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Project: Lexington High School Project No:
Subject: School Building Committee Meeting Meeting Date: 5/20/24
Location: Hybrid(146 Maple Street&Zoom) Time: 12:00 PM
Distribution: Attendees,Project File Prepared By: J. Greco
Present Name Affiliation Present Name Affiliation
✓ Kathleen Lenihan* SBC Chair&SC Member ✓ Mike Burton DWMP
Michael CAngelo ronin* SBC Vice Chair&LPS Facilities ✓ Christina Dell An DWMP
✓
J Superintendent�✓
Julie Hackett* up ww � ermtende Steve Brown DWMP
✓ Jim Malloy* Town Manager Mike Cox fI DWMP
✓
Joe Pato* Select Board Chair - Rachel Rincon I; DWMP
�✓ Mark Barrett* � : Public Facilities Manager Jason Boone DWMP
✓ CharlesFavazzoJr* PBC Co-Chair Brad Dore DWMP
Jonathan
✓
J Himmel* PBC Chair ✓ -Jacob Greco DWMP
Andrew Baker* Interim Lexington High School Principal Chris Schaffner Green Engineer
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Carolyn Kosnoff* Finance Assistant Town Manager ✓ Lorraine Finnegan SMMA
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�✓ Hsing Min Sha* : Community Representative ✓ Rosemary Park SMMA
✓ Kseniya Slaysky* Community Representative ✓ Matt Rice SMMA
✓ Charles Lam wwp ital Expenditures
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Lamb Ca Committee ✓ - Brian Black SMMA
✓ .Alan Levine Appropriation Committee Erin Prestileo SMMA
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✓ Dan Voss* Sustainable Lexington Committee ✓ AnthonyJimenez SMMA
......Maureen Kavanaugh........ Director ofPlanning and
Assessment - Martine Dion SMMA
„And
Oldeman - Anoush Kra ian SMMA
Michael Dowhan SMMA... ,�
Action Item Follow Up
Lexington to create a project central Google Drive space and share it with the team where all shared project information will be stored Lexington
Dore&Whittier will transition important links from the website to this new storage location D&W
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Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 2
Item Description Action
No.
11.1 Call to Order&Intro:Called to order by Kathleen Lenihan at 12:02
pm . Record
11.2 Approval of April 22,2024,April 29,2024,and May 6 2024 Meeting Minutes: Record
• A motion to approve the April 22,2024,April 29,2024,and May 6,2024
Meeting Minutes made by M.Barrett and seconded by M.Cronin.
• Discussion:J.Hackett noted that the suggestions provided by H.M Sha were
included
• The May 13th minutes were not included in this vote
• Roll Call Vote:A.Baker-Absent,M.Cronin-Yes,C.Favazzo-Yes,J.
Hackett-Yes,J.Himmel-Yes,C.Kosnoff-Yes,J.Pato-Yes,K.Slaysky-
Yes,H.Sha-Yes,K.Lenihan-Yes,D.Voss-Yes,J.Malloy-Yes,Mark Barrett
-Yes 12-0-0.
11.3 Review Thought Exchange Results Record
• C.D Angelo noted there were 1,040 participants,857 thoughts,and 36,000
ratings.63%were parent/guardians
• C.D Angelo shared that Thought Exchange creates summaries to hit on the
main points
• C.D Angelo noted that 70%of the responses supported new construction over
addition/renovation or repair.
• C.D Angelo noted some of the key thoughts
o Expansion room
o Designed as long as possible
o Handling the student population
• C.D Angelo reviewed more of the key thoughts
o C.D Angelo noted that the full list of thoughts can be found in the
linked presentation for review.
o The provided presentation will be posted for the publics review
• M.Burton noted that there is a large variety of ways to review this information
and thinks a smaller working group would be beneficial to get a deep dive into
the information.
