepping down um to the fields that over top the parking area.
Um here again you can see just that circulation which comes around the back side of the school. As Michael said, there's just not a lot of space here between where the grade starts to fall off at the edge of your existing parking lot and then also where the fells are of dropping in and dropping water into the site um on the east side. Um so the
school is really occupying that that little space there. Um and the road is um navigating between that um to provide access to all those spaces at grade. Uh this uh scheme does have the advantage of a fully connected um
circular route for emergency vehicles. So there's no turnaround required. There's no challenging grade to navigate. Um and that full route can be circumnavigated. Um and then still has the separated drop off for the several different programs on site. Um
eliminating the garage just makes surface parking quite visible in that area behind the school. Um but you'd still be able to preserve one field there. Um so you lose one of your fields um over to surface park >> and phasing a three-phase process. So
build as much as you can the parking lot on day one demolish awing uh science wing swing all those kids into the new building. So you'd occupy
the new building and parts of the old building uh for a time. You'd build phase two and then you would uh remove the rest of the building. And we show this little pool building uh kind of where the number three is. So that would
be uh in the third third phase. And then finally we have D2.1. And this was a look to take a more a linear approach, a main street kind of approach to the the school planning and
have wings that that sprung off that with yards in between them and courtyards. Uh this again is zero zero modular classrooms and a separate separate pool building which you see
there the blue square. So, as this one has evolved, um, you know, it's starting to dance a little bit with the site, the constraints, trying to open up some of these wings for for better daylight views. And so, they're they're a lot
more functional. As we move up through the building, kind of looks familiar to a previous scheme, but on the very first floor, the ground floor, um the entry to the early childhood center. And moving up to the
the first floor, you'll see the freestanding pool building out in the foreground. And then the the front door to the right or these public facing CTE spaces like culinary and u the remainder
of the early childhood program and central office on the first floor. Moving up to the second floor, this is when we start to get into the heart. a lot of these CT spaces around the north side of the site, all with really great
access, all with many points and and yards for for working and pulling projects out in site. This also features the auditorium and gymnasium. So, that's a common theme that you'll see is trying to get those big public spaces um
especially on this one to kind of be near near the entry and near the ground floor so those can operate after hours. Um, third floor features again that light green is that media center or the view of the skyline beyond and around
the back with some of those double height CTV spaces and working up to the the fourth and fifth floors. Uh, more academics bars that are are nicely placed for for really good daylight and views.
and then up to the sixth floor. So, this one does a a pretty good job of, you know, taking what is essentially, you count that little floor um on the ground floor, it's a seven story, seven stories to get all the way up to the left, but it does a pretty good job, as you
can see here, of terracing up. So, it's kind of matching matching the slope of the site. So, you're you're kind of approaching a school that has a a really good civic presence. It's not going to be tremendously overwhelming with a sevenstory wall in front of you. It's
going to be a lot more nicely stilled. >> Yep. So, this one shares quite a bit of similarity to the sea schemes where you're arriving to a site that is immediately more green um and is sort of terracing off with parking below two different fields um that step up to help you navigate um some of that great
elevation change as you get up towards the school. Um the road would um circumn around those fields um provide access to the swimming pool and sort of like rec center amenity um associated there. Um and then provide access um via drop off
lanes to both the high school um and the early childhood uh care center. Um the road continues around the backside providing access to all those atgrade highlevel CTE programs around the back of the school. Um, and in this case,
because the school is moving away from the practice field, there is the opportunity um to more easily connect back down to grade with a road. So, again, service and emergency vehicles wouldn't necessarily have to do a turnaround here. Um, they could navigate that grade um and come back down um
around the west side of the school. Um so, a little bit more flexibility there. Um you can see the way that the grade has to step up at the front of the school. The drop off is a little lower than the entry. Um and there's some opportunity to provide outdoor classroom space in that. Um and just a last note
that eliminating the garage in the base scheme um does um eliminate one of those fields. Um and again you have the terracing with some surface parking and then uh some you know ability to sort of stadium sit um in raid looking out over a field.
>> The phase phasing is pretty straightforward. Uh here we're not touching the current school. We're building everything um all at once uh behind the school and then phase two would be would be the the pool and the
site work. So we made it through. Um again this is a little cheat sheet of of the six options. >> Thank you. Uh, are there questions from the committee?
>> Just what what do you want from us now? >> Because they're going to keep study eliminating anything like maybe give feedback about what you guys look at next in the next month and a half basically, right? >> Yeah. I mean to I think that's a great question. Um we do have a huge agenda
tonight. So my suggestion if everyone is like willing to nod their head in agreement like we can send out another input form where you can provide some of that feedback. Um for the members of the community who may want to provide feedback, you can use that same email address. Um, and we have a community
forum coming up on the 11th where we'll like blow these pictures up and like like the first community the second community forum where people can sort of like move around and interact with. Um, I think some of the like there are people who are like distinctly interested in like traffic mitigation
and parking and there's really great information in here which we covered pretty quickly but we'll there'll be opportunity to do all of that at the upcoming community forum. So, um, yeah, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any question about how they how the team
arrived at the designs that you just saw in this like in my mind it's version two, but I'm sure that's it's probably version 10,000, but version two that this team has. So, >> yeah. >> Are there any other questions? >> Guess I would also just point out the
fact that these will all be available um on the website afterwards. There's a lot of information here. We understand that it's a lot to digest in the 30 minutes. Even if we had an hour to go through, it's still a lot of information. So, would encourage everyone to pull it down, review it, and sort of come up with the questions and then submit them.
It's it's probably a a more reasonable, rational way of digesting and responding. >> I I also just want to say thank you for hearing everybody so clearly about both the pool, the modulars, and like the placement of the building on the
site. Like the other thing that I saw when I looked at this for the first time was that um the things that people liked about designs that did not come forward were really obvious and evident in some of the like version two work that was done by the team. Um and I think the
site circulation and some of the like site options are a little bit easier to digest with six than there than with 29 obviously. But thank you for like mapping those routes out so people the people who are interested in site circulation and traffic mitigation and those kinds of things sort of have
something to to dig into and and think about. So um I think it's like a really wonderful evolution of what we started with. So thank you for that. And maybe just one other last reminder. These are not a stopping point. These are not finished conditions or designs. We have
ongoing meetings. We're going to be meeting again with first responders this coming Wednesday to get their feedback on these which they haven't seen as well. So all that is still coming. This is still an an evolution as a process. This is not sort of a stopping point for us where we are now. It's really just a a frozen moment in time that we can do
our cost estimating again, make sure that we're calibrating what that number is and then let everyone make those decisions moving forward. >> Okay. If there are no questions, we will um plow ahead. So um item number four on
the um on the agenda offers some resolutions for we'll say written parody. Um so the first one um item A is offered by myself and Dr. Dooy. Just by a little bit of framing, um what we were
trying to do in this resolution was write down clearly what we want to see in the next round of cost estimating so that when the team brings these designs and whatever the spaces to the cost estimators, they're clear about what they're bringing back to us in the
middle of May. So, there were a handful of things that um we felt like were like really specifically needing to be called out. So, I'll just read them and then I'm happy to answer any questions that folks have. But at the end of this resolution, if there are if there's
discussion, if there's amendments, um, and then ultimately like a vote to move this forward, that way the team can sort of start to operationalize this when they are preparing their package to go to the estimators. Um, so be it resolved that the next round of costing cost estimating will provide cost estimate
breakdowns as follows. Um for parking in the base estimate it will include surface grade parking and note the number of allowable spaces and note the net increase or decrease in playing fields um spaces made available under such a design. Alternate pricing will be
provided for a parking garage with associated soft costs and contingencies and note the increase in playing field spaces uh made available under such a design. and option C, alternate pricing will be provided for field over parking design with associated soft cost and
contingencies and note the increase in playing field spaces made available under such a design. Um, for the pool base estimates for B and C options will include code renovation of the existing pool. Alternate pricing will be provided for a revised pool design that preserves
the competition aspects of the current pool and adds pool features that promote learn to swim programming with associated soft cost and contingencies. Base estimate for D options will not include a pool under the MSBA guidelines with associated soft costs. Alternate pricing for D options will be provided
as follows. A pool replacement that replicates the current size and features of the current pool. Um, second one is a new pool design that preserves the competition aspects of the current pool and adds pool features that promote learn programming. Estimates clearly articulating whether the pool sizing is
comparable to the current, larger or smaller. Um and then three, the auditorium um is that the base estimate will include a 750 seat auditorium that is consistent with MSBA reimbursement guidelines. Additional estimates with associated soft cost of contingencies
will be provided that have a 1,000 seat, a 500 seat, and an 800 seat auditorium. Um item number four, preserve programs one through four and six and seven as initially outlined in the cost estimating um spreadsheet which is available on our website unless a vote
of this body removes a program by majority vote which could happen later in this meeting. And then five where possible costs associated with a zero modular approach and an accelerated approach that employs modulars. So I think one of the things that um happens when you produce modular is you add
phases and um that's that has its own cost. So I just want us to clearly be able to see that. Um so as we put this list together we tried to pick off the things where there's like choices that we could choose to make as we go
forward. um and specifically to ask that um things like closing factor and soft cost and contingencies and all of those things be sort of grouped together so that if the public is looking at this doc these documents and they say I want to get rid of this line that when they
say I want to get rid of that line it's clear that the costs associated with that line are sort of all-encompassed and that that there's not dollars associated with that or complications sort of elsewhere. So, just to try to say really clearly based on what we know, what we think um will be helpful
from a cost estimating perspective for this committee to consider um as we go forward. Any questions about any of those items? >> Lisa, >> so is the program five, am I looking at it right, that community meeting space?
>> No, program five, I believe, is the auditorium. So because it was like up ahead up on top for the kind of separately I left it out of that cover and those program numbers are listed on the cost estimate um document that is on our website.
There question. Is there >> motion to approve? >> Motion to approve by Nicole. >> Seconded by Emily. There any questions before we move on >> through the chair? Could you put up um
on the screen what programs 1 through 4 and six and seven are so everybody including the people watching can better understand number four. >> Mayor you were going to ask for that. I unfortunately do not have it immediately
um at hand. Um maybe we can work amongst the team and um we can have somebody else just hop on the screen share in a little bit once they're able to get it up on the screen here if that's all right just as we move forward. >> Um I I can read them out if you give me just one second.
They're in the comparative cost analysis document that's on our website. Program one is the team health center space. Program two is Medford community media. Program three is the community partner rental spaces. Program four is the welcome center and central offices.
Program five is the community meeting space. Program six is the additional area for the 1000 seat auditorium which is 250 seats. And program seven is the early childhood center. So uh based on that do we want to amend
um I'll say the numbering on point four so uh programs one through four and six to seven with five omitted because five is being associated with the auditorium. >> You are correct. So that should say one through five and seven. Y
>> thank you for that. Okay. Um, for those who Nicole and Emily, do you accept that amendment? >> Yes. >> Okay. Any other questions? Okay, I will call the role. Jenny Graham. Yes. Mayor Lango Kern.
Yes. >> Dr. Galooi. >> Yes. >> Artic. >> Yes. >> Joan Bowen. >> Yes. >> Ken Lord. >> Yes. >> Libby Brown. >> Yes. >> Marissa Desmond. >> Yes. >> Maria Dorsy. >> Yes. >> Brian Hillyard. >> Yes. >> Emily Lazaro. >> Yes. >> Paul Malone.
>> Yes. >> Nicole Morurell. >> Yes. >> Aaron Olade. >> Yes. >> Luke Pryer. >> Um, I'm going to abstain. >> 14 in the affirmative, zero in the negative, zero absent, one abstension. Motion passes. Okay.
