OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Joint Committee on School Buildings & Facilities Meeting (Oct 29, 2025)

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, October 29, 2025
BodySomerville, Massachusetts
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, October 29, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:42:41

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Good evening, everybody.

0:03

This is the joint uh committee meeting on school buildings, facilities, and maintenance.

0:08

Uh, we're here together with the school committee.

0:11

Um, I am Jesse Klingon, the chair of this committee.

0:14

It is now 6.02 p.m.

0:16

We're starting this meeting first with the um a little blurb that we read in order to be able to hold this meeting remotely.

0:24

Pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025, this meeting of a city council committee will be conducted via remote participation.

0:31

We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels.

0:44

Uh that being said, um, could you please, Madam Clerk?

0:48

Could you please call the role to establish quorum?

0:50

Yep.

0:51

This is roll call.

0:52

Counselor Say here.

0:54

Counselor Davis.

0:56

Here.

0:56

Chair Klingon.

0:58

Present.

0:59

All right, with that, everyone is here and we do have quorum.

1:02

All right, excellent.

1:03

I am going to now turn it over to the school committee so they can uh establish quorum and open their meeting.

1:09

Thank you, Councillor Klingon.

1:11

This is Le Ron Bitone, Chair uh for the school committee's um subcommittee of the same name.

1:19

Uh I am establishing quorum here at 603.

1:23

Uh Sarah Phillips, are you here?

1:28

Laura Patone.

1:29

Are you here yet?

1:32

Not yet.

1:33

Okay.

1:34

Uh so we have quorum with two of three.

1:36

And I will turn it back to you, Councilor Clingen.

1:39

Okay, excellent.

1:41

Um we have a few things on the agenda.

1:43

Um, there are attached memos to the agenda for some of them.

1:47

Um the first item we have I will lay on the table.

1:50

That's the approval of the minutes of the school buildings facility maintenance special committee meeting of September 15th.

1:56

Uh we'll lay that on the table for approval at the end of the meeting.

1:59

Um item two, which is a standing update uh regarding uh that the administration provide the special committee on school building facilities and maintenance with regular updates, both the Massachusetts school building authority process for the Winter Hill and Brown schools.

2:14

So I um have not watched the meeting.

2:18

I, you know, I I wasn't gonna have this on the agenda because I didn't know what type of if there would be a substantial update of any time, but I guess um since we we did put this meeting after the uh the CAG meeting, the citizen uh construction advisory group.

2:34

Um that I guess I'm not sure what happened at the meeting last night, but I know we have staff here to speak up uh to give an update or speak on this item.

2:42

So I see um Leia Zanaradassi's hand up.

2:46

Uh go right ahead.

2:48

Thank you, Mr.

2:48

Chair.

2:49

Um, I just I was wondering if we'd be able to take item four actually out of order.

2:53

Uh Director Blaze has a time constraint, and I was just hoping if it's not too much trouble.

2:58

Not a problem.

2:59

Thank you.

3:00

All right.

3:00

So Madam Clerk, we'll jump to item four, which is uh that the administration released the report on the school department composting pilot program and the commission of public commissioner public works update this council on any plans to reintroduce composting in the schools.

3:15

So there um there is a memo attached.

3:17

Uh it's a pretty lengthy memo, and we also have staff here to speak on this.

3:22

Um director Blaze is here.

3:26

I don't know if um I'll just say on this, uh, you know, this is something that's been, you know, uh important to all of us as a council.

3:35

Uh this effort really started back in 2018 by then counselor at large Hirsch, um, who really uh was very passionate about making this happen, you know, to the point where she would bring in trays with uh you know, with the with trash and leftover um food waste and you know, just wanted to to be the uh being you know responsible in our schools for making sure that we're um doing our part as far as composting and uh uh recycling.

4:10

So that said, um there was a pilot for a number of years.

4:16

Um one or one of the schools or or more than one, maybe, but um and so now you know we we're we're once again asking uh pushing for this uh to happen.

4:29

So Director Blaze, I'll turn it over to you.

4:34

Uh through you, thank you very much.