• J.Pato noted that this is great effort for outreach but noted that the first
question forced people into choosing one instead of supporting both.Pato
noted that another round of through exchange with more structured questions
would be beneficial.Pato also requested to see the full Al summaries
• H.M Sha noted that Thought Exchange did not quite reach his expectations.Sha
noted that the key take away is not a representative sample and it should not
be treated as such.Sha noted that this only captured the voices of people in
one channel and there are more community members that need to be reached
out to for a full representation of the population.Sha noted that the committee
should be careful grouping everything under the term Al
• K.Slaysky wants to assure members of the public that although the Al tools are
helpful the committee is not being reliant on that,Slaysky has personally read
all the comments.She reminded everyone that this is a survey and not a vote.It
will not be used to directly make choices but to flush out concerns and some
voices that have not been heard.Slaysky noted this will be useful to carry into
Page 2 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 3
the next phase of the project.The doubling of communication working groups
will be helpful to share the information available to the public in a easy to
digest way
• J.Himmel asked if Thought Exchange has any tools to capture more of the
population?
o CID Angelo noted that there were many reminders sent out to the
community through multiple channels as recommended by Thought
Exchanged
o J.Hackett noted this was talked about when first reviewing Thought
Exchange,Hackett keeps wondering if they could engage the SSBC
members to use tablets and outreach with sections of the community
where they may not have access to it.
o K.Lenihan noted it is much easier to reach out to parents/guardians
and there is no"email list"for all the community members of
Lexington
• J.Himmel noted if it will be beneficial to go back and rank the selection criteria
for the options
• J.Hackett noted that she does not think the tool(Thought Exchange)is not at
fault,but it is how the committee uses the tool.Hackett noted she discussed
the tool with a parent who is an MIT alumnus about how they loved Thought
Exchange and how useful it was for the community.Hackett noted that what is
in the question is very important as it can be easy to lead someone to an
answer through the questions.She also noted that she personally read every
comment.Hackett noted that Al flags comments provided,and every comment
was approved unless it was complete nonsense and not related to the project.
• J.Hackett noted she was expecting more participation from the staff and
students but that this was good as it was not overloaded from one stake
holder's view
• M.Burton noted this will be a good point of discussion at the next
communication working group.Burton noted that at the end of the PSR phase
(around October)Thought Exchange will be useful to help narrow down from
the five(5)options to the one selection.
• J.Pato noted that it may be useful to use Thought Exchange for other
communication outreach exercises as well.
• K.Slaysky asked if the Lexington population demographic is similar at all to the
respondent's demographic
• H.M Sha asked if Thought Exchange can join the communications working
group meeting
o K.Lenihan:Yes
• A.Levine asked if the members online could mute their microphones if they are
not speaking
11.4 Review Draft PDP Submission
• L.Finnegan noted she is hopeful for some feedback on the selected
options and presentation that was sent over.This is what the PDP will
consist of.
• J.Hackett noted she will provide an updated Page 71 for the
Educational Program
Page 3 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page:4
• J.Hackett noted she also had trouble accessing the link along with
J.Pato.
• J.Pato noted he was able to access it this morning,but the links still
were not working
• C.D Angelo noted that Dore&Whittier is reviewing with their IT about
the issues with SharePoint links
• C.D.Angelo also noted this could be an issue with Square
Space(the website provider)about restrictions in place.
• M.Burton noted they can review offline about using google drive or
another software that works better for the Lexington team.
• J.Pato noted that a Lexington google drive directory where
everything will be downloaded would be the best as the
links sometimes work on some browsers but when selected
from other locations they do not work.
• Dore&Whittier will review and get back to the committee
• C.Favazzio noted that he had no trouble accessing the link,but it
could be useful to use Procore
• SMMA noted that they do not have a Procore license as the
contractor normally provides it.
• J.Himmel noted he has previously looked into Procore for a town,and
it is much cheaper than when used for a contractor
• M.Burton noted that almost all contractors bring Procore to
the table and Designers/OPMs do not have licenses for it
but it could be useful to bring it in sooner than that.Burton
noted he will talk about the Construction Manager at Risk vs
General Contractor decision later this presentation.