Um item B. Uh what I am hoping to do in item B is provide a an approach to the rest of the meeting so that um we can be focused on those things that have support across the committee um and that
we can clearly outline for the public how we would like to hear from them tonight. So be it resolved that the Medford comprehensive Heisen building committee will adopt the following procedure to manage the more than 200 space change proposals. One, public participation will occur before committee the committee begins
deliberation. Number two, the public may speak in accordance with the rules adopted by the committee at our 513 2024 meeting, which is that the public may will be limited to three minutes per individual and will be limited to those matters on the agenda. Speakers may only speak once on
each topic. Um the chair shall limit the comment to two minutes based on the number of individuals wishing to speak. The chair will announce the time limit before the public comment um period at every meeting. The public will also be encouraged to submit their comments in writing um by emailing them to the SBC
account which is Bedford MHS project at bedford.k12.n us. Emails received will be autoported to members of the SBC which has happened um over the course of the last couple of days. Once public participation is closed, comments will only be taken by members of from the members of the
committee. There are three categories of proposals. Each category will be reviewed and voted separately according to the fellow instructions. Category A. These are proposals by the educational leadership team put forward by Dr. Proposals in this category do not impede the educational plan and are the result
of typical expected dialogue between the project team and the educational leadership team. At this phase in the process, any member of the committee can make a resolution to approve one or multiple proposals by stating motion to approve items XYZ, whatever those numbers are. Um, if a motion has a
second, the committee will be permitted to ask clarifying questions and make statements. A roll call vote will then be called for item for category B. These are proposals by other members of the committee that do not impede the educational plan as outlined by the project team. The all members of the
committee were invited to make proposals. Motions and approval for approval and a second must be made by a voting member who did not submit the proposal or proposals. Resolution to approve one or multiple proposals can be made by stating motion to approve items
X, Y, and Z. If a motion has a second, the committee will be permitted to ask clarifying questions and make statements. A roll call vote uh will be called. Category C, proposals by other members of the committee that would impede the educational plan as um as
defined by the project team. All members of the committee who were invited to make proposals. However, the member comprehensive high school building committee does not have the authority to change the educational plan or put forward a building design that does not support the educational plan. Instead, members of the committee may
request that an item be referred to the school committee for review and consideration as the next round of educational plan updates are made. Motions for approval and a second must be made by a voting member who did not submit the proposals or proposal. A resolution to approve one or multiple
proposals can be made by stating motion to refer items XYZ to the school committee for consideration. If a motion has a second, the committee will be permitted to ask clarifi clarifying questions and make statements. A roll call vote will then be called. As a reminder, the member comprehensive high
school building committee adopted the beloved rules at our 513 meeting. Members may speak twice on any debatable motion for up to three minutes. Once voting begins, no voting member may speak other than to indicate how they are voting. So again, the goal is for us
to move through more than 200 space change proposals this evening first by hearing from the public. Um then we'll close public comment and then we will take each category one at a time. Um and uh under these under this proposal, we
also would be asking for somebody other than this submitter to make the proposal for consideration. Um which um for me as I put this forward just signal that there is support for the idea by more than just the individual who submitted.
Um and there's 200 options. So I think we have to have a way to sort of prioritize. Um any questions? Luke. >> Um, not a question. I'd just like to make a statement. >> Sure. >> So, um, >> is it about this motion?
>> It's about this motion. >> Great. >> Uh, so to members of the committee, uh, members of the community, >> um, I I want to speak now before we kind of take these up, um, to offer context
that many may not know. Um, so I'm here because I want to see a new high school built in Medford. Uh I was a co-author of the statement of interest that brought us into the MBA MSBA program
began that work in 2021. Uh we had reviewed prior attempts. Uh we understood why they failed. Um ultimately men that would prevail and we were admitted to the core program in three. Uh this SPC has been working since then. Um I'm speaking as a parent
of three children. Um I have one in primary school. uh one at the middle and uh my oldest uh attends this high school. I want them and all of our students uh to benefit uh from from a new high school that truly meets their
needs and this one doesn't. Um our our primary and middle schools are relatively uh comfortable and effective uh facilities. Um but the high school doesn't meet that standard. uh today uh tonight uh we'll probably
hear some strong views and some real disagreement. Um I think that's normal and healthy in a democratic community. Uh I I actually come from a formerly communist nation and so uh I I cherish the ability to honestly discuss things.
Um uh so so my hope is that we can express these views uh firmly but respectfully um avoid maybe some of the rhetoric or revision that we see at the national level. Uh we share a common goal um I think uh and that's doing what's best
for our students or city uh even if we differ on how to get there. Um our new school committee uh developed an educational plan that in my opinion uh departs uh from a nominal uh combined high school vocational model. Uh it
combines school functions with broader uh community services. Um which is great but uh that vision um also arrives with a very large facility and a very large price tag. and uh we're
now looking at a proposal that's approaching a billion dollars uh which is unusual by I'll say American standards. Um so I think it's reasonable and appropriate um for the community to scrutinize a project at this scale and
cost. Uh my feedback and motions on the space plan um have been presented on the agenda in a way that may sound negative, but I I think uh I would frame it differently. Um I think because of this process many more people uh have now
read the the detailed space summary um with its hundreds of proposed spaces 415. So I I think the the public awareness is positive outcome. Um and uh and just you
know over the past couple few weeks uh we were asked um to review proposed spaces. Um and uh encouraged or or guided to enter those responses in a digital format. So um I I approached
that task with the same uh precision and diligence that I approached uh the SOI task. And so you you'll see the cross referencing of of guidelines and uh the selected soi priorities. We picked five and seven um in my inputs. Uh and and
frankly where I felt that the spaces didn't align with one or the other, I recommended deletion or reduction uh to spur discussion. Um, you know, I I would like to align this project with uh the commitments
that brought us to the program, but I'm not trying to undermine a school. I want a school. Um, but I also want to maximize reimbursement and not unduly burdened um vulnerable uh
residents in our community on fixed incomes. Um, and you know, I I don't necessarily expect many of my motions to to pass. I I familiar with my track record, but um I think it's good to talk about things
and this is a way uh to compel that discussion. So, um I think you know the the school committee is kind of uh responsible uh for a proposal that is outside the norm
and extraordinarily expensive. Um and you know it deserves serious and transparent discussion both here and there. Um I think robust, honest, uh respectful dialogue now will will help us uh in 27 2027
and uh whatever the outcome is um I think meetings like this will uh ensure that um it's an informed vote. So um I yield the floor. Thank you.
>> Um any other questions? about what was proposed. There any um consideration as far as uh we're just taking we're just going all night long or is there like a cut off time of like Wednesday? Well, I'm just saying I I've been at seven hour 10 hour
city council say it would be to have this in front of the public at a certain point the public is notation what's going on here even if we're off. So that's just the question of opinion either way but >> yeah I mean I think we can definitely um commit to doing a time check around like
two hours from now and figure out like are we close are we not close we have to schedule another meeting do we just have to sort of push through and keep going um I do think it's important that we have meetings that are able to be like consumed both by the committee who has
to vote on them and the public. So, I think that's a reasonable thing to do is to check in and figure out like where we are and how far we are away. Um, I could see this moving very quickly and I could see it moving very slowly and I have absolutely no idea which of those
extremes we'll land on before. So, yeah, we can do that. >> Yeah, check me. Yeah, I think the last time we had a long meeting it just >> Yeah. >> Yeah. when it's going to happen, the window doesn't touch. >> I think the heart the the problem um with the with any sort of continuence of
this meeting is the spa the space change assumptions have to go to the estimators tomorrow. Is that right? Is it tomorrow? Wednesday. So what that means is anything that is not decided tonight will not get into the round of cost
estimating. it doesn't mean they can't still be considered and there'll be lots of opportunities for us to consider other changes going forward. So, um I I think there's plenty of ways we can do that. I just the the hard stuff that we do have tonight is that we cannot notice
another meeting um in order to get the information for the the cost estimators. And I think what we really want is for the cost estimators to have something to work from so that when we have our meetings in in May, we have that sort of full cadre of information where we have
to make like another round of important decisions. So I guess that would be my only caveat to continuing meeting but may not need that. >> Thank you. I'm sorry. Uh on that topic, um just you know
because we may go very long um we have like uh just pre-announced um restroom breaks. So we started at 6:30. Did we plan on a restroom break at 8:30? >> Sure. >> That sort of thing. And then one maybe at 10:30.
>> But yes. Yeah. I think that's fully reasonable. on resolution. >> We have not yet voted that we're going to adopt this procedure. So, if there is a motion, please do that. It >> before the role is called through the chair. May I ask a question? I know we
have another resolution um offered by myself, Chair Graham, and Dr. Galooi. And I just wanted to know when that was going to be taken. >> As soon as this one's done. >> Thank you. There motion.
So moved. Is there a second? Second >> by Dr. Gusy. >> I will call the role. Jenny Graham. Yes. Mayor Lindo Karn. >> Yes. >> Dr. Guzy. >> Yes. >> Marta Cabar. >> Yes. >> Joan Bowen. >> Yes. >> Ken Lord.
>> Yes. >> Libby Brown. >> Yes. >> Marissa Desmond. >> Yes. >> Maria Dorsy. >> Yes. >> Brian Hillyard. >> Yes. >> Emily Lazaro. Yes. Paul Malone. >> Yes. >> Nicole Morell. >> Yes. >> Aaron. >> Yes. >> Luke Fryner. >> Yes. >> 15 in the affirmative. Zero in the
negative. Motion passes. >> Um item C offered by Mayor Londo Kern uh myself and Dr. Ducy. Be it resolved that the Denver comprehensive uh high school building committee will dedicate its 527
meeting to the to review the following. revised cost estimates of the six alternatives that reflect reductions move forward from this meeting. current and future capital needs for the city, the city's debt capacity based on current projections, potential tax tax
impact range based on updated estimates, and MSBA feedback and guidance based on their forthcoming comments on the preliminary design program report uh which was submitted in February to help guide the decision-making of the committee ahead of selecting a single
option at the 610 2026 meeting. Um Emily, >> um can you explain how or uh I'm not sure who would be able to explain um how the city capital needs for the city, the
city's debt capacity and how potential tax impact would be calculated at this point? >> So would we be able to have an accurate estimate of the five points over? So, the city is working on those kinds of
calculations and the information um my understanding and I'll defer to the mayor but my understanding is there will be enough to talk about in terms of like where we think we are. Um the final numbers in terms of what this will cost
um how that will translate. Uh all of those things will not yet be available because we still are dealing with really high level cost estimates. But it is the right time for communities to start looking at their sort of broader program
of debt service needs etc and starting to think about some of these things. So yes and no like there they will not be final numbers for sure. Um but um we had a conversation trying to be responsive to the people
who aren't worried about how much the pro the project costs so that we can provide some real vetted information. um that could help the conversation so that we can move some of so that like in my mind we need to like strip some of
the fear and the unknowns away which is really hard to do at this phase of the project because we're still like in a world where there's more unknown than there is known right so I think that's the goal is just to help people have that framing so before we are making a decision about one option versus the
other um on June 10th that we at least have that data element as input. >> Thank you. >> Mayor, did you want to say anything else? >> I I'll just I'll just say that I think this resolution it was my hope that we
would be talking about these things tonight, but I am working obviously with the internal team and feel that 527 will be fine. It's just the I think these things are extremely important to vote
on tonight that we will be given a presentation on 527 and that we have this fullblown discussion on 527 because the last thing that I want to see happen is, you know, a debt exclusion that that
doesn't pass, that doesn't um benefit anybody. And but I think being realistic on on cost and space and the amount of the debt exclusion needs to be talked about. So, I did work to try to figure
out and I I believe SMMA or Leftfield did send us something, but my by my calculations, if you're talking about a high school of $640,000 square ft and you calculate what the MSBA will reimburse,
again, the numbers aren't firm, but you're talking about a $625 million debt exclusion, and that's about two grand per average. single family home. >> Mayor, can we have this conversation when we can have a full conversation?
