School building readiness questions — File 211394

That the Mayor, Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management, DPW Commissioner, and Director of Health and Human Services respond to these questions contained within regarding ventilation and school-building readiness from Somerville Public Schools parents who are experts in building issues, and who urge a “mixed-mode” and more-flexible approach to reopening school buildings. 1) Some parents who work professionally on these issues have suggested that in addition to retrofitting all the school buildings’ central HVAC systems, a quicker, more flexible, more localized approach would be best. Recently, they have advocated for “mixed-mode” ventilation systems – opening windows, window fans, portable units, and other temporary air filtration fixes that would facilitate reopening schools – in addition to upgrading central HVAC air-circulation and filtration systems. There seem to be problems and delays with fixing some schools’ central HVAC air filtration and circulation systems. Can the Administration revisit looking at natural and mixed-mode ventilation as part of the solution to reopening schools and classrooms, without compromising plans that are currently in place? 2) Can all the classrooms in the Brown and Winter Hill be assessed to see if some of them could be used by employing natural and mixed-mode ventilation? 3) A longer-term question, but one that needs to be investigated as soon as staff bandwidth allows: What is the City doing to ensure that all school buildings will be fully operational this fall so that, if the District is required to maintain 6-foot social distancing, there is enough building space for all students to return full-time? If there wouldn’t be enough building space with the 6-foot requirement, what is the City doing now to investigate or create a plan for additional classroom space for September 2021? 4) It has been reported by our School Committee colleagues to this Council that apparently work that was contracted to have been performed by Honeywell over the past 10 years on our school buildings was either not done, or was done poorly. As a result, we have additionally heard that the HVAC and air filtration systems in many schools are in worse shape than the Administration had understood, and thus will take longer and be more difficult to bring up to the high standards that the Administration has set. I ask that the Council receive an accounting of what has occurred in terms of the Honeywell contract and how the City is dealing with any lack of performance by Honeywell. What impact will the problems with the Honeywell contract work have in terms of the timeline and cost for fixing and rebalancing the schools’ central HVAC air circulation and filtration systems? 5) Can the Director of IAM please document and explain to the Council and the public what the specific targets in terms of air quality and exchange rates (air changes per hour) are for our school buildings? How will the City monitor and ensure maintenance of these standards? 6) Is the City still planning to invest in system upgrades in the schools such as humidification and use of ultraviolet light (UV) disinfection? According to parent

experts, both of these are unnecessary for adequate air circulation and healthy air in terms of Covid-19, and both can have negative effects on buildings and health. If the City is still planning to invest in these upgrades, can the Director of IAM please explain why they are necessary and how they minimize risk for transmission of Covid-19.