[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6346281,"mediaKeyId","2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a","parentId",2247156,"title","Temporary boiler installed after Brown School leak; city orders two replacement boilers with 20-week lead time","audioSeconds",929,"startMs",6136000,"endMs",7065000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a&start=6136&end=7065","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a/thumbnail_6136000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6346281/Somerville-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Temporary-boiler-installed-after-Brown-School-leak-city-orders-two-replacement-boilers-with-20-week-lead-time","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6346281-12856315ce57f99a10367b895ec2e66c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771167077&Signature=iHRvhlxWsY69S-jd06HhChZzLHMxQA8c0O-vPYy3-Wz4DQRddHEzfGWxHp-E0iV9eoHeKQVEGcNDtLHo4eSHjz69jAi1DcokEdkiBoLZUsPDtjP6ip4o3uX5xJAECXtb0fVc43iUTFeX0kCQLBvBeNQOOLHhvzaM3WKCl-4D4EvxTAYg0O10tNxo6smvxl7cNbHXRZN-TztNu9dd37oWBbWKkcNzim-xZRdZoCXrXhVm-cQTRT5vO5XLLQ0kaGyt3ZZlUMHeDaGMRm2FDxjrZlR~5Ev~beM-FJ7GVQjFFc30sxFKO9L-phST6KDs17Xrp3anMilzv29uoftnqvXXLQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Somerville City, MA","date","2025-02-07T00:00:00Z","article","The Somerville Department of Public Works reported a temporary failure in the Brown School boiler system that prompted a partial shutdown and use of a temporary heater; DPW Commissioner Joseph Latham told the committee that crews responded the same day and restored heat.

Commissioner Latham said DPW’s preventive-maintenance team identified the school’s boilers as aging and recommended replacing both units rather than repairing a single unit and risking a repeat failure. He told the committee the city ordered two replacement boilers and that the manufacturer lead time for the units is about 20 weeks. Meanwhile, DPW used a temporary boiler to maintain operations while parts arrive.

School officials said the leak occurred during the coldest day of the season and required a half-day closure while technicians pressure-tested the system; the building resumed operations the same day once the system passed testing. DPW noted additional piping work may be needed and that that work is being scheduled for this summer as part of preventive maintenance.

Committee members thanked DPW staff for the rapid response and for the proactive decision to replace both boilers to reduce the risk of repeat outages. No vote was taken; the committee recorded the update as work complete and requested status updates on delivery and installation timing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Somerville School Building Facilities and Maintenance Special Committee - 2025-02-06","oneSentenceSummary","DPW officials described a leak in the Brown School boiler system that required temporary equipment and shut the system down for testing; the city ordered two replacement boilers and said the replacements have roughly a 20-week lead time.","taxTitle","Somerville City, Middlesex County, Massachusetts","taxId",4564,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6346284,"Somerville moves forward on Argentiano production kitchen and summer classroom build",516,5247000,5763000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a&start=5247&end=5763","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a/thumbnail_5247000.jpg","/articles/6346284/Somerville-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Somerville-moves-forward-on-Argentiano-production-kitchen-and-summer-classroom-build","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6346284-25cd728a702e74504e92062b7f981314/orig.mp4?Expires=1771167077&Signature=DDj-NPcxSGyoSkRd6uuhVzNjGVouo4Ofn3or0FYufoYGNHx3B52s-Gj6OoE~DV7CfQwMZOs2Vy5ps9yynw-7v01Ssi2TM9ev3yGtJyCXHNGSMceckK4AvGrsh0zGyZQGH1dlDd7~P4f234tCJlRvh2enUxWE-kMkPPvn3KHXMBn0xVCSy9WsIAl3BaGUQw6EkROvaCo2ZDAuVChh~vET9fUOR85k28rDHzzVvFyey7~BRpg1ysJXNF4EmA7JkWt5Uq1Ptpa5VA4GH-QKh0bR9XCywI8OVsZ-Z-9YpCWT1WO~D4RaJyDcNyQ9DGrZ~1tI3rFIMBRSsmRhl5~STsUyAA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Somerville’s director of infrastructure and asset management told the joint council/school committee that the city has awarded a contract to upgrade the Argentiano School production kitchen and plans to add a classroom in the building’s third-floor atrium this summer.

Director Raich said the kitchen contract was awarded to Eagle Point after a second round of bidding produced complete proposals. Work includes new convection stoves, electrical and gas work, and a walk-in freezer near the loading dock; the freezer has a 10-week manufacturer lead time. Raich said enabling plumbing and electrical work could be completed during February and April school breaks, but full installation of the walk-in unit will likely continue into the summer once the unit is delivered.

School and city officials said restoring a production kitchen is important for cost and quality reasons: since the Winter Hill kitchen line closed, the district has relied on vendors and on the high school kitchen for scratch-cooked items. Food services director Laura Mancini and school leaders described the change as a loss of menu flexibility and an administrative priority to restore in-house production.