Like I don't think this serves anybody to sort of drop highle numbers on the table and like I understand the concern and I think it warrants a dedicated conversation with a lot of information. I I don't think that's what we're going
to achieve tonight. If we >> I think it has to be discussed a little bit because tonight we have we're a committee that wants to see the biggest and the best for our our kids and our faculty. I'm one of those people. But it
needs to be mentioned because I also put in space reductions. Not because I don't want the biggest and the best high school, but I want to reduce space and in the end reduce cost for all of our residents who live here and rent here
because the am the amount of this project is in is quite honestly scary to me. number one for it for it not to pass after we've done so much work especially you chair Graham and number two if it
even if it does pass and it's just slightly passed you're going to have a lot of people that you know are going to really struggle to pay for these tax increases. So I'll just say it bluntly we really do not have debt capacity to
put much of this on the city's debt. We have capital needs from a new fire station to roads and streets and sidewalks to our rec center that is flooded, you know, was just flooded to the Hegner Center to needing to re rehab
Hormell Stadium and the list goes on and on. So, I will wait for the full-blown presentation um in May, which I think is fine because I know we can continue to reduce space, but I think people need to hear it before they vote. We have, you know, a
15 member body that doesn't want to vote to eliminate space. I don't want to vote to eliminate space, but it has to be heard. I mean, there has to be some level of just transparency of where we're at and how much this is going to cost the average taxpayer or the average
renter before we even take these votes tonight. So, I'm no, I'm not going to give you the full presentation like I was hoping to tonight. that will wait till 527. But we do have the some numbers and it's it's time to be open about that and honest because it's going to help this committee. It's not to
scare anybody. This is just the facts. It's going to help this committee maybe vote to reduce some space now and in the future knowing that, you know, we all want the same thing in the end, a new
high school um that is meets the need of our needs of all of our students and our faculty, but that isn't 640,000 square feet and isn't the most expensive in the nation. Emily. Um, with respect to the mayor, we
don't have the facts. We don't have the numbers on most of these designs, and we are sending these designs to on Wednesday to cost estimators. So, I don't think it is uh reasonable or respectful of our residents to be fear-mongering and throwing out numbers
that are inventive. So I I just think it's really important that what we talk about today is based on real estimates with real numbers and not um things that we have created uh based on nothing. We
are we are trying to make these decisions now uh and then receive estimates for the future. We cannot um govern the city and build new things uh in a culture of fear and um resistance
to change and improvement and progress. >> With all due respect, counselor, the numbers are on each through the chair. The numbers are on all designs. It ranges from like 815 million to 900 million. and one can go and figure out
what the MSVA will possibly reimburse and it's about 625 million. I I've figured it out. There's people on this committee that I'm sure have also figured figured out and there's residents who have figured it out. So it it's like I don't know how we can't be
at least mentioning it and it's not it's not creating fear. It's a fact. They're facts. They're it's the reality we're in. And I just think I have the right to um explain it to this committee and talk about it. It's, you know, we have a vote
to take in 13 months that we need to pass for our students, but we also need to put the facts on the table for the residents. And this committee I think needs to reduce the space and in the end reduce the cost still creating a
wonderful project for our for our comm community at large especially our our kids but it it need does need to be discussed >> yes I just wanted to um make it clear about the MSBA numbers and reimbursement and what we know at this stage uh we do
not have MSBA feed feedback from the PDP level report that's been submitted we do not know what their comments are. We do we've been in touch with them. We expect those in the next week or so. Um but without that information, we really can't do any kind of accurate um even
guessing at the um the potential reimbursement rate and the effective rate as discussed in our last meeting. Um, so I just want to be really clear that the MSBA has not provided any feedback yet. And um, you know, it it there's a way to, you know, do your
calculations on um, what's on the MSBA website and things, but that's not necessarily Medford High School specific um, information. So, I just want to make sure that that's pretty clear. And that is what we're expecting to be able to do and have more in-depth input from them,
be able to um take a deeper dive into the spaces of how that relates to um reimbursement cost by the meeting on May 27th. >> The chair, >> could you just confirm could you just confirm when in the process this conversation typically is had across the
Commonwealth? >> Um I would say um like what part of the phase of work? Yeah, I I think like this would be happening right after you get the cost estimates for the PSR level uh documents. So that would be the May 20
numbers that we're getting back. Then you would take those numbers before the SBC votes to select a single preferred option. You'd have ranges on what would be appropriate for um or what is expected on MSBA uh reimbursement. Those
are ranges and could change by the time the u schematic design documents are submitted but it does give a comparison between options um to be discussed uh and the tax impact information and all
of that would be ranges again um at that end of PSR before a decisions made so that you could compare across options but it is very important to note that that number can change by the time you move through the schematic on. So just
>> thank you Nicole. >> Uh thanks Jenny. I just have a clarifying question. So I know we have discussions about space changes eliminations tonight. When when is the end of the time which we can make those decisions and reductions and changes because as I understood you've said many
times anything we change or remove that's it. It's it's gone forever. So, I think I'm coming from a place where I don't want to make these decisions too hasty because we have more time to understand the bigger picture and we'll never get it back if we decide to get rid of it now. So, if you could offer some clarity around that.
>> Sure. I'm going to turn that over to Jen. When is pencils down on space change? >> Pencils down um we've talked with the team. It's end of October. Um in time to to finish up the documents, get those in a good place to um to get accurate
schematic design level estimates back in. um because when we do submit our SD report to the MSBA, that's the budget for the project. Um so that's why it's so important to get that that information um correct and to be pencils
down at end of October. Um we kind of did, you know, talk as a team um fall trying to set up um times to look at especially those items that will be broken out into the cost assessment um for the PPP uh level est PSR level
estimates. then we can we can have really in-depth discussions uh September October we can get the messaging out u leading up to those months so that the community is aware that we will be having those discussions um and that is the normal timeline for that sort of
thing to happen on an MSP project. >> Thank you Libby. Did I see your hand? >> Yeah, I was basically same thing as as my goal like it sounds like we have plenty of time to continue to reduce and tie that to more specific numbers. So, I don't feel like this is the last chance,
Luke. >> Starting to go numb. Um, so I I just want to say I I welcome the motion. I think the timing um at the end of May uh given what Jen described is appropriate. Um I welcome a holistic um assessment of
analysis of what the city's debt capacity is. I think the city can speak with authority on their capital improvement projects. say have a capital improvement plan. Uh it's going to cost something. Uh some of it's going to be paid for by debt that's um off the
books, but some of it's not, right? Uh can be new debt. Um and then the high schools could be on top of that. So I think uh our OPM um informed by the MSBA feedback will speak with uh authority on
what uh I'll say the debt associated with and it's probably wise to look at a range of things. Right. Right. like make make some assumptions um so that we have like at least three points um to look at what that debt looks like uh and then
add that to what the city's debt would look like based on their capital improvement plan and I think that's actually a a best practice and a common recommendation from MSBA from what I understand. So anyway, I welcome it. I'll I'll second it when time comes. Um I think it's the right time.
>> Great. Is that a motion to approve? >> If we're to second to approve. >> Oh. Oh, I see. >> Seconded by Luke. Are there any other questions? So, this is saying that we
will dedicate our 527 meeting to those to that detailed conversation about costs. Any other questions? Okay, I'm going to call the role. Jenny Graham. Yes. Mayor Londo Karn, >> yes. >> Dr. Bluthy, >> yes.
>> Marta Cabra, >> yes. >> Joan Bowen, >> yes. >> Ken Lord, >> yes. >> Libby Brown, >> yes. >> Marissa Desmond, >> yes. >> Ria Dorsy, >> yes. >> Brian Hillyard, >> yes. >> Emily Lazaro, >> yes. >> Paul Malone, >> yes. >> Nicole Morell, >> yes.
>> Aaron, >> yes. >> Luke Fryner, >> yes. >> 15 in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. Okay. Um before we move forward uh into um any sort of deliberation voting about
categories A, B, and C, I wanted to um welcome any members of the public who want to submit their comments in advance of that voting about any of these changes that are seen in item A, B, or C. Once we close public comment, we will
move on to voting and we will not take public comment um iteratively throughout the process as a way to make sure that we are being mindful of just how many hours we could be here um to get this right. So um are there any members of
the public um on Zoom if you can just use the raise hand feature that would be great. Um and in person if you could step up to the very official piece of paper that that public participation so and you if you're sitting here the
public can hear you on Zoom and if you are not sitting there then can't hear you on Zoom. So anybody who would like to speak is welcome to join us there. But I see um Ben Angler um on Zoom. I'm gonna start with Ben
because we have a hand in the air. Um, and if you could please um announce your name and address for the record book before your comment and you have three minutes. >> Yeah, thanks everybody. I appreciate the opportunity to to comment. My name is
Ben Lynville Engingler. Uh, live at 34 Sunset Avenue. Uh, parent of a current uh, first grader at Nissuk Elementary School. Um, and just wanted to to comment a little bit on uh, the the decisions you all are about to make and some perspective that I have on it. I
think um well, first I'll just like to say I appreciate the the mayor's um sharing of potential footing from a fiscal situation and also the thorowness of Luke and others that submitted um
space summary uh considerations. I I I I think we all really want the same thing. I'd had the opportunity to to tour the high school a few weeks ago, uh, given a tour by high school students, and I think there's absolutely a desire and a want from everybody here for a new high
school. But I think that we absolutely need a new high school. And to me, there's a very big difference between what we want and what we need. And I think that really comes down to what is actually going to pass uh in 13 months. And I think that boils down to cost. Um,
right now I would say in in myself going through the documents, it's been very difficult to understand what potentially the state will cover versus what we as residents will need to be able to cover. And we have a proxy right now is the space summary. So I think that's the decisions that are being made right now
is really on what are we willing to take out from a space standpoint because we don't really understand what we can eliminate from a cost standpoint. Um, and I think it's been really unclear from my perspective in going through this where where the state is really
going to be covering things versus where we have to pick these up. And so I would ask that is as we go through this in the future, especially as we go towards 527, is if there is a likeliness of here's something the state would cover versus here's something that uh um residents
will need to cover. be helpful to understand that because I think that could better inform are we cutting something we might need to pay for versus what the state is likely to pay for. I think on this note as well as we look at the over 200 submissions probably 20% make up 80% of the cost
potential cost reductions. So I'd really recommend to this group to focus on the bigger items first because I think those are really where we can potentially look to save some cost. $850 million is a significant amount of money. If you cut
it $und00 million, roughly 12%, $750 million is still a lot of money. Um, and I think this is going to be really, really important to ensure again that at the end of this we get what we need uh and not miss with what we want. Um, so I appreciate everybody's time and consideration into this, but I do think
we have to make some tough decisions based on realistic situations that we're in. Uh, and that I think really means we have to put some pen to the paper and start making some cuts even though we have time through October. Thanks.
>> Thank you. Is there anybody here in person that would like to speak? >> Please come on up to the public participation chair right here. >> I'll sit right there. >> Come on over. >> Welcome.
>> Welcome. My name is Larry Williams for 128 mil sex ad and I just met Dr. Galooi at the uh Paul re last week and she invited me to come in. Uh I had a lot more to say but we're excluded three minutes. I'll make it quick. Spent a lot
of money already researching and doing all this but I haven't heard anything about that. What when this school was built what 60 years ago was a different world. We don't wake up every morning hearing of shootings schools. There's one way in, one way out of this
property. Has that been addressed? >> Um, I can feel that answer. I mean, we are surrounded by DCR fells on like twothirds of our property. We have been in conversation with DCR as well as our first responders to um vet out what
those solutions might be, but it is extraordinarily complicated because we don't own the land nor have access to it um around us. So, we are working with them to figure out like what does make sense. And we are meeting, I think, um, as Matt alluded to, with our first responders uh, later this week to talk
to them about these designs and get some input from them um, from a public safety perspective. >> But it was mentioned to me last week that they would think of widening the entrance. >> That is one possibility. Yep. >> That's still one way in, one way out. >> That is why we need to talk to our first responders. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. >> Yep. I think that's something that should have been done before all this because that that thing would be a deal breaker if we don't have be able to protect our kids. >> Well, we send 1,200 kids to school here every day. Yeah. >> With that same with that same scenario.
So, what you saw tonight in my mind makes the circulation and the public safety access dramatically better than what we experienced today. It may not be perfect um but it is certainly um a vast improvement over um the school I send my
kids to every day. >> Well, the DCR isn't giving the property. Wouldn't they just say, "Yeah, go ahead. Take it." I mean, I would love that, but then >> we we are having those conversations. >> And is it possible that there will not
be a second entrance? It >> is possible. Yes. >> Well, I wouldn't want to hang my hat on that. >> Doing the best we can here, Paul. >> Larry. >> Sorry, Larry. Larry.
Um, okay. Um, online, um, S Dillard, you would note your name and just for the record. >> Hi, thanks. This is Sunonny Dillard. I live at 39 Charwood Road. Um, so this is the second time you've heard from me, so
thank you for listening again. Um, I also want to thank the superintendent and the team that supported her in reviewing this space summary to make decisions that I'm sure were incredibly difficult. I want to say that I support this project and most of the program, although the school committee chambers
at first glance seem unnecessary. I'd like this committee to further discuss the community amenities in this project, just as the pool was. I'd also like to know what impact they will add, if any, on the district's operational budget. I understand that the Medford public
schools in the community already benefit from many of these programs like the Medford Family Network, PreK, and the district offices. Some newer programs seem like really great ideas. And as a whole, I'd like to know, have any of these programs been considered for alternative sites that
would be more equitably distributed um across the city? Um, at the beginning of this process, this committee considered alternative sites for that exact reason of putting the high school in a location that would be more equitable to Medford residents, especially knowing that the
high school is in a far corner of the city and it's not easy for everyone to get to by any means of transportation. I'd like to see this committee not cut these programs, but understand their impact at this location by breaking out costs as will be done for other programs
like the pool with the intent that these other locations may be considered throughout the city because we know that these programs will not receive funding by MSBA and the city taxpayers will have to carry the entirety of that cost either way. I get the time value of money and
escalation. Construction costs are so incredibly high right now and we as a community need to be thinking more strategically about how to better utilize our existing infrastructure. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Sunny.