• K.Slaysky noted that this is more than a SharePoint issue,it
is also a Data ownership issue.Everything shared should be
owned by the town and the links on the website should be
shared from a town page.Slaysky agreed that Procore is the
best for the Construction Phase and the contractor will
bring their own version to it.She recommends that the
town create a google drive and provide access to the OPM
team and Designer to create and share links.
• J.Hackett confirmed that the google drive will work and this can be the
solution
• M.Burton asked if there was any questions or comments on the PDP
solution
• K.Lenihan noted that she read through it,especially the
educational plan,and found it was put together very well
and someone not in tune with the project can get a great
sense of it.
• M.Burton noted that the majority of the submission has
already been approved
• A.Levine noted he has had problems accessing materials online and
thinks that these tools will not be useful.The town should set up a
page where all files can be dropped prior to any public meetings.
Levine noted that this is much too complicated,and the documents
need to be up prior to the meetings.
• K.Slaysky asked if this version of the PDP draft is final as the
conclusion appears incomplete?Slaysky asked if the PDP is ready to
be voted on?
Page 4 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 5
• L.Finnegan noted that the overall conclusion isjust a review
of the 5/13/24 meeting where the options were selected.
The submission is 99.9%complete aside from this.
• J.Hackett asked if the submission can be reviewed on the screen for
everyone to see
• B.Black asked if people are viewing the most current document as the
overall conclusions were updated on Friday
• J.Hackett listed the sections of the PDP Submission
• Introduction
• Educational Program
• Initial Space Summary
• Evaluation of Existing Conditions
• Site development Requirements
• Preliminary Evaluations of Alternatives
• Local Actions and Approvals
• Conclusions
• L.Finnegan reviewed the sections of the PDP Submission
• Finnegan noted that with every submission the same
sections are include as the MSBA wants to verify they are
the same
• The educational Program was originally provided in a
different style,but it was modified for the submission
• The initial space summary is included,the sheet that
provides the total General Square Footage for just the base
school
• The existing condition report to demonstrate the current
state of the school and the land ownership
• All attachments from consultants are in included
• The site development requirements for fences,wetlands,
site security,access,etc.
• The preliminary evaluation alternatives
• This is the process we just went through and
eventually where we selected the five options
moving forward
• The local actions and approval letter along with the backup
• J.Pato asked after submission where are we in the MSBA timeline.If
we wanted to make changes to this,are we able to?Pato said as an
example that what if the community decided they do not want to
spend$600 million can the educational program that brought us here
be changed?Will the community be stuck.
• L.Finnegan noted that the MSBA will respond to the
submission after 21 days,they will provide feedback on the
educational program and the budget.Finnegan noted that
nothing is final until the end of the Schematic Design,not
the budget,educational program,or the space summary.
• K.Slaysky noted that schedule should be include in this as
well
• L.Finnegan noted that selected options were:
• B.1:Renovation and Addition,Phased in Place
• C.1 d:New Construction on Fields
• C.2b:New Construction on Fields
• C.5b:New Construction on Fields
• D.2:New Construction,Phased in Place
Page 5 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 6
• J.Hackett asked if the school choice vote of no for tuition agreement
should be included
• L.Finnegan responded yes
D.2 Concepts
• K.Lenihan asked what the difference is in D.2/13.2 and to review the
D.2 option
• L.Finnegan noted that in D.2 there is no renovation,it is just
in the same location as the old school,one piece is built
then one is torn down and that cycle repeats.
• B.Black noted that they are trying to orient the buildings in a
east/west line and also pulled back the building to avoid all
Article 97 land
• L.Finnegan noted the north and northeast green area on
D.2 is all wetlands so the building will not be moved there.
