Minutes of a Meeting July 22, 2016
M
inutes of a Meeting
July 22, 2016 District Wide Health & Safety Committee Present:
Mrs. Passarelli, Mr. Strome Co-Chairs Mr. Coleman, Ms. Cook, Mr. Cox, Mr. Daly, Mr. Newman, Mr. Nole, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Starvaggi
Mrs. Passarelli called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. On the motion by Mr. Newman, seconded by Mrs. Passarelli, the committee unanimously accepted the minutes of the previous meeting. On the motion of Mr. Cox, seconded by Mr. Daly, the committee agreed to relax “Roberts Rules of Order” to facilitate ease of discussion for the committee. Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey White introduced Mr. Carl Thurnau to the committee. Mr. Thurnau will be the district’s Director of Facilities starting on September 12. Mr. Thurnau currently is employed by the State Education Department. Before moving on to the items on the agenda, the members of the committee first discussed the newly reappointed committee did not have a Board member assigned to the committee. Mrs. Relkin, newly elected president of the Board of Education, will no longer serve on the committee, however members of the committee felt it was important to have a representative of the Board working alongside us on the committee. On the motion of Mr. Strome, seconded by Mr. Coleman, the committee unanimously urged the Board of education to appoint a Board member to the committee. New Business 1. Update on Capital Projects – Mr. J. Michael Orrifici updated the committee on the ongoing work at Barnard School and Daniel Webster School, including a summary of work completed thus far, and a projected timeline for the completion of the projects begun this summer. 2. Playgrounds- Surveying work was underway on playgrounds at Barnard School and Jefferson School in preparation for work to be started in the latter part of the 2016-2017 school years. Mr. Strome suggested the district consolidate some of the bidding for playground apparatus to achieve an economy of scale and Mr. Coleman suggested that use of the playgrounds be reviewed, and possibly limited, to prevent any safety issues until the grounds are completely upgraded. Mr. Cox raised concerns that work at Trinity School’s playground has not begun and that this work was promised to be done as part of the 2014-2015 budget year. Mr. White said the situation would be reviewed and, if at all possible, repairs will be made this summer. 3. Work on replacing gas lines and updating labs in New Rochelle High School is expected to be completed by late August. 4. Assistant Superintendent Jeff White updated the committee on the district’s cleaning initiatives in preparation for schools re-opening in September. Since Aramark had removed all of its cleaning equipment, tools and chemicals, the district has purchased new equipment and the vendors have provided training for employees charged with using the new equipment. Additionally, the district has gone “green” using only natural cleaning solutions.
5. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a complaint with the school district as a result of testing, done by the EPA that indicates that non-storm water sewage has been draining into the Long Island Sound from Isaac E. Young Middle School. The city and school district are responding to the complaint and will conduct additional testing to identify the problem and means of remediation. 6. The Committee briefly reviewed drafts of from the Board of Education regarding the District Wide Safety and health Committee. Members were asked to review them in order to make any comments or suggestions prior to the Board’s adopting the drafts. 7. Mr. Cox offered a brief update on the progress of the committee’s website, particularly on how information will be entered into a database so that the committee can all be looking at the same information. A further discussion was tabled till next month’s meeting. Following the presentations and discussions, the members of the committee discussed some changes that would help the committee move more expeditiously through its agenda and allow the members to focus on specific concerns rather than general updates. The members request that the district provide construction updates in writing in advance of our meetings so that members can read the report and note any questions and concerns. The meetings of the committee should be calendared and announced to allow for members to schedule them in advance. Specifically, members of the committee asked to receive report on water safety issues and the PESH/OSHA investigation into the use of cleaners and chemical without proper training at its next meeting. Public Comment There was no public comment. On the motion of Mr. Strome, seconded by Ms. Cook, the meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Martin Daly
inutes of a Meeting
July 22, 2016 District Wide Health & Safety Committee Present:
Mrs. Passarelli, Mr. Strome Co-Chairs Mr. Coleman, Ms. Cook, Mr. Cox, Mr. Daly, Mr. Newman, Mr. Nole, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Starvaggi
Mrs. Passarelli called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. On the motion by Mr. Newman, seconded by Mrs. Passarelli, the committee unanimously accepted the minutes of the previous meeting. On the motion of Mr. Cox, seconded by Mr. Daly, the committee agreed to relax “Roberts Rules of Order” to facilitate ease of discussion for the committee. Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey White introduced Mr. Carl Thurnau to the committee. Mr. Thurnau will be the district’s Director of Facilities starting on September 12. Mr. Thurnau currently is employed by the State Education Department. Before moving on to the items on the agenda, the members of the committee first discussed the newly reappointed committee did not have a Board member assigned to the committee. Mrs. Relkin, newly elected president of the Board of Education, will no longer serve on the committee, however members of the committee felt it was important to have a representative of the Board working alongside us on the committee. On the motion of Mr. Strome, seconded by Mr. Coleman, the committee unanimously urged the Board of education to appoint a Board member to the committee. New Business 1. Update on Capital Projects – Mr. J. Michael Orrifici updated the committee on the ongoing work at Barnard School and Daniel Webster School, including a summary of work completed thus far, and a projected timeline for the completion of the projects begun this summer. 2. Playgrounds- Surveying work was underway on playgrounds at Barnard School and Jefferson School in preparation for work to be started in the latter part of the 2016-2017 school years. Mr. Strome suggested the district consolidate some of the bidding for playground apparatus to achieve an economy of scale and Mr. Coleman suggested that use of the playgrounds be reviewed, and possibly limited, to prevent any safety issues until the grounds are completely upgraded. Mr. Cox raised concerns that work at Trinity School’s playground has not begun and that this work was promised to be done as part of the 2014-2015 budget year. Mr. White said the situation would be reviewed and, if at all possible, repairs will be made this summer. 3. Work on replacing gas lines and updating labs in New Rochelle High School is expected to be completed by late August. 4. Assistant Superintendent Jeff White updated the committee on the district’s cleaning initiatives in preparation for schools re-opening in September. Since Aramark had removed all of its cleaning equipment, tools and chemicals, the district has purchased new equipment and the vendors have provided training for employees charged with using the new equipment. Additionally, the district has gone “green” using only natural cleaning solutions.
5. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a complaint with the school district as a result of testing, done by the EPA that indicates that non-storm water sewage has been draining into the Long Island Sound from Isaac E. Young Middle School. The city and school district are responding to the complaint and will conduct additional testing to identify the problem and means of remediation. 6. The Committee briefly reviewed drafts of from the Board of Education regarding the District Wide Safety and health Committee. Members were asked to review them in order to make any comments or suggestions prior to the Board’s adopting the drafts. 7. Mr. Cox offered a brief update on the progress of the committee’s website, particularly on how information will be entered into a database so that the committee can all be looking at the same information. A further discussion was tabled till next month’s meeting. Following the presentations and discussions, the members of the committee discussed some changes that would help the committee move more expeditiously through its agenda and allow the members to focus on specific concerns rather than general updates. The members request that the district provide construction updates in writing in advance of our meetings so that members can read the report and note any questions and concerns. The meetings of the committee should be calendared and announced to allow for members to schedule them in advance. Specifically, members of the committee asked to receive report on water safety issues and the PESH/OSHA investigation into the use of cleaners and chemical without proper training at its next meeting. Public Comment There was no public comment. On the motion of Mr. Strome, seconded by Ms. Cook, the meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Martin Daly