Is there somebody else here in person? Please join join us at the official piece of paper. >> Your name and address for the record. >> Good evening. My name is Nick Charleo. I live at 40 Robinson Road. Um, I graduated from this school about a
decade ago, 2015. I graduated number one in my class and been a lifelong uh, student in the Medford public schools. I would definitely say I owe just about all my success, the great education I have for the school system. Um, I just want to kind of make a global comment
here. I think it it's a way to help you all of you kind of frame, you know, what we're looking at here in terms of space reduction. For me, I see this as is this just a high school or is this a high school plus something else? Um, and honestly, I think arguments can be made
both ways as to which direction we should go with this. Um, but ultimately we do need to have discussions about which direction we want to go with this. We also have to kind of keep the overarching goal in mind, which is ultimately we're going to need the taxpayers and the voters of our city to
approve that exclusion. So, the question is how can we make that happen? you want to go through the worst possible scenario of putting a debt exclusion out for the voter consideration and having it fail um due to concerns about costs and I can tell you just many many people have reached out to me and the
overwhelming sentiment has been deep concern about cost and I understand there might be different points when we want to have that discussion but ultimately it's going to need to be had and this is a way here of I think as we discuss space of making realistic
decisions in terms of How can we make this pass? How can we make this happen? Um, so I hope the discussions tonight are just very reasonable, rational. We don't resort to, you know, attacking people's characters and motivations and we just look at what realistically can we do to make this happen. Really
approach a kind of a pragmatic way. That's my Thank you. >> Thank you, Nick. Um, online we have Zoe Musos. Hi, this is Zoe Moodos. Um, 33 Johnson
A. Um, I just want to um start by saying I already sent a letter in. Um, and I'm I'm not going to read that whole letter again, but I am am listening to talking with everyone or hearing everyone speak so far, and I think we're all on we're
all in agreement that we want these costs to come down. But I also want to encourage the committee to remember the work that you've put in already in adopting a plan and and we do have time.
I understand that we need to bring the cost down for this. I absolutely but cuts that are made today cannot be put back in and we have more time to get real numbers not our best guess numbers
to how much this is going to cost. And so my my point is saying this as a parent whose own childly child will likely never be able to enjoy the benefits of this school.
I care really deeply that his education not be disrupted and impacted negatively and I really appreciate that work to like get to zero modulars that's been done so far. And all of this is showing me that this committee and our architects and designers are working
really responsibly knowing that we have to bring the numbers down and the costs down. And if we're listening and believing, and we have no reason not to, that by the end of May at that meeting, we will have real numbers, then I would urge caution in making large cuts now
for a number that is really still just arbitrary and we don't know. So, you know, don't go all wobbly yet. We have to hide. Stay stay strong. Like, this is a plan that we all agreed to. And when you lose your north star and your strategy so early, everything goes off
the rails. So, I really appreciate kind of the the fortitude and the guts that it's taking to stand up here to everyone knowing that this price tag is is way too high, but also, you know, let's let's let the process play out and we
have a month to get a bunch of numbers in. And I think we can all be patient and then, you know, continue the cutting from there. if I understand that process correctly. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Zoe.
You're in the room. >> Your name and address for the record. >> Hi, I'm Nick. I live at 62 Tanger Street. Um, I have three children, all of whom will attend this high school at some point, hopefully after construction is done. Um, and I'll be paying for the
high school for the rest of the time I worked here, possibly the rest of my life. Um, and I'm fine with that. I want the high school in whatever form it takes to be an excellent uh an excellent resource for everyone involved. Uh, I want to be a good place to learn, good place to teach, and a strong community
resource for everyone who needs it. Um, so seeing this very long list of proposed changes, which I appreciate the comments that member Price made about spurring discussion, but in the context of what I've heard tonight, um, I think as as
other people have said, it might be it's a bit it's awfully early to have 260 proposed changes like this, especially ones that impede the educational plan. uh it just doesn't seem to serve the purpose well. Um and it's also my like
as as people have said we have until October really for pencils down. This is kind of mentioned before and this is an iterative process where we will be communicating with the MSBA for what's going to be reimbured and what's not. We don't even have final designs. So suggesting that we, you know, remove
blackbox theater or remove storage rooms and stuff like that. This seems really overly granular for the point we're at in the process right now. Um, I understand the need to be wise about our financial decisions. Like I said, not one of the people who's going to be paying for this place. Yeah, I'm totally
cool with it. Um, but this list kind of reminds me a bit of my grandfather, uh, who was a very avid photographer, but also a penny pincher. So, he would occasionally buy a nice new camera and then shoot out on the film, which I don't think is what we want to do here.
If we're buying something that's going to serve everybody, and we wanted to do a really good job at that, we shouldn't be penny pitching to save a few bucks. Um, someone much smarter than me once said that a cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of
nothing. So, I would hope that the people on this committee are not cynics and they know the difference. Thank you. >> Any more hands on Zoom? Is there anybody else here in the room would like to speak
38 week? So I think everyone who went before me probably said what I have to say much more eloquently than I would have. Um but I think two things that I still would like to say um are about cost and I you know I understand the
intense pressure to reduce costs. I understand the reality of costs today in today's market. Um someone had spoken about looking at big ticket items and I think some of these um
proposals now remove the modulars. We have been carrying a cost of I think it was almost 23 million for the modulars. Um that looks like we could potentially remove 23 million now from some of these projects which sounds like a big ticket
item. Was that the case? Is that still an accurate number? Do we even know if that was kind of a number we could carry or is that still need to have the costing as well? >> So that that number is accurate in terms of what the modulars were roughly
estimated at. Um it's about $400,000 I believe per modular classroom double story. But in that ballpark is is certainly accurate. I will caution and I think um Danny mentioned it earlier as well that because of the removal of the
modulars we're introducing phasing in some cases which would extend things out and then there's going to be um additional escalation costs that come in because of that. So it's not unfortunately just like well we can take away the cost of the modulars entirely. What we're going to be doing, I think as part of one of the resolutions actually
is looking at the cost delta in between having modulars and reducing sort of the construction duration or eliminating them and sort of seeing what the costs are there. So we'll have both of those cost models to move forward with and understand whether there's a savings there, whether it's cost neutral or
whether it's cost negative in terms of work. But um certainly trying to get rid of the modular from an educational disruption standpoint is is sort of a non quantitative benefit that would come along. >> And and I think you know just thinking back through and thinking of that
analysis that needs to be done along with all of the other costing exercises sitting down and looking at 200 items of which included a significant amount of special education risks. And you know, I wrote in my letter
>> about the um increases in students needing special education services that are happening year-over-year in this district. Um I think it's 150% increase in students needing one-on-one aids that have come into the district in the past three
years and 300% increase in IEPs of students entering the district. And to me, um, removing rooms that serve these students is not, um, where we should be looking. Um, even if it seems that we
don't need those services now, we likely will in the future given the trends. So, that's >> Thank you. That's exactly Thank you. Well, >> um there's no there's no hands on Zoom
right now, so if you want to step up. Mike Mabone, 73 F Road. Um super fired up tonight. See the updated designs. It's really clear that the team heard um all the feedback and is taking that into account. Um, tonight was the first night
where um, I really really felt like things were um, like that that progress was not not that progress hasn't been made or not, but like to to hear the conversations that I've been having with people turn into to real design. So, um, I very much care about the impact of of
this project on my neighbors, on our taxpayers. I think we all agree and unsuccessful that exclusion vote, it's not an acceptable outcome, right? We agree on that. Um, that being said, I'm pretty concerned about some of the amendments on the agenda tonight. Uh, what the building committee is being asked to do is to make hundreds of
changes to the project before a preferred design has even been selected. Um, I feel like that approach is making final decisions during the phase that's meant for this exploration, right? To understand what the trade-offs and and the costs are. When we start removing elements now, whether it's cutting
spaces, shrinking core elements of the building, um, those effectively disappear from the process going forward. I think we we heard that from from a caller. Um that means they're not going to get fully evaluated. It becomes nearly impossible for them to come back later in any meaningful way and live this in the summer high school project.
Um so on the agenda tonight I I you know a lot of the proposals to eliminate are um are sorry justification for a lot of the proposals are because they're not in MSBA guidelines. Um for me MSBA guidelines are the floor um not the
goal. um they're they're not a they're not a vision for what Meford should be doing uh for its students. Um that is how you end up with a minimum viable school that's crippled by a thousand cuts. Um none of these amendments by themselves, although some of them are pretty significant, most of them are
pretty small. Um the end result of all those is a smaller, less functional school than what our neighbors will actually need for the next 50 years. Um we don't need to be making decisions right now. I think that's pretty clear. Folks have been talking about that. um because the decisions that you all will make now are going to define what this
school could be specifically what it won't be for the next uh you know five decades obviously um you know I think we heard before some of the proposals have an impact on an educational plan as a school committee member I would urge caution about making any of those changes at this stage without full
thanks to process um I very much understand the pressure on cost there um but but leadership in moments like this it's not about reacting to fear and concern. It's about coaching folks. It's about making thoughtful decisions with a full understanding of those trade-offs. So for me, the responsible path here is
to carry all these spaces forward. Um get deeper cost estimates, hear from the MSBA. I think that's a really important piece. We have not gotten that feedback from the MSBA yet. And then make these informed trade-offs because um public schools are one of the few non-negotiables in local government. We
don't have a choice to provide for um our kids, our grandkids, our grandkids kids. Um, and we have to keep that promise or we're going to fail to meet this one opportunity that we have right now. So, thank you so much.
>> Also, right on the money. There's still no hands on Zoom. Um, you want to step up to the official piece of paper? >> Harrison Green to Ronald Road notes. Um, as I'm getting more involved
in this very uh seeing more online and seeing hearing what what everyone said tonight, uh, the approach makes a lot of sense. it's not as uh I don't feel that the same tension that I feel in those more internal spaces because of the
clarity that we can continue to make changes for another uh bit of time especially as the the overwhelming 29 options went to six which feels much more manageable and to me and then as that further gets reduced and the details come out really encouraged by
that um but one of the things that I'm also hearing is that we're asking more from this space. That correct? We're bringing in more functions in the city. We're expanding programs. We're bringing in another what's the the school that is >> we are proposing to colllocate the
Curtis Tus our prek programming here. >> Yep. >> The Medford Family Network and Kids Corner and the Welcome Center and the central offices are all here in this and Medford community are already in >> but some of those are also looking to expand in scope. Some >> there are some yes in the pre in the
prek um kids for our space. Yeah. >> Yeah. So, I I don't want to risk those potential expansions, but I do think it's it would be nice to hear what those costs are that we have we're bringing in more stuff. We're doing more here than
we we are currently doing and that that will absorb. We don't have to pay for those functions. And I think those are all programs that people around the city can can be excited about. Um my uh uh my son goes to kids corner and that's a
great program and great to have in the community. So um expansion there is is awesome but I think the community could also uh really use that information. But uh that really comes from the last point which is that we
that communication from the city itself is feels like what's the most necessary and that instilling that there's this long gap not just that there are comments at every point but that there's there's this this arc of this project and we can continue to give input and we
can continue and we don't have to we know that there's these big numbers and out of context they are extremely intimidating. But we understand that this process will likely get reduced some of those and the scope will change. So I think that's my
ask from the city is to support the residents in giving that scope um outside of the individual members this group on Zoom land tonight for please step right on. >> Thank you everyone. Zach Bear, city council president 130 operating street
number two. I was not the first in my class high school but I did go through and so would I say a little bit. Um I think first I just want to say to the SBC and the project team I really appreciate the updated designs. I think you got good direction at the last
meeting. if you created really strong updated designs that factored in a lot of input and it feels to me like you're listening to the major concerns that the community is bringing up as we move through things. I have a bit of a different perspective on than some than some people. I think
some other people have articulated it really well about cost and what this building does. The vast majority of what's in the education plan are things that this building already does. And I think there's a just as big, if not a bigger risk to the final passage of a debt exclusion if we stop doing things
that we do now. Um, I think this education plan certainly has some things and and I think there was really some diligent work done by the superintendent and the project team to remove some things that that would be really helpful. I mean, I think to to
potentially um not have some really important things that would improve the lives of students on this campus, but understanding that cost is a real issue. I do think that a lot of the narrative around this is going to be x million and it's going to be x,000 a month and doing all of that
before we have accurate cost estimates and a real understanding of what this project means um is falling into Medford's classic trapped which is a presumption of failure. A presumption that we will not be able to negotiate effectively with the MSBA. A presumption that we will not be able to find other
ways to fund a project. A presumption that we will not be able to do the creative work between now and October to make cuts that minimize impact on program maximize value to the students and and I think it just sets sets the vote up and sets the project up um for a
harder run at a dead exclusion. So, I really appreciate the project team and the committee in sticking it out, trying to figure out how to say yes, not just assume that we have to say no, because I think so many students will be faced with massive disservice if we do not I
mean, the biggest thing for me, surface parking versus a field over the garage, yeah, it's going to cost more, but you get two fields for 50 years versus a third of the site covered in parking that's mostly unutilized. And it's a big number, but if it's a $100 more year on a debt exclusion, we need to be able to
effectively make that argument to the residents and the voters. We don't just cut it because it feels like an extravagance. It's not. I think it's really important to the students. So, there's many more examples. I'm definitely over three minutes because I'm not as good at the school committee, but >> but yeah, I just really don't I don't
want us to fall into that trap. I think there are ways that this city can figure out how to provide revenue to this project. Um, and we don't just have to fall into this trap that MSP is going to give us the minimum reimbursement, that we're not going to be able to figure out ways to fund this in other ways, that the city's never going to grow because we're
right there at the edge of of I think a big growth spurt. Um, and I really support the work that this committee is doing to preserve as much of the education plan as possible while considering honestly cost issues on the right timeline with the best information available.
