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Norwood facilities team details Coakley fixes, Prescott leak and $3M Willett roof design funding
Summary
Facilities staff told the school committee the district logged about 8,200 work orders over 5½ years, described a Prescott School slab leak found with thermal imaging and outlined camera and access upgrades; the town allocated $3,000,000 to design the Willett roof and bids will go out in spring.
The school committee on Wednesday received a quarterly facilities briefing that cataloged five and a half years of work orders and outlined near‑term capital and operational priorities.
Facilities assistant director Chris Follin and colleagues told the committee the district has processed about 8,200 work orders across town buildings since the department was stood up. Follin said the high school carries the most requests — consistent with its size and age — and noted the district is preparing for a demanding summer of moves and construction tied to Coakley Middle School and elementary work.
The report singled out two recent operational issues. At Prescott School, technicians located a broken pipe under the slab using thermal imaging; one classroom floor measured about 104°F where heat was escaping. Staff said repairs will proceed quickly after identifying the break. Follin described other Coakley items — gym rescreening, locker additions, access panels for plumbing cleanouts and classroom audiovisual rework — that must be completed when students are not in the buildings.
Security upgrades are next on the docket: the facilities team plans to install newer multi‑head cameras and to reconfigure access control in several buildings; administrators will brief the superintendent at a central command review next week. The team also warned that reliance on traded lunch trucks for a district moving vehicle has become unreliable and flagged the need for a dependable truck ahead of heavy summer moves.
Separately, the town has provided $3,000,000 to develop design documents for the Willett roof; facilities staff said they will solicit a designer, finalize plans this spring and expect construction to start at the end of the school year. The committee heard the design procurement is in progress and that bids would follow once design is complete.
The committee thanked facilities staff for daily operations and their role in solving urgent problems; no formal committee decisions were taken at the update. Administrators said they will return with a more detailed MSBC update next month and with schedules for summer work intended to minimize disruption.
The facilities presentation and Q&A are expected to appear in the next facilities update packet.