On a related facilities item, Raich and school leaders said architects from SMMA — the building’s original designers — will handle design work for a new classroom in the Argentiano atrium. That work is intended to be completed during summer construction so the room can be available for the following school year. Superintendent and school staff said the classroom addresses current space constraints and is part of a broader set of capital projects at the school.

No contentious votes were recorded on these items; the committee marked both updates as “work complete” and asked staff to return with timeline updates as projects proceed.","City staff briefed the joint committee that a contract has been awarded to renovate the Argentiano School kitchen and that a new classroom in the third-floor atrium is planned for summer construction to address near-term capacity needs.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6346287,"Somerville councilors, CAG members call to pull and rewrite school survey amid bias concerns",397,361000,758000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a&start=361&end=758","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2247156-1ada055797642383ab6af7f23a70eb8a/thumbnail_361000.jpg","/articles/6346287/Somerville-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Somerville-councilors-CAG-members-call-to-pull-and-rewrite-school-survey-amid-bias-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6346287-5b784289dca10e81aea20e282c40c2f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771167077&Signature=DlK3gURuz62BLC4hjLjp8q6YfCJF7LOaeGSKLg52sfPfPWymmLmgZD96gDC2hZbSNucGZrpgvoupybZWJcv3XJuG-nEuQsu5sv8T85lsZINz57OF-El~t-V7uR1b7avIidw~AaLNRnxXjTYs~~xvUG7CWfmTJP1JrkV4u3rS5osMozWXpsEYl8cA~KfhrhlhtUUOMpGpbb6OuTXCrNfWbx67ljOTfA4vChCila0Ohwx3~rkown3XvasMSwB7-K0n7IQePR4iptrko5KebwCfj78Bcwsi5LyNpCn2tMqiV1RZkNIoU38ihu56QcdDRz6nPas4SiDzSN2eQFg50QZ~ZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Somerville City Council Committee Chair Lance Davis urged the administration to withdraw the community feedback survey released the same day, saying the questions “seemed to be focused specifically on deriving negative data for the possibility of retaining the two neighborhood schools.” The request came during a joint meeting of the council’s school buildings, facilities and maintenance committee and the school committee subcommittee.

Committee members and Community Advisory Group (CAG) participants said the survey’s wording and response options created a positive framing for a larger, combined school and did not give respondents a neutral way to register opposition. That, they said, undermined public trust in a process that will lead to a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion vote to finance any new building.

The argument for reworking the survey centered on fairness and measurement: critics said the survey lacked clear demographic identifiers, used response categories that pushed respondents toward agreement, and contained questions that respondents interpreted as specifically about the Brown School. Several CAG members and ward representatives said they had been consulted on topics but not shown the final question wording before release.

Anna Gardsman, director of SummerStat, the city’s data team, said she wrote the survey with input from “many staff from both the school and city side, as well as with input from the CAG and a test group.” Gardsman told the committee the city pulled active promotion of the survey after receiving feedback but initially left the questionnaire live because “by that point, a lot of responses had already come in” and staff did not want to create a bad user experience by removing it immediately. She said back-end analysis would determine whether early responses could be reported with caveats or whether the dataset should be discarded and the survey relaunched.

Councilors, school officials and CAG members pressed for a firmer approach. Councilor Lance Davis said the dataset “is contaminated” and urged the administration to stop collecting further responses and to work with the CAG on revised wording. Councilor Strezzo, a CAG representative, and Ryan Williams, president of the districtwide PTA and a Brown School parent representative on the CAG, said the survey’s design and phrasing left many community members skeptical of the process. Dr. Elizabeth Phillips, a researcher and CAG participant, identified technical flaws she said would likely reduce variation in responses and recommended either redesigning the instrument or contracting a professional poll for voter-representative results.

Administration officials told the committee the broader outreach plan includes multiple engagement methods beyond the online survey, such as focus groups, events, and targeted outreach to groups less likely to attend meetings. Director Raich (Infrastructure and Asset Management) and Gardsman said some topics included in the survey came from earlier CAG discussions and that certain suggested questions will be deferred to a second-phase survey once specific building variants and designs are developed. Gardsman said some demographic flags were added after CAG comments, including a flag for parents of children with special needs.

No formal vote was taken on the item. Committee members unanimously urged the administration to work with the CAG, to be transparent about which responses will be retained or discarded and to provide a revised schedule and draft questions before relaunching any survey.

Committee chair Davis and other members also said the episode has depleted trust in the public process and urged a slower, more collaborative approach. As part of the meeting’s broader updates, Director Raich told members that Somerville has advanced through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) eligibility phase and is entering the “forming the project team” stage of the MSBA process.","City committee members, School Committee representatives and Community Advisory Group members told the joint Somerville committee that a community feedback survey about replacing Winter Hill and Brown schools appears biased; administration says promotion paused and staff will review survey data and proposed revisions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Temporary boiler installed after Brown School leak; city orders two replacement boilers with 20-week lead time

Somerville moves forward on Argentiano production kitchen and summer classroom build

Somerville councilors, CAG members call to pull and rewrite school survey amid bias concerns