>> Now you're out of time. Sure. Um, hold on one second. Could we have Did you want to respond? Yes. Okay. Go ahead. >> Um, I did just want to say uh because of what President mentioned that um one
thing that we can do as a community and as sort of leaders in in on this committee is that um we can work hard to frame the the conversation around how the debt exclusion is going to work in the coming years. we have a lot of time to do that. But as we make these
decisions, I think that's our responsibility is to make sure that we're presenting things to the public in a way that they can consume it and that they can understand um what the benefits are. Um that this building is a community hub in a lot of ways that uh
isn't isn't just um a high school because it is like a central um building for um a lot of people in the city. And um to deny that is uh denies what it already is. And um I I think when we present that in a really positive way
and in a way that is celebratory to the to the residents of the city, then um it's going to be more like a look at this opportunity that we've had to um make something really great. And how exciting is that that we get to be part of it and it gets to happen while we're here right now.
>> Thank you. Um Eileen Learner is joining us on Zoom. Een, can you unmute yourself? >> Can you hear me now? >> Yes. Nice for the record, please. >> Oh, yes. Eileen Learner, 3920 Mystic
Valley Parkway. Um, I think there's a lot of fear in our country and around the world at this time and we're all fearful and
and we're acting out of fear um to to start reducing this and maybe hurting the people that are most vulnerable. That's that's unacceptable. Um, and it's just like, you know, I think
about my parents bought their first house for $9,000, you know, and what houses cost now. And I think, you know, in the future that the cost of this new high school, you
know, will not look as outrageous as it does right now. And yeah, I don't think that we should um just capitulate just out of fear. Let's act out of optimism and get to
work, you know, making that money happen. And I just believe we can do it. So that's what I had to say. >> Thank you, Eileen. Somebody jumping up.
Susan Wilson 97 Winchester Street Susan, you're gonna have to speak up. >> Yeah. Okay. Sorry. Thank you. Um >> I think you know we get we get one chance and these have happened once every 50 60 years and you have to plan ahead for what the world looks like to the extent that we can. If we do the
bare minimum like we barely can get by with now that's not going to last 50 60 years. We have to plan for what's possible and what we want and what we can possibly have in the future. And I think there's real costs that come with cutting at this incredible level. Like
you know, we just because we cut all of special education rooms doesn't mean we cut our need and our legal requirement, let alone our moral and ethical requirement to pay for all of those students and the support that they need. Um, just because we cut all the possibility of having prek, I mean, then there's a real cost. People will leave
this town. I mean, I have three kids. They're all, you know, in the daycare years. That's a minimum 12, 13, 20k a year per kid. That's a ton. People believe that's a tax base that goes away. There are real economic costs to
cutting money. It's cutting off your nose to spike your face, I think. And as everyone has said prior to this moment, we we don't need to do that now. This isn't the time. There were moments to have that conversation when we developed an educational plan and what we have as a vision. There are moments to have that later once we have real numbers. We we
are not in that moment right now. I mean, looking at all of the incredible proposals and these like six narrowed down things. If we cut some of the things that are on the table here, those designs don't make sense. You know, we have this incredible vocational program that that takes up tons of cores. What's these buildings even look like if we cut
that out? You know, all of the early childhood entrances. If we cut early childhood, what do these structures look like? What a waste of everyone's incredible time and dedication up to this moment. If we preemptively destroy all of those things, I I don't I don't even know what those designs look like.
and we have a month to to do that. So, I think there's there's plenty of reasons to talk about the money and how that all works, but this is this is not the time to make those decisions um because we we don't have to. And I think your response, >> um I see a hand on Zoom, Justine Myers.
We'll take her and then we'll >> Hi. Um, I want to thank everyone for all the work that's been done so far. Um, I'm happy to see the change with uh, modulars, for example. Um, my comment is just in regards to
um, the committee making sure that you're voting um, with the most vulnerable students in mind. Um so ensuring that we're not cutting things like
special ed um needs um gender neutral bathrooms. Um I see things like that on the list and uh just want people to consider those when voting. Thank you.
>> Thank you Justine Michelle. Uh, hi, my name is Michelle Clarkson. I live at 23 Diane Road. Um, I'm a teacher in another public school that's about a year and a half ahead of me in terms of this process. So, I'm just asking the committee and the community at large.
Um, and as I've lived it in my professional life, um, you you this process is incredibly thorough, incredibly rigid, and we have to trust it. I'm really asking the committee not to make cuts before it's appropriate. We haven't gotten the actual numbers. Um we
have a lot to um understand around financing and I understand the numbers are big and scary right now. Um but we're really not there yet. And I just I just know if we trust the MSBA process that it can work and we can get a school that will serve our students for the future. Um and I think that we can I'm
hoping that people feel more confident that the committee and the architects are listening to the community based on the changes that have been made. Um, I certainly feel that and I think we should feel that. Um, and I just really can't stress enough um, how important
appropriate teaching space is for student learning. The high school I'm currently teaching in is falling apart and it's a real real effect on morale and it's going to be if we put in all this money and we do not have appropriate space for teachers to teach, it will affect student learning and it
doesn't make sense to do it that way. So I really ask before just to not make the cuts before we have to. I understand that we will have to likely make some cuts, but let's through the process as it is supposed to be done and just remember that that the student hearing
conditions, our teacher working conditions, they cannot be separated and we we have to remember that. Thank you. >> Jenny, can I ask a question? >> Sure. So um there's a lot of bathroom restrooms on the list. Um my
understanding is those can come out of the grossing factor. Is that an incorrect understanding? Like what is the grossing fact? Is it just hallways? >> So no. So the some of the toilet rooms are specifically programmed spaces. It's
typically surrounding the special education programs when there's a dedicated um instructional need to have dedicated toy living associated with it. I would say it's it's not the majority of them. Um, most of the general use toilet rooms throughout the building,
whether they're all gender toilet rooms or whether they're gendered toilet rooms are going to be coming out of the grossing factor, but it's not it's not an eitheror necessarily. And generally, the ones that are with special education um are net program areas. >> Sure. And not to dwell on special education or gender neutral because I
those aren't actually topics in my mind. uh there were like 45 or 50 bathrooms in the individual space summary. Is it incorrect for me to reassign them to the gross and factor just as a general rule
regardless of what um special program to what we have listed in the space summary for toilet rooms that are in the net usable um category are typical in terms of what we've seen for other high school programs um both on special
education side there may also be some on the CTE side as well um that were listed as um net program area versus growth so it's not atypical from how we typically design how we typically see the MSV reimbursing um in terms of square footage in terms of what's in those in
the space right now from a toilet room perspective it's fairly standard >> okay thanks >> are there any other comments um from the community
Sophie online. >> Hi, can you hear me? >> Yes. Yes. >> Yeah. This is Sophie Rick, 78 Cotting Street. Um, I sent a long email earlier today, but it was kind of under the wire, so I'm not sure if anyone saw it. Um, I I guess I just basically want to
agree with the comments that I've heard most recently saying to please slow down, please don't do these cuts tonight. Um, the I know we've just been talking about bathrooms a few minutes ago. Genderneutral bathrooms and cutting bathrooms in general I think is a really
bad idea. Um, I sent a link as well in my email earlier. I hope people have a chance to read it even if they didn't get a chance to before tonight. I also think cutting things like OT and PT spaces is shortsighted. Um, the like
pennywise pound foolish uh phrasing I just think really applies here. When we're cutting like 25 square ft over and over again hundreds of times, it really does add up. Um, and this this really is like the one chance to get it right. I I
want it to be done well. Also planning on paying for this for the rest of my life. I'm not planning to be leaving Medford. Um, I don't want to have a crazy high budget, but um, I don't think this is the time to be making the cuts. Thanks.
>> Thank you. >> Is there anybody else who would like to speak? Um, we'll take comments from the committee after we close public comment. Take a break. Um, any other comments from the public?
>> Going once, going twice. Yeah, come on up. >> Oh, my name is He 49 Street. I'm a little bit late learning about this high school renovation, but I'm here uh just to uh
support the swimming pool. Uh I don't have any kids but I have been the residents for 21 years here and I pay taxes and I love this community. But the the swimming pool is something I discovered
uh maybe I don't know five 10 years ago. Before that I was looking for things to do here. I really couldn't find anything. It's very hard to find the high school swimming pool. Actually is open to the public.
It was really hard. I used to go to Lexington to uh swim. That would took me like two hours uh each time. So with the swimming pool I was very happy and I found a really a community here. And
also I know the uh swimming pool is really good for the students not only for the regular resident because kids these days don't do much physical activities. This is one thing that I think everybody should learn and it's a
life saving scale and you know the whole thing and uh so I hope uh I understand all the cost thing but um just if we can and keeping the swimming pool will be good for the community good for the
student and the students will feel very proud that our school had the swimming pool because you know the whole uh the whole sitting around here. We don't have much spaces. There are not many good swimming pools around and it's really
good for the winter time for people uh even young people or the elderly to come here and do some physical activity. So I hope this will but and I hope also we have a good high school. I'm proud to
pay lot to people. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other members of the public who would like to speak? Seeing none, going to close public comment. Um, and we are going to take a 10-minute break.
It's 8:36. Um, so we're a few minutes behind schedule for our break, but pretty good. All things considered. So, we'll be back in 10 minutes. Uh, so 8:46. Uh, and we'll get started um with
Rube. Thank you. I have no idea. So go ahead and get started. Um >> okay we are moving on. So uh category A as we have talked about before these are space change proposal um presented by
the educational leadership team that was like formally um assembled to support the visioning work that ultimately led to the space summary. um and they are very often and usually the people who um go through these refinement activities
to make sure um that we are being responsible with space and um putting forward sort of changes and modifications. So I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Lucy who is representing all of these space changes um on behalf of
that team just to give us a little summary and framing of this section because they do in fact all come from this my team. >> Yes. >> All right. Thank you. I'm not going to read line by line but I do think it's really important to just summarize a little bit of the approach we took and
how we went into this. Um, I'm going to I really loved Zoe from the community um participation where she talked about please don't lose that north star and I feel like that has been the approach that the MPS leadership team has taken throughout
this whole entire process and that north star is the educational plan and it is our vision for how we want to educate students and how we want teachers to be instructing in this space and that is exactly what we used to engage in this work. So first and foremost, I think it's important for people to know that
this was a collaborative process. So central office worked very closely with school leadership as well as departmental leadership as well as those community partners um that are also represented in this in this space
summary and in the educational plan. So all of this was done in conversation in lots of meetings uh and sometimes on phone conversations whatever but it was done in a in a collaborative spirit. So the team that really did a lot of that
work that's here um I know that there are active members on this team but I do want to say that um that's Marta she is their principal it's Chad Fallon the executive director of Curtis uh excuse me CTE programming um Dr. Kim Talbet,
our assistant superintendent for academics and instruction, Joan Bowen our director for student services, Ken Lord our chief operations officer, Will Picelli our communications director, and then loads of community um partners and
all of our department directors. So what we did is we just looked at the space summary um and we kind of took like a threer approach. So we looked for things that could be repurposed. We looked for redundancies and we looked for yes maybe
it's pennywise pound foolish but we did look for some small reductions that could be made all of which would be farthest away from students and impacting what that instruction would look like. Um we really part of the work for us and someone also mentioned it for
the community input and we strongly believe we don't know necessarily what education is going to look like what those demands are going to be 25 30 50 years from now we're looking at the quote unquote new schools our K to8
buildings those were 25 years ago and so how we were teaching and how students were learning u was different and so it's important for us to really be looking at spaces that can be flexible, multi-use so that they can keep up with
the growing changes, needs, demands of educating students and community, you know, needs throughout the city. So, with that said, I just want to make sure our recommendations are aligned to our
educational plan. Um, and in keeping with those three buckets, I'm just going to call out a few things. Um, one in the um, repurpose space. A lot of the repurposed ones that you will see on our
space summary had to do with looking at um like tech labs, innovation labs, yes, the Blackbox Theater, but really trying to make spaces that are multi-purpose that can be used for a variety of reasons without changing the amount of
space that is, but really looking at how can those spaces be used. So in one of the examples there was a um science resource room which would be shared. Um it's not necessarily to reduce that but
we talked about using um taking the quote engineering and robotics lab and just repurposing that that into an innovation lab, excuse me, a 12th science lab. So that that's more of a shared space that could be used for
science purposes, for um special education resource purposes, but that is still a science space. So it's not necessarily reducing, but it but it is repurposing for um our community. Another example of repurposing would be
um the digital photo lab. That's important for our growing arts program. So, it's not to not to delete the digital photo lab, but right now in the space summary, it accounts for two maker spaces. So, let's keep one maker space, but let's have the other one be this
photo lab. So, that we are reducing a little bit of that square footage. It's not that we're cutting the photo lab, but we don't feel that we need two maker spaces at this time and repurposing the use of one of those for the um art photo
lab. We did notice a lot of redundancies around office space. So yes, there were a lot of offices that we maybe were reducing just by like 25 square feet. But I think what's very important to us
as a leadership team and as the way that we work and we want to see our teachers working and we want to see our students working is in a collaborative manner. And so we prioritize conference room space over office space. So you did see
we went through a lot of the offices that are in central office. We don't need large offices but we did prioritize conference room space and you don't see many reductions there because those spaces are well used for how we function today and how I really hope we are still
contributing to collaborative um work output as not only a school system but as a district and as a city. So, um I do want to take I I want to also clarify um if I caused confusion,
one of the other places for redundancy that we called out here for maybe not just repurposing or reducing but also evaluating and that is the use of some toilets. So please, if it was me that caused
confusion, I am not saying that there is only one genderneutral bathroom in this project. what we were trying to do here and someone kind of raised it earlier and in lots of conversations with Joan and her staff. There are some specialized
programming that really need a bathroom within the program, but not every special education program needs a bathroom within the classroom. So, what that line is is for the programs that
really need it, project transition and access. Let's keep a toilet in those classrooms. But the other specialized classrooms, those bathrooms can just be moved into the grossing factor. They can be shared by students with adjacencies
and hallways. They don't have to belong in classrooms. The other one is looking to evaluate um some 12 I believe out of the 19 CTE shops calls for a bathroom. We really want to look at what the desk regulations are there. if they have
changing rooms, do they also need to have bathrooms where I think there could be some adjacent bathrooms that's shared? Um, that would work just fine, but also, you know, bring down the cost in a reasonable way. Um
in terms of um the other spaces I would say that I maybe just wanted to call out a little bit is um I think um in terms of the ECC we did
not look to reduce any of the spaces other than storage. We did look to repurpose some of the use. I wanted to explain that part of what will be so beneficial for the early childhood
center is just the sharing of resource. >> So for people if you're just tuning in, the early childhood center does include Medford Family Network that's currently housed here. It does include kids corner currently housed here. It would bring
back, I think that's a distinction, our preschool programming which originated in this building and then was also brought into the newer schools um was part of the outside schools and then for
space reasons those have been kind of consolidated to just two buildings right now. What this would be able to do is house everything together. It would pull resources. it would share resources. There'd be much more efficiency, not only in the way it's operationalized, but in the way we're
able to service the community um with staffing, with supports, with resources. And yes, it does account for some growth. So, right now, Kids Corner, I wish you could tour Kids Corner.
