MCCPS Board of Trustees

Minutes

Facilities Task Force Committee Meeting: March 21, 2023

Date and Time

Tuesday March 21, 2023 at 7:00 PM

Location

MCCPS

17 Lime Street

Marblehead, MA 01945

Please note that the in-person meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the remote connection.

Committee Members Present

Andrea Barlow (remote), Brad Rogers (remote), Christian Strom (remote), John Romano (remote), Peter Cohen (remote), William Rockwell (remote)

Committee Members Absent

Jen Stoddard

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

William Rockwell called a meeting of the Facilities Task Force Committee of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Tuesday Mar 21, 2023 at 7:02 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

Andrea Barlow made a motion to approve the minutes from Facilities Task Force Committee Meeting: November 15, 2022 on 11-15-22.
Christian Strom seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
John Romano
Aye
Jen Stoddard
Absent
Christian Strom
Aye
Peter Cohen
Aye
William Rockwell
Aye
Andrea Barlow
Aye
Brad Rogers
Aye

II. Facilities Vice Chair

A.

Discuss Election of Vice Chair

Peter Cohen made a motion to Appoint Christian Strom as Facilities Task Force Vice Chair for the remainder of MCCPS' 2022-2023 School Year.
Brad Rogers seconded the motion.
  • Facilities Task Force needs a Vice Chair, as Peter Cheney resigned from the post 
  • Brad and Christian volunteered to fill the roll, with Christian decided to take on the title- and asked to be called Vice Chair Christian from now on!
The committee VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
Andrea Barlow
Aye
Peter Cohen
Aye
John Romano
Aye
William Rockwell
Aye
Brad Rogers
Aye
Jen Stoddard
Absent
Christian Strom
Abstain

III. Warehouse Expansion

A.

Updates on Ebbrell Engagement

  • Peter shared his screen showing Ebbrell's latest building expansion proposal (please see proposal attached to these minutes)
    • Highlights included
      • Improved traffic flow, improved/more bathrooms, new conference rooms, new classrooms and world language spaces
    • Changes from previous iteration included
      • World Language classrooms moved to warehouse area
      • Music classroom/performance space moved to across the gym 
    • Code triggers
      • updating front ADA compliant bathroom
      • improving accessibility into/out of warehouse
    • Working with Ebbrell
      • Peter commended the work with Ebbrell thus far
    • Questions
      • Brad- is the intent still to phase this project?
        • Peter- yes, phasing is on the table but we would ideally like to get this done in one shot
      • Brad- From a scheduling standpoint, are you able to make it work with just 3 7/8th grade classrooms?
        • Peter- given student population trends, we may move to just 3 7/8th grade classrooms as early as next year so from a scheduling standpoint this should not pose problems
    • Additional comments/notes
      • Peter- we will be pushing for more clarity regarding site work needed at front of the building and would like to get this done as early as this summer
      • Christian- likely looking at major MEP upgrades (mechanical, electrical) so you'll likely need to dedicate additional interior space to accommodate future equipment
      • Christian- worth speaking with architects regarding what they're thinking for the ceilings of the area given that it's nearly a two story area

IV. Additional Items

A.

Update on Capital Campaign Position

  • MCCPS currently vetting capital campaign directors now
    • Costly to bring in but given the money he/she could bring in, the dollars appear to work out
    • Hiring of a vendor will be discussed during next Board of Trustees meeting coming up on 3/28 
      • monthly fee (roughly $8k) for 12 month engagement 

B.

Capital Improvement Plan & Asset Maintenance Schedule

  • As part of the Strategic Plan, Strategic Planning Committee suggested including an Asset Maintenance Schedule along with Capital Improvement Plan 
  • Peter- would like to look into distributing survey to staff to get an understanding of where our assets are at in their lifecycle
    • Christian-MEP engineers can create a deliverable w/ asset maintenance schedule for a fee... this will provide much of the information we're looking for
    • Will offered to help Peter create survey, and FTF agreed that a report from MEP engineer will provide much of what we'd like
    • Peter- also looking into software programs that can chart assets for MCCPS

C.

Email Questions from Ebbrell

  • Ebbrell sent three questions regarding warehouse expansion focused on
    • How MCCPS would like estimators to break out estimates
    • Adding alternates to the estimates
    • Where/whether to add item for food pantry
  • Discussion
    • Question 1
      • Christian- it's worth asking that contractors put various items into "buckets" (i.e. STEM lab, music room, etc.) but this may not be feasible
      • John- if we're unable to split out items, we can create an estimate based on price/square foot... recent project I worked on came to about $300/per, which would put this project around $5m total
      • Brad- MSBA (Mass. School Building Authority) may have information on how much other school projects have costed
    • Question 2
      • John- regardless of whether MCCPS ultimately decides to phase out this project, creating the infrastructure for the entire space (electrical, MEP requirements, etc.) will likely be cheaper if done all at once, as otherwise we'd risk asking contractors to replicate tasks.. this would be a valuable alternate add
    • Question 3
      • Peter- food pantry is a priority, as having an optimal dining experience at MCCPS remains a priority

V. Closing Items

A.

Next Steps & Action Items

  • Ebbrell expected to share renderings either this week or next
    • Will to distribute these to FTF
  • Meeting with Ebbrell to review Test Fit
    • Date TBD, Will to work to schedule to include FTF members
  • Creating survey for asset maintenance schedule
    • Will offered to help Peter construct this
      • Note: per Christian, we can ask MEP engineers to create a deliverable w/ asset maintenance schedule for a fee... this will provide much of the information we're looking for

B.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:59 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
William Rockwell
Documents used during the meeting
  • 2022_11_15_facilities_task_force_committee_meeting__november_15__2022_minutes (1).pdf
  • MCCPS Revised Test Fit Plan 2.14.2023.pdf