Wellesley’s Hardy/Upham project—virtual community forum on Sept. 17th

September 15, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley residents are invited to take part in the third community forum on the Hardy/Upham project on Thur., Sept, 17 at 7pm.

The virtual webinar is hosted by the School Building Committee (SBC) and will feature an update from the project team on the status of the feasibility study. The public will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments.

The forum will be broadcast live by Wellesley Media on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 40, and live streamed on the Wellesley Media Government Channel.

Residents who wish to participate in the webinar must use this form to register in advance and receive the Zoom link.

At its meeting on September 24, the SBC is expected to make a recommendation on whether to build at Hardy or Upham with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

Wellesley elementary school project updates—Hunnewell nuts and bolts; Hardy/Upham swing space

September 11, 2020 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

At the September 9th School Committee (SC) meeting, SC Secretary Sharon Gray gave an update on the latest progress toward building a new Hunnewell Elementary School. Gray said that SMMA architecture firm team members gave a detailed public presentation of the civil engineering aspect of the Hunnewell project at a Planning Board meeting the previous day. Major talking points were water and sewer systems; traffic and parking; site circulation; utilities, drainage, and pretty much any other nuts-and-bolts building topic you could come up with.

The next meeting about the process, which will also be a public hearing, is October 5. Details to follow.

Hardy/Upham—swing space discussion

Although the School Building Committee has not yet put forth its recommendation for which of two elementary schools — Hardy or Upham — should be replaced, swing space discussions continue to loom large.

Of the three possibilities Gray reviewed, the most likely plan of action will be to build behind whichever school will be replaced. In this scenario, students would simply use the current Hardy or Upham school as swing space until construction on the new school is completed. Doing so would cause the fewest disruptions to students and families. In addition, there would be no expected scheduling impact for the project, which is expected to break ground in summer of 2023.

Anther plan discussed was creating a “mod farm” (a school made up of modular classrooms) sited at Hardy or Sprague. But at an estimated additional cost of $7 million dollars for a solution that doesn’t even include a cafeteria or a gym, that seems unlikely to happen. Also unlikely to come to pass would be the use of internal swing space after Hunnewell School’s expected 2024 completion. Such a plan would delay the Hardy or Upham School’s completion by one year.

Superintendent David Lussier appeared to favor building behind whichever school will be replaced, saying, “The goal is to create the fewest transitions for kids. Educationally, we’ve committed ourselves to reduce those transitions as much as we can.”

Upcoming important dates:

School Building Committee meeting: Friday, Sept, 11, 5pm
See the agenda
Please email the SBC for a Zoom link to participate in public comment: SBC@wellesleyma.gov
The meeting will be live streamed via Wellesley Public Media

School Building Committee Hardy/Upham Webinar Community Forum: Thur., Sept. 17 at 7pm. Residents who wish to participate in the webinar must use this form to register in advance and receive the Zoom link.

The forum will be broadcast live by Wellesley Media on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 40, and live streamed on the Wellesley Media Government Channel.

School Building Committee decision on new school site, Sept. 24
Details to follow

Hardy/Upham project planning decisions in Wellesley getting intense

September 9, 2020 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

At the September 8th Wellesley Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting, BOS member Tom Ulfelder reported on the topic of the School Building Committee (SBC)’s task to determine on which site a new elementary school should be located — at Upham or at Hardy. Ulfelder serves as the BOS liaison to the SBC.

Each of those elementary schools is under under consideration for a teardown/rebuild scenario. The site on which a new Hardy or Upham school will be built is as yet undetermined. The stakes are high, because one school’s rebuild will mean the other school’s closure as Wellesley moves from seven kindergarten – grade 5 elementary schools to a six-school model.

The School Committee says it will retain ownership of the closed school.

Pre-COVID, the timeline was for a schematic design for each site to be presented in May 2020 by Compass Project Management, the contracting firm tasked with the project. Last spring, the SBC reached a consensus to take a 3-month pause on Hardy/Upham Project work due to scheduling disruptions brought about by COVID.

That 3-month pause has ended.

BOS member Ulfelder said an issue that has come up regarding the Upham site has been “an effort to determine if you can locate an adequate facility on that lot and minimize the amount of ledge that would have to be removed and the tree canopy that would have to come down.”