There are really four total spaces for kids corner and they're serving birth to age five. Four spaces. So all the toddlers are really in one classroom that's divided
in the middle and we're at a capacity where there's a wait list and we can't fill it because we don't have the space for that. Kids Corner services all of our employee municipal employees that want it if they're not on
our wait list. It's teachers, it's municipal employees. We have um fire, police, um city workers. We also have students and there we have students that use Kids
Corner so that they can continue to be educated and graduate with a diploma. And those things I think are very important to the core values of Medford. I would love to see that capacity grow a little bit. Kids Corner does also
service some community members. So beyond municipal employees, beyond our students, they also have space for community, but it's limited and so this would allow us to grow that. I think we all know the benefit of MFM. Um, and I don't know of a place where I would hate
to see these programs be unhoused. Um, but I do think that we could reduce some of the storage space because there'll be lots of places in which resources are going to be shared. Um, I'm happy to answer any questions
that people have specifically about any of the items that the leadership team have here. Um, so this is category A items 1 through 33. Lou,
>> is CCSR going away? >> No. >> Okay, good. >> But the but it does not need its own office. >> All right, that's distinction. We're not >> So the No, >> we're not disbanding that program, right? >> No, that called for an office.
So that was just the office space. the the students actually I think do they meet in this space or in the back room? Yes. >> Um Ellie, can you uh through the chat, can you clarify um which of these feel
like something that you could that you actually just want to ask questions about and which of these feel like you would safely ask us to vote on tonight as a cy? That's a great question. I would say first and foremost, a lot of the
evaluating are around the CTE um programming just with the toilets and the office space. I think we have down there to evaluate um the office space and the toilets that are attached to I believe 12 out of the
19. So I would like to see that continue in an evaluation. I would say I probably would also um want to evaluate because right now the popup shop gallery
that we feel can be embedded throughout the building in conversations that we've had with directors. Um the food pantry that's in there is not associated with MFN. The food pantry that's in there is part of right now what is called the
mystic exchange. The mystic exchange is a closet. Um well Cabar can talk more about it, but it used to be called the hope chest. It's a closet where people um anyone in the community can bring donations and
students in a discrete way can go and shop at Mystic Exchange. And so there is clothing around prom time, there's prom dresses in there. So it's a nice um it's a nice resource for our students within
that space. Um there are some like food pantry type items that I think we could keep in a combined sense. So there's just one discrete location for students rather than having two discrete locations for students. So um the food
pantry in there is just to consolidate it um because we felt that was like another redundancy. I would say um I am happy to have feedback but I started by saying we prioritize
conference space and I'm fine to vote on office space reduction. I guess if it's if it's Sorry. Go ahead. Can I make a motion to have the items that
Superintendent Valuci does not want us to vote on be like separated from the items that we would vote on for tonight? You can can we can we talk about just the things that are like ready to
um ready to go and then like and then we can talk about the other things maybe as a um as a separate discussion because it seems like what we need to do is make sure that we can we can serve this stuff to the cost estimators with some degree
of clarity. Um, and if there's stuff that needs further discussion or or um something that we need to talk to, somebody needs to talk to the architects about, somebody needs to look at testing regulations, things like that. This is sort of a feels like maybe a highle
um list of suggestions, but that aren't necessarily things that you would want all already to be taken off the table completely. Mhm. >> Um that maybe uh this is not what the promotion look like, but um could we
could we have like a like like one 5 12 like those get pulled, you know? >> Okay. I might need a little time. I wasn't like planning on separating it. I know for sure we could I just want to double check this this the numbers, but
for sure we could remove the the CTE spaces. Um >> or am I misunderstanding? Were we meant to be voting on on cutting these things today? >> Yeah. Yeah. So, but it sounds like we did like like that's not really what we
I don't know. That's not what the intention was. If I if I can offer a suggestion, um I think where there are things that we feel like we're okay, that these things are gone
forever, now is the time to take those votes. And I think there are like objectively lots of people in the community who think we should do a lot of that tonight. And then I think there are people in the community think we should do none of that tonight. And I'm
suggesting that we do some of that tonight. Um and so the question is what's the sum of it? Yeah. And if you look at the 33 items that Dr. Galooi has shared. Yeah. Um if there's like I think you certainly could put forward motion
that says I want to accept Dr. Gooy's recommendation on items 1 through 20 and not on items 21 and 22. >> Sure. >> Or like you could formulate a motion that way, but We would need you to specifically like >> I guess I want Dr. Gl tell me which one
she wants. >> Um yeah, sorry. It's too spec because I'm not the I guess because I'm not a >> No, I I totally understand that. I think and I'm happy to like if there's other questions or if there's points of discussion. I think you know there were
six music rooms. >> We felt that three would be completely sufficient >> to fill the the need, right? um music practice. Thank you for that clarification. >> Not music rooms. >> The practice rooms. We were very mindful of doing those
things as you kind of go through here. Like there were three wellness rooms. We didn't necessarily say we just cut the wellness rooms. The conversation we had was that within each house, so Medford High School is broken up into houses. There are three of MHS. Within
each house is an assistant principal office. It's a school counseling office and it's has a space in there called a restorative space. Those spaces can be for leadership and teachers to have restorative circles, affinity spaces,
maybe spaces for prayer, but they would be multi-use spaces for student need. We said we don't need wellness. That's like a duplicate. That's another redundancy. thought it would be great if those restorative spaces were a little larger
so that you could have if you need be like um a restorative circle or more than just you know three people that fit in in a tiny little office. So everything that's on here came from very meaningful conversations. I'm happy
based on a lot of the feedback um even with the blackbox um theater. It's not that we like aren't getting rid of the blackbox theater, but we had conversations that we felt that one of the innovation labs um could serve the same purpose as a
blackbox theater. Um happy to maybe talk about the auditorium seating. We did have a meeting where lots of theater experts um were able to I learned a lot from that meeting coming away with it and just about like how voice carries
the intimacy of a performance space but also preserving the opportunity to say that two full classes and accompanying adults could fit in the auditorium so that Marta and her team can have
assemblies. gather large groups and still have a performance space that's worthy of a wonderful experience. I'm happy though if people to per the resolution that maybe something like that comes off so
we see what the costs are for a thousand seats 800 seats um that might be to your point one that we could remove with the CTE evaluation um just to see what the cost would be.
Um the other one was there was a separate CTE co-op. We have worked really hard this year, the past two years. We are one school and so there is a college and career space in this um
space summary and in our educational plan. We're actually starting that next year. So there'll be a college and career center that will also have CTE co-op within it. So we're one school, we need one space. So removing the CT E
co-op space, yes, is a reduction, but it's really like we're looking at repurposing that because it's going to be part of the college and career center. So I would say something like that stays in. Um there were two transportation offices.
We don't need that. I guess the only other thing I would say is um just to see what the costs are. Maybe we are not um
combining the OT and PT room. Uh for me, did you have your hand up? Well, it sounded like like you you actually felt like you were comfortable with all the office or you know reshaping like keep conference rooms cut offices make you know bullet
times etc. And so I was just trying to go through and highlight which ones are those not controversial not really a funding plan I don't think. Um and if we could just like identify those I'm close to it I might not get them all right. We could say at least like a motion to
accept those. I mean I trust you your judgment there if you're comfortable with those. I'm comfortable with those. It was a collaborative effort. >> I would well sorry I your collective the teams. Yes. >> Um and that's a that's a big chunk and then either we leave the others to be
deferred to later discussion or further study or we can talk about them individually. But I would think that's like the majority of them. I could take a stab at the number then you can confirm them. >> Okay. motion. Take a shot at it. All right.
I'm going to go four. Number four, seven nine. This is a little bit more than office, but I think you said we're good. This is to keep the remove >> to accept the removal. >> Sorry again. >> Yes. >> 479. >> 479
15 through Hold on. Yeah. 25 gives you 25 27 then 29 through 33. There might be a
little editorializing for me in there but um 10 through 25 27 and 29 through 33. I left on 26 because it had a lot of different spaces in one one item
>> and that felt like maybe that deserve private discussion. >> Well, could I just make one comment about 26 because you raised it because in the space summary it's written as central office storage and I do want to call out that it is not central office
storage. It is our humanities bookroom, but it does I believe and correct me project team, but I also believe it connects to a space that is not used right now. It is kind of >> partition.
>> It's used as another storage space. Um, it's not usable. It's in that much disrepair. So, the the 2700 square feet of that is our humanities bookroom.
for our humanities department. Um we do MFN storage too. Kind of confused by >> MFN. Um so when we look at ECC, uh Kids Corner, I believe had about 300 square feet of storage. MFN had 900 ft
of storage. And I'm not saying MFN doesn't need storage. They need storage, but I don't think they need 900 square ft of it. Um there were three separate spaces. I just said they could consolidate down to one 300 square. I mean, my office is 300
square feet. >> Yeah. And I don't think, you know, >> I don't think we need anything more than that with a lot of shelving um and bins. You could actually still fit strollers or things in there. So, um, but they
like 230 and then they're proposing 700 and the proposal is to cut it to two and hold on >> to 300 to 300. Gaining 70 >> from what they have now, >> right? Well, still yeah, it would Yes. Yes. Yes.
>> I'm going to read the numbers again for both. >> 26. >> Okay. Um 4 7 9 15- 27
29 through 33. There a second on that motion. >> I have a comment. I would not support group bridging those together. Feels like seven, potentially nine are more program related for students. That's the practice rooms.
>> Yep. >> And the maker space. >> Yep. >> Yeah. They're a little different. >> I'd suggest taking those out because then those those are more than >> Yep. >> Okay. Libby, are you okay with that amendment? >> Yep. >> Okay. Okay. So, we have a proposal for
items 4, 15 through 27, and 29 through 33 >> by Libby, seconded by Aaron. And any questions about that proposal?
>> The motion. >> Sure. So the motion would be to accept the space reduction outlined in items 4, 15- 27, and 29 through 33 of category A. Thank you.