• L.Finnegan noted to M.Cronin's question that with these
options and the nature of the site there will be disturbance
to the fields.The question now is which ones and when and
how it can be mitigated.
• M.Burton noted that whether it is one field or all of them it
is best to think about it now about how to deal with this.It is
could to assume the worst case scenario and hopefully it
will not be that.
• C.Favazzio noted that with D.2 the future expansion to go
vertical is still an option
• J.Hackett asked for the minutes to be clarified the pros of
option D.2 that Article 97,wetland impact,access via
Worthen Rd.,no permanent changes to the fields,maintains
the connection to Muzzey street,a possibility for a larger
field house but the original does not need to be removed.
• H.M.Sha asked that due to how D.2 is so concentrated are there
some fields out on the plan west of the site that could remain
undisturbed?
• L.Finnegan responded by noting this will be laid out with
more detail in PSR
• L.Finnegan noted that the modulars would be located on some of the
practice fields to left of the school as there has to be local proximity
to enter the building.These modulars will be shown in the future
drawing
• Approve with Vote
• J.Hackett made a motion to accept and approve the PDP
Submission along with submitting the document to the
MSBA.J.Pato seconded this motion.
• Discussion:None
• Roll Call Vote:A.Baker-Absent,M.Cronin-Yes,C.
Favazzo-Yes,J.Hackett-Yes,J.Himmel-Yes,C.Lamb-
Yes,J.Pato-Yes,K.Slaysky-Yes,H.Sha-Yes,K.Lenihan
-Yes,D.Voss-Yes,J.Malloy-Yes,Mark Barrett-Yes 12-0-
0.
Page 6 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 7
• C.Favazzio asked to review the 5/13 SBC minutes comments to
approve and include them in the package now.
• J.Himmel noted that the first page referencing cost
estimates should be an order of Magnitude instead.Himmel
noted that the code upgrade only will not achieve the
additional space,this should be included.On the 2nd page
the notes for group 2 should include how much room for
adjustments is allowed.Himmel noted at the very bottom of
the page there is a comment by M.Cronin that structured
parking will be(2)levels,one on grade and one raised,after
this should follow all massing studies have 450 parking
spots.Himmel noted that where L.Finnegan notes that the
450 spots does not include the(insert parking)spots for the
central office.C.Favazzio noted that he Dislikes the phased
in place new construction,not likes.Himmel noted that
some of the statements made by the public,some are not
true,and foot notes should be included.Himmel noted
LABBB should have three(3)"B's".
• J.Hackett noted that instead of footnotes the next
meeting can touch on these discrepancies.
• A motion to approve the May 13,2024,Meeting Minutes made by C.
Favazzio and seconded by J.Hackett
• Discussion:None
• The May 13th minutes were not included in this vote
• Roll Call Vote:A.Baker-Absent,M.Cronin-Yes,C.Favazzo-Yes,
J.Hackett-Yes,J.Himmel-Yes,C.Kosnoff-Yes,J.Pato-Yes,K.
Slaysky-Yes,H.Sha-Yes,K.Lenihan-Yes,D.Voss-Yes,J.Malloy-
Yes,Mark Barrett-Yes 12-0-0.
• L.Finnegan noted a code renovation option is to update the building
to meet today's code.This includes energy code via insulation and
envelope fixes,the mechanical,electrical,plumbing,and fire
protection would all need to meet today's code.This is useful to see
what the bare minimum cost would be.If the addition/renovation is
used there are multiple triggers that,if it,would require the whole
building to be upgraded even spaces not being touched.
• J.Himmel noted that these are not suggestions by SMMA
this is law
• SMMA agreed that this is not a choice,it is the building
code.
11.5 Upcoming Meetings Record
• 5/20 SBC Meeting No.11 -Review Draft PDP submission and vote
to approve
• 5/28 SBC Coordination Meeting-Vote to approve PDP(CANCLED)
• 6/24/24-SBC Meeting-Review MSBA PDP comments,review
education adjacency diagrams
Page 7 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 8
• 7/8/24-SBC Meeting(if needed due to not receiving MSBA
comments by 6/24/24.