The Upham site includes over five acres of woods, most of which would have to be cut down to make way for a new school, and over 20 feet of rock ledge, which would have to be blasted.

Some in town have questioned whether Hardy, Wellesley’s most racially diverse school, should be closed, while others cite traffic concerns, saying that a Hardy plan will increase the carload on an already busy Weston Road.

At two upcoming meetings, the SBC will be considering the options and ramifications of both sites as presented by the project’s designer. “A request was made to the designer to come up with enough information to bring this to a conclusion,” Ulfelder said. “The Thursday and Friday meetings are important as we move toward out current track of a Sept 24th decision” on where the new school will be sited.

Important dates:

School Building Committee meeting: Thursday, Sept. 10, 5:30pm
See the agenda
Please email the SBC for a Zoom link to participate in public comment: SBC@wellesleyma.gov
The meeting will be live streamed via Wellesley Public Media

Date not yet confirmed: Sept 24, SBC decision on new school site

Upham families bid Wellesley school year farewell

June 17, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Thanks to reader PC for sharing photos from Wednesday’s Upham Elementary School end-of-school car parade.

Upham school car parade 2020

More: Wellesley High School Class of 2020 car parade livestream video

School Building Committee agrees to take 3-month hiatus on Hardy/Upham project planning

April 20, 2020 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

What happened: The School Building Committee (SBC) during an April 16 Zoom meeting reached a consensus among its members to take a 3-month pause on Hardy/Upham Project work due to scheduling disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senior Project Manager Jeff D’Amico of Compass Project Management, the contracting firm tasked with the project, reported during the meeting that as of early March 2020, COVID-19 has interrupted the flow of scheduled benchmarks.

Most immediately affected is the schematic design of the project. D’Amico said “”We were trending toward getting a Preferred Schematic Recommendation (PSR) this month for submission in May” to the SBC.

That May submission date is considered no longer feasible because of a desire for full public participation in the process. A delay in the ability to solicit public participation on a PSR due to COVID-19 means that as a whole, the project benchmark dates are no longer feasible. In a domino effect, a delay of at least six months for the opening of a new school is therefore expected.

Although the public can comment and participate in public government meetings via Zoom, such meetings are not considered a replacement for traditional pubic forums. Because of social distancing measures, such forums cannot be scheduled for the foreseeable future, leading to an expected delay of at least six months — from an original date of August 2020 to a revised date of February 2025 — for the opening of a new school. The site on which a new Hardy or Upham school will be built is as yet undermined.

Once presented for public comment, the PSR, which would lay out the physical drawings of the space including a complete description of the building’s structural, mechanical, HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, as well as the interior and exterior finishes, and the siting of the building, will then presumably be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

The original date for submission to the MSBA was expected to be Dec, 31, 2020. The new submission date is now expected to be July 7, 2021.

D’Amico said that given these expected delays, “We’re suggesting that perhaps a hiatus should be taken over the next three months,” from work on the project, essentially from the middle of April through the middle of July. At that point the SBC would have the consultants continue the process from where it left off.

The hope is that by September, COVID-19 restrictions will have been lifted and the consultants and the SBC may then engage with the public through community forums to seek feedback on the project.

D’Amico’s main ask was for agreement from the SBC that a shift of approximately six months for the dates of all benchmarks is necessary and realistic. Due to the uncertain nature of COVID-19, D’Amico said the main thing was to work toward Oct 27, 2020 as a date for a Preferred Schematic Report submission.

The SBC agreed that a vote on pushing out the PSR submission date was not needed, and that simple agreement was adequate. The members agreed that as a Committee they had reached a consensus to take a pause on the Hardy/Upham Project until July 2020 due to scheduling disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wellesley coronavirus update: Schools clean, set to re-open Monday

March 7, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Town of Wellesley issued the following update on Saturday night regarding the cleaning of Upham Elementary School and Wellesley Middle School, which closed early on Friday in light of news that a parent of children at those schools tested positive for the new coronavirus (COVID-19):

Wellesley’s Facilities Management Department (FMD) has completed the cleaning and sanitizing of Upham Elementary and Wellesley Middle School.