>> This is for the project team. Um I'm assuming that there's no requirements that everybody has a window in like office space. Is that correct? Um, by reducing the numbers of these things, does that make it easier? Like I as a school committee member, I think, what
if we not have people in deposits? And like I sign warrants every week in the accounts payable and it's a closet. It'd be a closet in any world. Um, and uh I mean those people that work in there don't see the light of day ever uh
before I get to work. That's and at the end of it u so by reducing the numbers of the units do we increase the likelihood that we'll be able to figure out how to make sure people get like or does this have no impact at all
because when I think about the size of your space it's like if your closet this is your whole office with a door that's very different this is your whole office with a doorway so I think mathematically maybe yes but I don't think it's the point where we
could make a quantifi quantifiable judgment to say that yes, we're going to have 10% of the offices more by like that reduction to have more windows in them going forward. So like in in theory and concept I I think yes, but I don't know that would ever like realize itself
in a >> meaningful way. But I do think to your point that's why we had lots of conversations around the bullpen aspect so that we don't have all these tiny little offices where with walls where people can't talk to one another to
actually do their work. So you see here like our HR office, our um finance office, what you just mentioned, um they would be how they are now in like a bullpen style so that they're able to work together and not feel like they're
just in a cubicle. >> But I would say to um from Alone's point and keeping this very clean, then we should probably remove 29 as well. That's not an office space. as an educational space.
>> Oh yeah. I think >> and do do I I mean in full transparency I think we have to remove 27 >> because I think do I have to remove 27? >> That's a question. Yeah,
>> I apologize. Um, so I guess um I guess in other districts um what we typically see is if the school has done so much work behind the scenes with the project team in the schools with the community partners um
that that recommendation there has been a ton of work and thought put into this recommendation. Um, normally we would see it all move forward as one to see if it is something that the school building committee would consider and and move forward um as a
recommendation from the schools just because this does reflect what was in the ED plan. It does rightsize what is intended by the ed plan. Um, so I guess just that's I guess it's more of a comment that that's normally what
we see instead of um trying to decipher all of these little things that have been so thoughtfully um worked on behind the scenes by Dr. Guzy and the school team. Emily, is it almost as if we're trying
to cut things before we even know what everything's going to cost because we haven't done the first steps yet where we estimate the cost of things? >> Well, I think the in the wrong direction. >> No, I think there's there's the three different buckets that we have, right? I
think a is work that we always see done at this stage. A is the right sizing by the school to get the spaces that they need to do the work to teach the students. Um and and those are usually
um you know proposed by the schools and um it's just right sizing what needs to happen inside the high like for the high school um to function. And then there's the the B bucket which again doesn't hit
the you know doesn't impact um the uh educational plan so can be considered um and then there's C which impacts ED plan um and you know isn't necessarily the the ED plan itself is not the purview of the this committee so it needs to be
referred out so just these a options I guess in a typical project um it wouldn't we wouldn't dive into the nitty-gritty at the school building committee level. We wouldn't, you know, trust the educators um to do the work based on
their programming. Um and I can tell you firsthand, it was a lot of work that was done and a lot of conversations to get to this point. Um Paul, >> thank you. Um obviously I was not involved in this work. Um, and I kind of
wish I could have been involved in the seats for the auditorium. I mean, sitting on 2600 seats, people singing there with no microphones at all. I can be just fine, although it's not the greatest thing. Um, but so I I'm just
struggling to hear that a thousand seats is just a challenge. Also, like even for the current one, everybody's miked up. So for voices to travel, I'm struggling to comprehend and I wasn't involved. So I'm not saying I don't trust that the people who had able to say that was
necessarily large and was a problem. Um but number 14 around the auditorium seating I I feel like I would have to have a lot more information. I'm not voting for doesn't matter if I think in that regard, but I that's a
>> that's a big deal. So that's the one in particular and we also had a motion earlier to get pricing for those options. If this would come next it would supersede that. >> That's correct. >> So we do have a motion on the floor with
a second from Libby and Aaron to eliminate 4 15 through 27 and 30 through 33. So, I think it might make sense to call that motion and start to like whittle down the universe of
what we're trying to do all at once. Um, and then we can we can keep going. So, I'm going to call that motion unless there's any questions about that motion. >> Well, if 27's in and I feel 28 should be in or they both should be out.
>> Libby and Aaron. 28 wasn't included to begin with. >> I know >> 27, >> but I'm wondering why. >> No, you're saying you're saying 27 should be removed. >> Either 27 gets removed >> or they both should be in.
>> What's the other one? 28. Yes, >> it wasn't included. It was 29. I thought 27 and 2. >> But I think what she's saying is they're a pair. >> Yeah. Either they're a pair in or a pair out. Yeah. So that's up to you all because you made the motion. Sure.
>> You've talked about how this can work and you mentioned collocating with I think exchange if that you feel like that function still in the project that's how it is now. Oh yeah. So I'm being in
okay. >> So four 15 through 28 and 30 to 33. Any questions? >> I don't bel labor this, but I mean just to Jen's point, if this is something that's there's there's been so much work
put into I I'm a little reticent. I mean, I'll vote for it. Um, but I'm a little reticent to go through and like kind of onesie twoosy something that a lot of comprehensive work was putting in. >> I think all we're doing is starting that process. I don't think we're saying
we're not going to do the other things. I think we're saying like, can we make some forward progress and then consider what's left instead of trying to consider 33 items all the >> Okay. So there's nothing to say we can't take
another motion once we take this model precedent setting. >> I mean if I change and say I I propose we accept all of them. They don't have any problem with that. We maybe accept the auditorium. I guess that gets over we we can do that or we could just move
let's just move forward and then we can take the next loop through. Okay. I'm going to call the role. Jenny Graham. Yes. Mayor Longo Kern. >> Yes. >> Dr. Guzy. >> Yes.
>> Marta Cabar. >> Yes. >> Joan Bowen. >> Yes. >> Ken Lord. >> Yes. >> Libby Brown. >> Yes. >> Marissa Desmond. >> Yes. >> Maria Dorsy? >> Yes. >> Brian Hillyard? >> Yes. >> Emily Lazaro? >> Yes. >> Paul Malone? >> Yes. >> Nicole Morell?
>> Yes. >> Aaron Lee? >> Yes. >> Luke Fryner? >> Yep. >> 15 in the affirmative. zero and the negative motion passes. Um so that means we have accepted the recommendation on four
15 through 28 >> and 30 through 33. Okay. Are there other motions on any additional items in group A?
>> Can I just frame based on the conversations that >> we're removing for further evaluation three, five, six, and 14. So then is your motion to move items
one to 7 through 12 and 29. No, I'm saying numbers three, five, six, and 14
to Emily's point are no longer right. Part of Yes. So then what's left is one you have two 7 through 13 and 29. >> Mhm.
Is there a motion to >> Oh, we already did. 1 2 7 through 13 and 29. Brian question just clarification on one and then Dr. who mentioned that there might
be a fall science lab that's just clarification from you is if the like this is only a couple scenarios where the products and engineering lab is relocating that they're going somewhere else to
hold the CP elsewhere and that that chunk was over there now it's still standing So the science and engineering lab would be repurposed into a 12 science lab and then there's an innovation lab. So then there was like the I think there was in
the space summary there's a language lab that is going to be repurposed or renamed into an innovation lab and in that space >> as well as like maker spaces you would be able to use those spaces as multi-use spaces for
lots of reasons. It could be for what um people wanted for the language lab. It could be spaces for robotics and engineering. Um, it would just be more of a multi-use space that I think would be a little more flexible. >> It is for classes for students not in
the robotics lab. >> Yeah, >> that's right. >> They there's no space to take a robotics class here today if you're not in the program. >> So you're talking about So it's above and beyond. >> It would create it's not CTE. It would
create that burden kids that don't want to be in the CTE program but want to take a class >> that would require that kind of >> Thank you. I wasn't even thinking of the job. >> Sorry. Yeah. >> Oh, I'm glad you robotic parents. >> This is non chapter 74 space.
>> Okay. Paul, uh, if I understand this right, I I'll make a motion to keep considering which means we will we won't vote to reduce the space. Is that correct? >> Or do I just say let's leave it P. >> We need to make that.
>> You don't need to make that motion. >> I don't need to make that. >> Nope. But we could make a motion that accepts the elimination of one 2 7 through 13 and 29. So, if we're like all
saying those suggestions of like keeping them, what's left is >> 1 2 7 through 13 and 29. And I just heard the mayor make um that motion. So, 1 2 7 through 13 and 29 by Mayor Longo
Kern. Is there a second? >> Second by Nicole. Are there any questions about that? Okay. Can I call the roll? >> Jenny Graham, yes. Mayor Longgo Kern, >> yes. >> Dr. Glooy,
>> yes. >> Martica Bra, >> yes. >> Joan Bowen, >> yes. >> And Lori, >> yes. >> Libby Brown, >> yes. >> Marissa Desmond, >> yes. >> Maria Dorsy, >> yes. >> Brian Hillard, >> Emily Lazaro,
>> yes. >> Paul Malone, >> yes. >> Nicole Morell, >> yes. >> Aaron Lady, >> yes. >> Luke Fryer, >> yes. 15 in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. So, I'm just going to call out again that the items that remain that we are not eliminating
just yet are three, five, six, 14. >> Is there anyone who would like to make a motion on any of those items? J we for there will be further study do
we have to make an explicit motion we just in the state summary already >> I have this is more of a project team question about 14 the auditorium we write in previous resolution we're
asking for multiple cost estimates for 800 and 750 I actually think that 800 seats would be would have some benefit although it would be reduced with full capacity. I think it has benefit in terms of the experience for students that are using
the space that let's face it most times is not going to be full capacity. Um but I'd rather keep everything on the table related to performing arts until the last possible moment. Do we gain
anything by voting to reduce the auditorium to 800 right now in terms of probability of a good outcome um with funding or with you being able to do your jobs to look through um different scenarios or should we just
leave it there? You see any risk leaving that thousand seat auditorium in consideration >> as it's an option as an option? It's not in the base. >> Yeah. It's not going to dramatically impact sort of our ability to say that
we have one option versus another. If we're looking at a thousand seat auditorium versus an 800 seat auditorium, I think the benefit would really be in sort of the commitment that we're trying to make it smaller upfront. Um so if we want to go through the costing exercise first before making
that commitment, that's certainly a path that we can go down or we could go down the path of saying it should be smaller. um and and proceed that way. I think that's that's really the decision. It shouldn't necessarily come back to limiting us at this point in the design process over the course of the next
month or so. >> Thank you, >> Brian. I guess for projects, are we saying that 800 is sort of the magic number for our, you know, there's a couple classes or whatever gather in
versus the 750 that is proposed for us. >> Dr. Do you want to answer that? >> Well, I think part of the conversation that we had was that right now there's little more than 1,200 students.
This whole plan is for 1395 when you also adults. We couldn't even with a thousand seats, you're not going to fit the full student body. So, a lot of and I also yield to the experts in the room,
but um a lot of this came down to the experience of performances in that space and then the usability for the leadership and to be able to fully get two grade levels at a time with
associated staff um was was really part of the conversation. Yeah. I mean, if you want to add >> um Paul Malone, >> I think thank you. That's I think that's a good summation. The other thing that I would say that came out of that really
productive theater project was that if the overall auditorium is slightly smaller, but the square footage for all the various support spaces, storage, and other things can remain healthy and large. there's other alternative ways to do performing arts that are not just a
one big auditorium that a smaller auditorium would actually get more utility and more use is adequately supported to serve many many roles throughout the school year but those roles have places where they can have homes that are not taking up that most
valuable onstage visible square >> I just wanted to make a comment about if we had 15,000 students in the building we could still 700 students both. So Desi does have a recommendation like
they just don't care. It's like two full classes, but if the classes get really big, it's not like the teachers have to wait. >> Just clarify on the the size limitations, Paul, just from your
comment. So MSBA guides the sizes of the auditorium, not Desi necessarily. And so 750 seats is what we um we can build to and get fully reimbured as a maximum. We're allowed to build to a maximum beyond that of a th00and square feet or
thousand seats. Um but the square footage associated with that jump from 750 to a,000 would not be reimburseable at all. So that's sort of where the thresholds come in and in no cases can we go over a thousand. Um, when they talk about seeds,
you know, in my mind, I'm thinking the seats, but what about the rest of, you know, I mean, you could have a little tiny auditorium where there's like a little tiny stage and huge number of seats or five seats,
but the part of the theater that's not seats, that a separate thing calculation wise, >> it is. Yeah, it's a separate set of square footage, net square footage, usable square footage for the stage. Um or >> right for aum storage. Typically for
things like green rooms, we end up using music spaces that are um made adjacent to um the stage. So they can get some multiple uses out of them. We don't get dedicated green rooms where dressing rooms. >> There's not some relationship with our that
>> Yes. >> Right. >> Yes. And the stage is 2500 square feet as I close. >> Is it in the space summary? >> Yeah, all these things are in space. >> 415 lines. You want to leave them.