• 7/22/24-SBC Meeting-Review architectural and site conceptual
drawings(5 options),3 or 4 floor votes
• 8/19/24-SBC Meeting-Discussion of CM at Risk vs Design Bid
Build
• 9/16/24-SBC Meeting-Approving CMR;Review FG feedback;Review
updated Site and Building concepts,parking decision and vote,
expansion of building decision and vote
• 10/21/24-SBC Meeting-Present concept plans with costs and
schedule,Rank the 5 options,other program(Field House,Pool,
Central offices)decision and vote
• 11/11/24-SBC Meeting-Vote on preferred schematic
option/roundtable discussion
• 12/2/24-SBC Meeting-Review Draft PSR Submission
• 12/16/24-SBC Meeting-Vote to submit PSR to MSBA
• M.Burton noted that during the summer it can be hard to find people.
Dore&Whittier has met with SMMA and identified some big picture
decisions that the SBC will have to make in this phase.
• L.Finnegan noted that we will be submitting the PSR early as the
current date is 12/26/24.The next step would be getting back out and
conducting more programming as the design criteria will be better
known and have changed.
• K.Slaysky asked where does Article 97 fit into this timeline?Slaysky
also asked if the October vote for the extra add-ons is for the SBC?
o M.Burton noted yes as it is the SBC's charge to vote a
recommendation.The Article 97 timeline is on the monthly
reports which is on the website.
• H.M.Sha asked about the need for the coordination meetings
o M.Burton noted that unless they are hijacked by the project
team the SBC is free to have as many coordination meetings
as possible.
• J.Himmel asked that some of these items are interchanged but
separated on the schedule.How can one be chosen when the option
for the other has not been decided.Himmel also noted that there has
been no discussion regarding the design charrette.Himmel noted
that the SBC may need some presentations for in depth topics(like
the one provided on track sizes)to better understand some of these
topics.
o L.Finnegan noted that SMMA will create a flyer for how the
Design Charrette will be conducted.She noted this will be
similar to the 5/13 SBC meeting.
• K.Lenihan will send out a message to the SBC regarding the need of
coordination meetings
Page 8 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 9
• J.Hackett asked for a 6-week break when school ends due to the lack
of attendance and vacations.
11.6 Central Office Memo
• J.Hackett noted that the 18.000SF is enough for the educational program as
noted in the Space Summary
o R.Park noted there are five(5)extra teaching spaces aside from the
gymnasium
• J.Hackett noted that the correlation between addition/reno and not a parent is
not a factual statement but can be looked into
• J.Hackett review the central office memo
o Hackett noted there are five questions,soon to be six,regarding the
central office relocations
1. Problem
i. An analysis has been conducted by the capital planning and 146
Maple Street was given an"F.It will cost roughly 15-19 million to
provide the renovation.
2. Process
i. The memo provided a multitude of links starting in 2021 about the
correspondence regarding the process to come to these conclusions
3. Overcrowding
i. If future overcrowding becomes an issue,the 17,000 net square feet
designated to the central office will be the first to be converted to
approximately 15-20 classrooms.
ii. The central office is happy to be located anywhere and even move
back to Bedford St.However,this provides an opportunity to have
space ready to convert over to classrooms which otherwise would not
be available.
4. Athletics
i. The Recreation and Community Programs Department's unmet need
for playing time on athletic fields operates at a 2,500-hour deficit,and
students are the primary users of athletic
fields and facilities in Town.A high school building project without
alternative solutions would mean more potential disruption for
student's post-pandemic.
ii. This could be timed properly to provide new fields for use while the recreation
of the ones at the high school is ongoing if that is required
5. Cost
i. The cost will be roughly the same amount based on the initial cost
estimate.This will be technically a wash as the money will be required
one way or another.It would be better to spend the money and have
the future ability for expansion
6. Ballot Vote
i. The Central Office will not require a separate ballot vote
Community Response Letter
• M.Rice reviewed the community response
o The project team holds the community's response in high regards
and wants to provide feedback to some of the consist options
provided by the community.