Both schools were dismissed early on Friday, March 6 as a precautionary measure when a parent of two students received a presumed positive test for Coronavirus (COVID-19).

FMD custodial staff began cleaning and disinfecting both buildings once students and staff had left and completed the work late Saturday afternoon, March 7. Ten custodians worked across both schools, covering more than 270,000 square feet of space.

Cleaning and sanitizing is done using specialized Protexus electrostatic disinfectant dispensers and tablets which are recommended for this type of deep cleaning.

Currently, both schools, along with all other Wellesley Public Schools and Town buildings, are scheduled to be open on Monday, March 9.

While some non-School and non-Town sponsored events planned for this weekend have been cancelled, at this point all school and Town events will continue. We will update the community immediately if this changes.

To address continued community concerns, the Health Department website has detailed Coronavirus Information and resources, along with a list of Community Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) prepared with assistance from Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Health Department, Town and School officials remain in close communication throughout this weekend with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Another Town of Wellesley update will be posted on Sunday evening, March 8, prior to the start of the work week.

More: Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates

Wellesley coronavirus alert: Upham, Middle School students sent home early

March 6, 2020 by admin 8 Comments

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) has now made its impact in Wellesley.

Upham Elementary School and Wellesley Middle School students are being sent home before noon on Friday after a parent of Upham & WMS children has tested positive for COVID-19.

Wellesley Middle School Wellesley Public School parents on Friday morning received robocalls about the situation from Wellesley Public Schools Supt. David Lussier, who also issued this memo:

“Dear WPS Families and Staff,

“We learned a short while ago that a Wellesley resident has tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus.) This individual is a parent of children who attend the Upham Elementary School and Wellesley Middle School. It’s important to know that these children are showing no symptoms and are healthy. Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the proactive decision to release students early at Upham and WMS in order to fully clean and sanitize both buildings. All other WPS Schools will complete their day on a regular schedule.”

We will continue to work closely with the Wellesley Health Department and other Town officials in providing additional updates.

Wellesley schools are actually renowned for being green and clean.

More ramifications of Wellesley’s coronavirus situation will involve rescheduling and cancellation of events in town. For example, a girls’ youth basketball game planned for Friday night at WMS was initially relocated to Sprague Elementary School, but later that game was called off for tonight.

Separately, Wellesley United Soccer Club in light of the coronavirus situation in town has suspended its remaining winter programming, affecting all sessions scheduled between March 6-20. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. But our hope is that this action will ensure that WUSC families are not subject to COVID-19 exposure at WUSC events and our community is 100% healthy for the upcoming spring season that begins in early April,” a WUSC memo read.

Wellesley Public Schools also announced late Friday afternoon that “In accordance with guidance from the state, we have cancelled all international trips scheduled for Spring and Summer 2020. Families with children who were participating on these trips are working with their trip’s teacher to manage reimbursements and vouchers.”

Wellesley Health Department coronavirus update

The Wellesley case is one of 2 presumed positive cases in Norfolk County that are linked to a recent Biogen event held in Boston at the Marriott Long Wharf. “This individual was identified by the company as having close contact with a person who became ill after the meeting,” according to the Wellesley Health Department.

“The Wellesley Health Department remains in regular contact with [the Massachusetts Department of Public Health] and is following the guidance of [the Massachusetts Department of Public Health] and the [Centers for Disease Control]. We are working with State officials to trace anyone who may have had contact with this presumptive case.”

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said as of mid-day March 6 that the state has 1 confirmed case of COVID-19 and 7 presumed positive cases. State and Boston officials held a press conference on the latest coronavirus news on Friday afternoon.

More coronavirus communications

Wellesley businesses and organizations have also begun reaching out to patrons. One church assured parishioners that it will “attempt to provide individualized pastoral care to all folks in self-quarantine. If you need help (groceries, coffee, etc) while in self-quarantine please contact the church office. ” A fitness club reached out to customers, letting them know that they are adhering to government recommendations, continuing their deep cleaning and advising staff on “Avoiding kissing, hugging and the sharing of cups and water bottles.”

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More: Wellesley coronavirus updates

Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 resources

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