Board of Education

Middletown Public Schools -Board of Education BOE Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 5:32 PM The meeting was called to order at 5:32 PM by Chairperson Deborah Cain, was held virtually on Zoom and streamed on YouTube. Present: Deborah Cain (Chairperson), Kevin Dion (Facilities Director), John Giuliano (Snow School Building Superintendent), Vinnie Loffredo (City Council & Community Member), Dan Penney (Community Member), Leslie Spatola, BOE Facilities Department & Committee Secretary, Ray Linehan from BOE IT department and guest Anna Sal-Markowski – Chairperson of the Middletown Clean Energy Task Force I. Introductions II. Review of the February 16, 2022 Meeting Minutes Chairperson Cain made a motion to accept the minutes and it was seconded by Dan Penney. III. Update on Macdonough Feasibility Study – K. Dion Mr. Dion stated that three dates were given but TSKP said those dates were a ‘no go.’ The Mayor will be contacted to obtain more dates for availability. IV. Status of the Beman Middle School Construction Project – K. Dion Close outs continue with a few items to be issues as auditorium skylights along with a roof leak. Paving will be soon to follow and chair caster replacements have begun in the classrooms. Chairperson Cain had visited the school and had concerns about the PA system not working properly, the gym basketball court bleachers can only open on one side only, the Wi-Fi has dead-spots in various areas, sprinkler system issues, some floors were difficult to clean which Mr. Dion would look into, spots on walls look dingy and may need paint to make them look crisp, lockers were not functional, needing repair and there were not enough lockers for the students, the whiteboards were hard to erase with no place to put markers and some teachers complained of having issues with the storage of the whiteboards along with the steps going down in the auditorium being too short for stepping down on them which was a safety issue. Mr. Lofreddo thanked Ms. Cain for her diligence in locating these problems that need addressing and also thanked everyone who was involved in this tremendous investment. V. Update of Snow and Farm Hill Roofing Projects – Roof, PV, AC & State Approval Mr. Dion said the projects were awarded to Young Developers and had a meeting with Silver Petrucelli & Associates out of Hamden, CT., to make sure we would get proper and quality products. There is no update on the PV and AC for the Snow and Farm Hill Schools had engineering firm for positive reviews to see what options there are. Mr. Loffredo commented that the estimate of cost based on an 8-10 week job would be $26k of additional funding. (Continued) - Page 2 – VI. Discussion on 5-Year Plan for Capital Projects for 2021/2022 – K. Dion There are no updates at this time and hoping to have more information for the next meeting. VII. Update on Facilities Department Staffing Vacancies – K. Dion Young Developers came in with the low bid and were awarded the project. They had the capacity for the panels and the roof and should have a contract signed in the near future. VIII. Middletown High School Translucent Panel Replacement Project – K. Dion The control units are being done and hope is to do Bielefield School on April break so that it can used for summer activities. Mr. Penney asked if the RTU’s on the controls are tied into a central monitoring system. Mr. Dion stated it is controlled remotely through the server and set points. IX. Lawrence, Wesley and Bielefield Schools HVAC RTU Replacement (Summer 2022) Ms. Anna Salo-Markowski who is on a citizen’s advisement group spoke and has been working on planning ahead for use of fossil fuels in future projects to use contractors who utilize the best standard and regenerative practices. She stated that renewable energy is available for zero emissions and is costly in the beginning but pays off in the end. Consideration is also given to work in consent with the State similar to that of Wesleyan University’s building policy. We must pursue efficiency in net zero buildings and it is imperative to the safety and well-being of staff, children and everyone in general this process be considered. X. Miscellaneous Mr. Penney asked if in-person meetings can be held going forward. Chairperson agreed to have April meeting at Central Office Conference Room for April 16, 2022 5:30 PM meeting. Chairperson Cain made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:06 PM and it was seconded by Mr. Penney. Minutes recorded by Leslie A. Spatola, Leslie A. Spatola Facilities Committee Recording Secretary