Page 9 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 10
o This memo provides some clarity and critiques of the proposed
community options but also notes some of the common themes that
the Design Team agrees with.A lot of the community feedback has
been intertwined with the provided options even though the actual
proposal has not been presented as standalone options.
o The upcoming design charrette will be a great opportunity to talk
one-on-one or in small groups about some of the topics provided
o SMMA has increased the number of options to preserve the current
footprint of LHS and avoid Article 97
o SMMA has revisited site circulation to keep the main traffic flow off of
Worthen Rd
o SMMA has taken into account the preservation of the existing
auditorium and the sight-line form Muzzey St
• The below considerations are from SMMA
Considerations regarding the 04/16/2024 community proposal that
has been suggested by Peter Kelley
• The I"and"2"classroom wings that are proposed to be added to the west
along Worthen Road and northeast parallel to Waltham Street would:
• Further attenuating circulation horizontally through the school
increasing student travel times between classes and exacerbating the
feeling of long anonymous hallways that are non-conducive to
fostering a sense of community within the school.
• Remain too narrow as a building form to provide the critical types of
program adjacencies that foster next generation teaching and
learning that are at the heart of the educational plan that has been
developed by the school district and school.The suggested width of
the new wings(which matches the existing 1950's classroom wings)
will yield only a single loaded corridor circulation pattern.
• Provide less than ideal building orientations of the primary learning
environments for solar control and daylight access which negatively affect
overall building performance and energy efficiency.
• The renovation of the 1950's A&B wings will perpetuate the challenges
inherent with original construction of that vintage:
• As noted above for the new wings that match the width of the 1950's
vintage wings,the building width yields only a single loaded corridor
circulation pattern as a viable option which does not support next
generation teaching and learning as outlined in the educational plan.
• The existing A&B wings have a 13'-0"floor to floor height,which is
less than the preferred modern floor to floor height that is closer to
16'-0"which is needed for modern ventilation systems and desired air
change rates.This could result in low ceiling heights and
consequently oppressive feeling interior environments.
• To meet the educational program requirements regarding classroom size,
existing rooms would need to be increased in size which would present the
potential of freestanding columns being located in the midst of classroom
spaces.
• A gut renovation of the existing 1950's structure would trigger the need to
make the structural frame compliant with current building code in terms of
lateral support.This would involve the addition of shear walls or steel cross
bracing,which when combined with the note regarding freestanding columns
in classrooms above,would greatly compromise and constrain the potential
layout of new classroom spaces.
Page 10 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 11
• The proposed relocation of the field house to the north presents a critical
compromise in terms of the two independent sets of votes that will need to be
made for the school and the field house due to MSBA requirements.Building
on top of the existing field house footprint with something other than a new
field house(or renovating the existing field house),creates the possibility that a
new school could be approved by the town while the field house would not be
approved,resulting in a new school without any type of field house.
• While this proposal does largely avoid building new construction on the existing
fields,the necessary phased renovation of the 1950's wing will require the use
of costly and non-MSBA reimbursable temporary modular classroom buildings.
Those modular classroom buildings may need to be located on the fields in a
temporary condition.If the modular classroom buildings are instead located
temporarily over existing parking lots,that parking program would either need
to be temporarily removed,relocated off site at an additional cost to the
project,or relocated on top of the existing fields.There will also be an interim
need for construction project lay-down space,as well as viable open land below
which to install the ground source heat pump(geo-thermal)wells,all of which
may compromise use of the fields during the duration of construction.In
summary-maintaining all of the existing fields in operation or the duration of
construction will be challenging regardless of the option that is chosen.The
project is instead planning on off-site temporary accommodations for field
resources during construction.