>> Are there any other um questions before we move on from category A? >> Okay, category B. These are space change proposals that do not impede the educational plan, but we can vote to remove them tonight. And a resolution
would sound like making a motion to approve items one, two, and three, or five, six, and seven, whatever it is that you're putting forward. Um, there any motions on the floor? >> Can I say something about
>> Sure. Um, so I would like to make a motion to table B and C until we have better crosses. Um, >> third. >> So, so the motion um by Luke in all
seriousness um is to is to put on the table um c you know all the items in categories B and C. And there was I heard a second by Libby. >> Well, I heard a lot of seconds, but Oh, you can't joke about that.
>> I'm um Is that true? You can put me down. Okay. Um questions, thoughts, comments? >> Well, um this is part of project team. >> What's the what's the difference if we
don't eliminate any of these? Like how much more work is that for y'all to do? How does it affect the work that you need to do? >> The cost estimating effort, it's it's really more simple math on the building
right now. And that's why I'm saying over the course of the next month. It's not something that I think we will suggest that it's okay to put off till the end of October as Jen was mentioning earlier, right? Um it really wants to happen once we have the more accurate cost numbers that we're going to get um
and present at the the May 20th building committee meeting. So it might mean we're just kicking the can down the road a little bit in terms of having that more intensive discussion, but it will provide a little bit more accuracy in terms of your numbers that happen then. Um but we we definitely do want to get to the point um sooner rather than later
of of having these substantive discussions on reductions. >> But we would get these more estimated numbers back about these things and then vote for potentially movement at the next meeting >> or the 20th. I don't think is the next meeting, the 20th.
>> It is. Um, so I I guess I would offer maybe a suggestion on how we could go forward. Um, we can just like we put some resolutions on in the early part of the agenda. It's I it's it's immensely
helpful if we want to make motions for them to be on the agenda in this like really clear way because that allows the public who wants to come and understand what we're talking about to know that this is what we're going to talk about and for everyone in the room who has to vote on this stuff have the advanced
notice to to carefully consider. So what we could do is I can just create a resolution submission form where at any time over the course of the next you know however like I mean through October even but like you know more urgently
like if there's something that you go back and think about and you're like you know what I really do think we should think about this group of things we should eliminate them you can put forward a specific discreet resolution that says these are the things I think we should think about removing and then
we can take those in like a roll like a rolling fashion instead of these like big splits of space reductions. So that's another option and I can outline that for the committee in terms of how to submit those resolutions. You're all
welcome to submit resolutions. There just hasn't been a lot of reason for people to do that so far, but I think that could be the other alternative is like we don't have to do these like sort of big events. instead we could take them as they become relevant um to the
group. So that's another option. Um I see Mayor Londo Kern with her hand up. Want to take her comment. >> Thank you. Um Chair Graham, I I think I'd be okay with tableabling most of these, although I would like to remove
something that's just very glaring, which is the school committee chambers and office space. I just don't think that's a large large chunk of money and I think it would just set a tone um to do some of this this work tonight and
that would be a starting place. And then just my other other comment would be I'm okay with tableabling these but I I think it should be after the 27th when the committee and the community get a full you know financial presentation as it relates to cost capital improvement
planning debt debt capacity etc. We would probably have to find another meeting date between the 27th and the 10th. Um, which we can look for. Um, I believe you're referring to the community
meeting space, mayor. Um, and that is already carried as a separate line item cost. So, it is already something that is separately called out and costed. And I just we we actually
had occasion together to go to a community meeting space in Walden last week for an awards ceremony. And what was beautiful about that space in its multi-purpose way is it was completely
accessible to the public for the purposes of an award ceremony. did not interrupt school operations. It was completely like available to the to the public and to
the school in a like very collaborative multi-purpose way. And we are desperately hungry for community meeting space here in Medford. Um and in fact, we got public comments in our email. If you haven't read them already, I would
encourage you to do so about that. like we we don't have these spaces in Medford. We're not land rich. Like there's not four spaces. If you try to book the one room at the library, it's booked months in advance. So for me,
like I I don't see the harm in continuing to carry a community meeting space forward um and envisioning it in a maybe a maybe a different way than it's currently envisioned. But if we eliminate it now, it's gone forever. Um,
so I just want to remind people that that option exists. It is a it is listed as a separate option and um it will be costed as such going forward. >> I think I was fine with tableabling that one. I I'm talking about any school committee dedicated space.
>> Yeah, school committ is no school committee chamber. >> It's actually it's just inconsistent in the correct actual salad does say school committee chamber still. So yeah, it's think if it's if it's been rebranded as >> always.
I mean as always as community. >> Sure. Sure. It just in here it still says school. >> It was incorrectly labelled and it has not been corrected everywhere. >> Yeah. So that that that's why that's I'm curious if you know how big the space in Malden is. I'm not I don't think we
should reduce this or remove it. I was curious because I think the person wrote in about um the space at the library being booked. That's a great space. It's like a thousand square feet. >> Yeah, it's quite small. >> Yeah, >> we can have the converation later. But >> yeah, and I think my point is >> I'm curious to know how how that stacks
up. >> Yeah. And the Maldin space is big much bigger than that. Um but it's probably smaller than what was proposed here. So there's that's what I mean like there's an evolution of that space that we could entertain or we could stop entertaining
it. But we can talk about later. >> Um, Lisa, >> I just would like a clarification from the mayor what all recommendations outlined by SMMA means. It's a big ticket item and I wasn't sure what that meant.
>> Maybe SMMA can speak to that. There was a three-page document that they produced that had um I would say 30 plus reductions based on their expertise.
>> Yeah. So I think the that document was the basis that the district worked with to come up with their list. of the category A items. I don't know if it's exactly one for one all the way through there because I think the district was a little bit more creative and thoughtful about what they were looking at, but
there's a high degree high percentage of overlap in between those original um items that we put together um and then what the district ended up putting forward as the category A items. >> Thank you. >> Yes.
>> Um I just want to comment on the school committee office. The mayor has an office, the city council has an office, and as some people might be surprised, the school committee is an actual functional part of our government. Um, that should have an office as well, not just because they have one, but because
we have a need for a while. Um, and as for the community space, I have heard conversation, why don't we just reuse space? I'll tell you why. You cannot legally ask for an ID to enter a school community.
So if we have it in the building somewhere and we have the security guy quit high school asking for IDs that's go that's off the table if there's a official public. So this meeting here even frankly the
guy at the door shouldn't be asking anybody for IDs or enter our high school. That's crazy in my mind. I think just like with the city with city hall you unlock the door and anybody can come in. That's how public bodies function
legally. They have to function, right? So that's why I think this space as a life at Molvin that is exterior facing, somebody unlocks it and anybody can come in. I don't want that for the high school. That's not a safety measure. I think we should just unlock the front
door and say hope somebody doesn't come in that we don't want. think it needs to be public accessible and legal because we can't just change the law because we think it's uncomfortable and we want people to sign in or get their ID that's
not allowed for public meetings. So that community space is really quite good. You're welcome. It's it's like it's on the edge of the building, but it's also accessible from the inside of the building. force block those doors when
it's an actual cover bleeding state. So, >> Luke, >> um yeah, so with the uh with the space summary, not only does school committee chambers and offices and properties are going to appear multiple times in the space summary, there's um actually it's
part of the narrative saying that it's there to support school committee operations and I personally object um to bringing those municipal facilities into the school. Um I I feel like that's a separate discussion. Um that's between
the school committee and the community and if they want to ask the community for their own dedicated space, fine, but don't do it um by conflating it with a scheme. So personal objection. Um I think if you want to rebrand it and call it something else, I will ask that
you'll have to revise the the space summary, which is a public document. It's available on the website. anybody could open it right now and read um why there's uh school committee chambers, school committee conference rooms, school committee office listed in all
these case summaries. So um I would ask that you formally revise that document. Um and not just like arbitrarily rebrand stuff on the fly. >> Well, that request was made a while back and it got missed, so
we will correct it. One last thing. >> One last thing. >> One last thing. >> You know, we got to move on to the school. >> I know. If the school committee has a meeting, school committee is not the majority of people that work. >> It's practically all the staff. all the
administration principles. And so we talk about it like it's a school community meeting, but it's it's literally half the people on this side and most of the people on this side who are there till 9 or 10 o'clock at night, come back at 6:00 in the morning or 7 in
the morning. And so the reason for colllocating the high school was very intentional. It wasn't because the school committee wants a comfy new space. It's because the people who have to serve us while we have our meetings are sitting
at city hall. They can't do their regular work at their offices and and I think that that is uh you know as a school committee member I have on many occasions been like really feeling awful. We have to do our business. Meanwhile, Marta and all the other
principles are there. They're going to be driving for wherever they live to be at school at 7 a.m. the next day. And that was major motivation for the collocation. >> So, just as a point of clarification then, did you just say that no matter
what you call it, it's still going to be intended for the school committee? >> No. No. Well, you said that you very intentionally place school committee space within the high school because of
the relationship between the school committee and the district staff. And you cited the example that in order for your committee to conduct good business, district staff need to um travel for city hall. um and so very intentionally
placed a school committee space as part of the high school to avoid the travel to city hall allowing them to stay in their office until their meeting. So >> from that I infer that no matter what you call it whether it's community space
or >> it's still very intentionally for the school committee. I'm just that's a point of a community space. We use conference rooms all the time at school. >> Okay, I'm trying to understand the question.
>> Okay, let's move the question. So the the motion was to table items in categories B and C by Luke with a second by Libby. Okay, sorry just for clarification about the motion itself. So it's it's tableing not to a date certain under the
understanding that they'll be submitted taken after we've seen um the city's numbers and set up. Okay. >> Jenny Graham, yes. Mayor Long, >> yes. >> Dr. Beluci, >> yes. >> Cabar,
>> yes. >> John Bowen, >> yes. >> And Lord, >> yes. >> Libby Brown, >> yes. >> Morza Deman, >> yes. >> Maria, >> Maria Dorsy, >> yes. >> Brian Hillyard, >> yes. >> Emily Lazaro, >> yes. >> Paul Malone, >> yes. >> Paul Morel,
>> yes. >> Ariel, yes. Luke Pryer, >> sorry. Yep. 15 in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. >> J second that motion. So >> um okay. Uh our next meeting is on May 20th.
We'll be reviewing um cost estimates of the six alternatives um and um continued evolution of those design on May 27th. Uh we will continue reviewing those cost alternatives along with the motion that we passed earlier
tonight um around the city's uh around the the um cost impacts of the project. On June 10th we will still um plan to select a single preferred option and on June 18th um we will move
approval of the preferred schematic report for submission to MSVA. We have um some upcoming community meetings. There's a sustainability meeting on Wednesday this week. Um there'll be an update at the school committee meeting on May 4th. Um on May 11th, there is um
a community meeting. On May 13th, there's an abuts meeting for our direct um neighborutters. On June 3rd, there's another community meeting. And then on June 15th, there's our committee meeting in in anticipation of any changes to the ED plan. >> Is there a motion to it? Oh, Luke. um
the walk- on topic. Um so uh as reward for tableabling things and not staying here till uh I wanted everyone to just uh grant me a couple of minutes to revisit something that I think a community member brought
up. I don't I don't think it happened today. My memory is a little shaky sometimes. But >> is it on the agenda? Because if it's not on the agenda, we cannot speak about it. >> What are we going to do about the Curtis Cuff space? Um we have an empty building. >> Well, it's not empty yet. Um but that'll
be part of the city's um financial update on the 27th. >> But this how do we get could we ask SMMA to look at potential uses for that to at least inform >> that is happening on the city side
>> not necessarily the Curtis Tus. Um so I'll second that motion. I'd like to make a motion if it's possible. I I I mean I mean I'm not a public I'm not an elected official so I don't know the rules but that is something we need to talk about.
>> It's been a resolution. >> Wouldn't example Curtis tough as a separate project being completely outside the scope of the contracts. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> So how do we answer when they ask us what we're going to do when we bring all the Curtis Toughs kids?
>> They will they will ask us that. Um, >> I raised that to the finance task force and that is a matter for the city to take out. So, I think we'll need an update from the city on that. >> Motion >> motion to adjurnn by Emily Lazaro.
>> Second, >> second by call the role. Jenny Graham, yes. Mayor Longo, >> yes. >> Dr. Mart, >> yes. Joel Bowen, >> yes. >> Ken Lord, >> yes. >> Libby Brown, >> yes.
>> Desmond, >> yes. >> Maria Dorsy, >> yes. >> Brian Hillard, >> yes. >> Emily Lazaro, >> Paul Malone, >> yes. >> Nicole Morell, >> yes. Aaron.