4:36

Um happy to be here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
School Facilities███████████████████████████████████████39%
Environmental Protection███████████████████19%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Waste Management██████6%
Food Security█████5%
Procedural███3%
Rodent Issues███3%
Public Health███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Joint Committee on School Buildings & Facilities Meeting (Oct 29, 2025)

The Joint Committee on School Buildings, Facilities, and Maintenance convened at 6:02 p.m. with the Somerville School Committee to address critical infrastructure updates, community feedback on sustainability initiatives, and the ongoing process for the Winter Hill and Brown schools. Key discussions focused on the feasibility of a school composting program, the results of community outreach regarding the new school location, and safety inspections following a tile fall at the high school.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the minutes from the September 15, 2025, meeting was laid on the table for approval at the conclusion of the agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • The committee received a shout-out regarding an article written by Annie, a student at West Somerville Neighborhood School, highlighting the importance of composting and its positive impact on student culture.
  • Councilor Klingon expressed frustration regarding the lack of progress on composting over the last eight years, noting that previous discussions often stalled due to cost concerns and logistical barriers.
  • Councilor Davis emphasized that while financial constraints are real, the primary motivation is not monetary savings but rather the environmental and educational benefits, specifically the desire to prevent students from becoming cynical about environmental action.
  • Councilor Saeed echoed concerns about the "rat factor" and the lack of clear cost breakdowns in previous pilot programs, questioning why the city waits so long to move forward despite clear community demand.

Discussion Items

Composting Pilot Program

  • Director Christine Blaze (Mayor's Office of Sustainability and Environment) provided an update on a 2018-2019 cafeteria composting pilot which was paused due to contamination and resource issues, and a subsequent kitchen waste pilot that faced staffing and logistics challenges. She noted the City's first Zero Waste Plan goals and the upcoming state regulations on food waste. She highlighted a new curbside composting pilot with 169 sign-ups in one week and proposed synergies with participatory budgeting drop-off sites.
  • Councilor Klingon questioned the cost-benefit analysis, noting that food waste is heavy and does not currently reduce trash pickup costs by weight, while expressing that the program has stalled for eight years.
  • Councilor Davis clarified that the goal is not to save money on trash tonnage fees but to address environmental and cultural values, asking for a plan to be developed by next September.
  • Councilor Saeed raised concerns about rodent mitigation and the lack of specific cost numbers for a district-wide pilot.
  • School Committee Member Dr. Phillips requested that the School Department finance team explicitly cost out a serious pilot program or district-wide implementation to present to the City Council before the next budget season.
  • School Committee Member Ms. Patone framed the initiative as an investment in student culture and values rather than a financial transaction, noting that students feel strongly about environmental stewardship.
  • School Committee Member Ms. Barry (Food Services Director) stated that the Food Services Department is open to starting a pilot, provided rodent control measures are robust and costs are shared. She noted that "back-of-house" waste is low due to menu planning (e.g., repurposing chicken into pot pies), while "front-of-house" waste would require significant additional staffing.
  • Director Blaze acknowledged the complexity, noting that the City is researching rat-proof drop-off options with neighboring communities and has conducted site visits to assess rodent risks.
  • Councilor Clingen requested that the City continue to investigate options and provide concrete cost estimates before the budget season.

Winter Hill and Brown Schools Location Update

  • Director Rish (Infrastructure and Asset Management) reported that contract negotiations with architect Perkins Eastman are complete. He presented findings from the Citizen Construction Advisory Group (CAG) and a community survey (2,500 respondents).
  • Survey Results: There is a clear community consensus against building on Trumbull Field due to various concerns. Regarding the merger of schools, the community is divided: Wards 4, 5, and 6 favor separate facilities, while Wards 1, 2, 3, and 7, along with high school aged demographics, favor a combined facility. The CAG is expected to deliver a Majority and Minority opinion on October 10th.
  • Timeline and Decision Making: Director Rish clarified that the final decision rests with the Mayor, who serves on the MSBA. While the current Mayor (Ballantyne) aims to finalize recommendations by December 2025, the outgoing Mayor will likely consult with the Mayor-elect before releasing the final decision, meaning the formal agreement to the MSBA may not be signed until 2026.
  • Dr. Phillips requested confirmation on the timeline and location to provide solace to the Winter Hill community regarding their long-term placement during construction.
  • Councilor Davis questioned the financial feasibility of the existing Brown School site for future MSBA funding if a combined school is not pursued, with Director Rish noting it is "exceptionally unlikely" the MSBA would fund a renovation there in the foreseeable future if a new combined school is not built.