Considerations regarding the 04/22/2024 community proposal that
has been suggested by Tina McBride and Lin Jensen
• The renovation of&addition of two stories above the 1960's vintage J&H
buildings(Math&World Language)would prove to be challenging for the
following reasons:
• The existingJ&H buildings have a 10'-4"floor to floor height,which is
much less than the preferred modern floor to floor height that is
closer to 16'-0"which is needed for modern ventilation systems and
desired air change rates.This could result in low ceiling heights or
even the need to omit acoustic ceilings entirely and consequently
create oppressive feeling interior environments with
compromised acoustics,as is found currently in those existing
buildings.
• The column grid spacing of the existing)&H buildings is too dense to
efficiently provide classroom sizes that meet the educational program(and
MSBA)requirements.Existing rooms would need to be increased in size which
would present the potential of freestanding columns being located in the midst
of classroom spaces.
• Additionally,because the existing classroom sizes are insufficient,the
classroom count capacity of these existing buildings would be reduced driving
up the size of the new construction additions to accommodate the balance of
necessary classroom spaces.
• The structural logistics of adding two floors above the existing structure is
enormously complicated by the geo-technical qualities of the surrounding soil
which has a high organic content and is consequently considered"soft".The
existing structure is not sufficient to support either the vertical gravity loads or
lateral loads of floors being added above.Any new structure for floors being
added above would need to be located around the perimeter of the existing
structure and laced through the center of it,which would erode much of the
Page 11 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 12
historic character/value of these buildings.This would also involve an extreme
cost premium and schedule impact due to deep foundation work and shoring of
the existing structure during construction.
• The construction of new and/or addition/renovation four story structures on
the northern edge of the site while renovating the two story 1950's vintage
structures on the southern side of the site will create vertical discontinuity of
the educational
environment.The upper floors to the north will feel disconnected from the
remainder of the school and will create circulation bottlenecks as students need
to move up into and down from the higher stories.
• The same challenges noted above for the prior community scheme regarding
the renovation of the 1950's A&B wings would exist with this option.
• As an addition-renovation option that looks to re-use the majority of the
existing structures,construction would be both highly disruptive to existing
portions of the building which remain in operation and would require the use
of costly and non-MSBA reimbursable temporary modular classroom buildings.
Similar to the comments provided for the prior community scheme,the
presence of temporary modular classroom facilities and/or the other
construction related activities on the site will
impact the existing fields and parking lots,so these could not remain unaffected.
Considerations regarding the 03/22/2024 community proposal that
has been suggested byJim Williams
• Similar to the 04/16/2024 Peter Kelley community proposal commented on
above,the new longer classroom wing that is proposed to be added to the west
along Worthen Road would:
• Remain too narrow as a building form to provide the critical types of
program adjacencies that foster next generation teaching and
learning that are at the heart of the educational plan that has been
developed by the school district and school.The suggested width of
the new wings(which matches the existing 1950's classroom wings)
will yield only a single loaded corridor circulation pattern.
• Provide less than ideal building orientations of the primary learning
environments for solar control and daylight access which negatively affect
overall building performance and energy efficiency.
• The long Worthen Road addition is also separated from the remainder of the
school(in the completed condition)by the presence of the field house.Moving
around the perimeter of the field house segregates the portion of the school
community that will be teaching and learning in that structure,again eroding a
sense of connected community across the entire school.As a proposed 4-story
structure separated from the rest of the school,it will also create vertical
discontinuity of the educational environment.All three of the upper levels will
feel even more disconnected from the remainder of the school,and will create
circulation bottlenecks as students need to move up into and down from the
higher stories.
Considerations regarding the 03/26/2024 community proposal that has been
suggested by Jim Williams
• Comments here are similar to the 03/22/2024 proposal as much of that
approach is common to this one.
• The renovation and re-use of the existing gymnasium in its current
footprint/volume would not provide the necessary quantity of Physical
Education stations in that space to meet the educational plan.While this
Page 12 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 13
scheme notes that 30,000 SF of existing space may be freed up due to new
addition construction,converting the remaining existing space into expansion
space for the gymnasium will be invasive renovation work which will result in
extreme cost premiums and schedule impacts.
• J.Himmel shared that this was great as a response to these community
members but agrees that a cover summary page will be helpful
• J.Pato said thank you as this is a great response to the community.
11.7 Public Comment: Record
• Sarela Vliman-Cohen:The B1 renovation option does not save useful portions
of the school that lead to cost savings,it does not provide cost saving
alternatives either.An additional Add/Reno plan should be provided by SMMA
that provides a lower cost option.The survey did not reach the majority of the
Lexington Population and should be fixed to include more residents
• Bob Pressman:Interested in hearing from the town manager whether the
emergency phone system from the town can be used to garner participation in
the survey.The central recreation fields are so vital to the community,they are
often covered with people at all times of the day.Pressman noted the D.2
option is similar to how Winchester conducted their new school,and it could
provide some savings by not having to reconstruct the fields entirely.
• Jim Williams:Impressed by the way the project in general has been going and
assumes there will be a lot of public interest over the coming months.Williams
requested that the drawings be updated to show how many floors each model
is.Williams is worried that the project team may be"shooting themselves in the
foot"by not having a legitimate renovation/addition option
• Peter Kelley:Only 5%of the voting population participated in the Thought
Exchange survey,if a broader measurement of the community was surveyed,
we could find greater support for the add/reno option.Kelley intends to
provide a brief explanation each week about why add/reno should be the path
forward.He noted that the challenge of Article 97 should not be taken lightly,
its purpose is to protect open space.Article 97 can be contested and litigated
and there is no justification to violate it.
• Aviram Cohen:A mega-investment of$600 deserves a comprehensive ROI
analysis,Cohen understands the need to bring the building up to code but the
remaining$350 million needs justification.There is no need to wait until
October for another Thought Exchange-Lack of knowledge and
understanding.The data collection should be done continuously every 2 weeks.
Distribution list is minimal and contains people in Lexington High School,older
data sets could be used to get people who used to have students in the system
• Dawn Mckenna:The work for creating D.2 is very much appreciated.Mckenna
is most concerned about making sure the this is a public process as possible
and to define exactly what process will be used to make these decisions
discussed.How are the needs of a field house going to be addressed?The
principal of LHS stated that an 18,000 SF gym would not meet the educational
program,is that true?This room where the SBC meets needs to have
microphones as it is hard to hear everything online.Mckenna,and she feels she
speaks for a large majority of technology confused people,found Thought
Exchange confusing.Everything needs to be laid put on the project website as
easy as possible.
• Suzanne Houstas:Noted she knows how to get a town to adopt a point of view
as she has done it many times In her previous sales roll.She wants to create a
petition to try to get the town to sign off on what they want in a high school.
Noted the importance of security and keeping the fields open.
Page 13 of 14
Project: Lexington High School
Meeting:School Building Committee
Meeting No. 10-4/22/2024
Page: 14
11.8 Adjourn:Motion to adjourn at 2:37 was made by j.Hackett and seconded by M.Cronin Record
Roll Call Vote:A.Baker-Absent,M.Cronin-Yes,C.Favazzo-Yes,J.Hackett-Yes,J.
Himmel-Yes,C.Kosnoff-Yes,J.Pato-Yes,K.Slaysky-Yes,H.Sha-Yes,K.Lenihan
-Yes,D.Voss-Yes,J.Malloy-Yes,Mark Barrett-Absent 12-0-0.
Sincerely,
Jacob Greco
Assistant Project Manager
Cc:Attendees, File
The above is my summation of our meeting. If you have any additions and/or corrections, please
contact me for incorporation into these minutes.
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