Public Meeting Website for School Maintenance

  • Councilor Saeed expressed frustration that constituents cannot easily find a centralized, up-to-date repository for school maintenance and capital project updates (specifically referencing the Chelsea model). She requested a dedicated website for these updates.
  • Director Rish (IAM) apologized for the delay, attributing it to staffing shortages during the busy summer construction season. He noted that the new Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) will soon provide data for reporting, but a public-facing website is still in development.

Railing Installation at Winterhill Playground

  • Councilor Streitza noted that a railing was ordered for the concrete stairs between play structures and the soccer field due to accessibility concerns, specifically as the area serves as the location for the city's only fully accessible slide. The Department of Public Works has agreed to install the railing.

Potential Acquisition of St. Anne's Building

  • Councilor Streitza expressed interest in potentially acquiring the vacant St. Anne's school building (owned by the Archdiocese of Boston) to expand the Winterhill campus footprint without building vertically.
  • Director Rish reported that while the Archdiocese is open to discussion, the City is not yet in a position to make an offer due to the pending MSBA feasibility study for the new school location. The conversation remains open.

Menstrual Product Dispensers

  • DPW Commissioner reported that there are no known inoperable dispensers in any schools; dispensers are present in all schools except Capoana (Early Childhood) and Brown (K-5).
  • Councilor Streitza asked about the restoration process and frequency of refilling. Ms. Barry confirmed that custodians refill them and that 311 is the reporting mechanism for failures.
  • Councilor Baton raised a concern regarding gender-inclusive restrooms, noting that the list of dispensers did not explicitly account for all students who may menstruate in

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. This is the joint uh committee meeting on school buildings, facilities, and maintenance. Uh, we're here together with the school committee. Um, I am Jesse Klingon, the chair of this committee. It is now 6.02 p.m. We're starting this meeting first with the um a little blurb that we read in order to be able to hold this meeting remotely. Pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025, this meeting of a city council committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. Uh that being said, um, could you please, Madam Clerk? Could you please call the role to establish quorum? Yep. This is roll call. Counselor Say here. Counselor Davis. Here. Chair Klingon. Present. All right, with that, everyone is here and we do have quorum. All right, excellent. I am going to now turn it over to the school committee so they can uh establish quorum and open their meeting. Thank you, Councillor Klingon. This is Le Ron Bitone, Chair uh for the school committee's um subcommittee of the same name. Uh I am establishing quorum here at 603. Uh Sarah Phillips, are you here? Laura Patone. Are you here yet? Not yet. Okay. Uh so we have quorum with two of three. And I will turn it back to you, Councilor Clingen. Okay, excellent. Um we have a few things on the agenda. Um, there are attached memos to the agenda for some of them. Um the first item we have I will lay on the table. That's the approval of the minutes of the school buildings facility maintenance special committee meeting of September 15th. Uh we'll lay that on the table for approval at the end of the meeting. Um item two, which is a standing update uh regarding uh that the administration provide the special committee on school building facilities and maintenance with regular updates, both the Massachusetts school building authority process for the Winter Hill and Brown schools. So I um have not watched the meeting. I, you know, I I wasn't gonna have this on the agenda because I didn't know what type of if there would be a substantial update of any time, but I guess um since we we did put this meeting after the uh the CAG meeting, the citizen uh construction advisory group. Um that I guess I'm not sure what happened at the meeting last night, but I know we have staff here to speak up uh to give an update or speak on this item. So I see um Leia Zanaradassi's hand up. Uh go right ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I just I was wondering if we'd be able to take item four actually out of order. Uh Director Blaze has a time constraint, and I was just hoping if it's not too much trouble. Not a problem. Thank you. All right. So Madam Clerk, we'll jump to item four, which is uh that the administration released the report on the school department composting pilot program and the commission of public commissioner public works update this council on any plans to reintroduce composting in the schools.

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