And about what Duffy Field?

Looks like the neighborhood is starting to wonder...

“This is a jewel,” said neighbor Philip Economou on Wednesday. Economou said the park, which includes Duffy Field, is the site of frequent pickup games, picnics on the grass, dog meetups and Little League baseball. “There’s no place left like this in Worcester.”
An idea to add a turf field, which could be used by Doherty Memorial High School and others, has got the group up in arms and worrying about future public access.

The quotes from the City Manager appear to me, in any case, to misrepresent the concern: most folks in Worcester don't pay much attention to something being "school" or "city" property, so reassuring that the schools are not going to "take" the field isn't reassuring.

The concern from the neighbors, of course, is if the neighborhood is going to have a fenced-in astroturf field with lights in what is now a low impact field tucked in among houses.

Oh, and yes, it's a wetland, too: Beaver Brook again.

I will note here that the scramble to give Doherty practice space nearby neatly elides what has happened with the other high school building projects; both North and South were built on field space, and, at least in South's case, teams that didn't have room to practice were bused elsewhere as needed.

It seems--and this is the first I've heard of this--that there's a meeting at and about the school on March 23. If I find out more about that, I'll share.

What are we doing with Doherty?

Thanks to Steven Foskett for getting in today's Telegram and Gazette that the Worcester City Council is getting updates on the building projects at South High and Doherty (not North, as the headline has). It's in the ridiculously-difficult-to-navigate City Manager portion of the Council agenda for Tuesday; check page 32 and following.
South has actual dirt being moved around, so clearly something is happening over there. But what's going on with Doherty?
You might remember that I asked this back in August, as well, when it had been six months since the school had been accepted to Feasibility. Well, now it has been a year.
The Feasibility phase of the program requires that the city:

...document their educational program, generate an initial space summary, document existing conditions, establish design parameters, develop and evaluate alternatives, and recommend the most cost effective and educationally appropriate preferred solution

And what is it that we're told the City is going to be doing now?

The City of Worcester has selected an Owner’s Project Manager to assist in the oversite of all aspects of this project. In December, DPW&P’s Architectural Division issued a Request for Design Services to secure an architect to conduct the Feasibility Study. The MSBA and the City of Worcester has scheduled a Designer Selection Panel Meeting on March 12, 2019 to review the five submittals received. The MSBA will also schedule interviews for the selected firms in early April. The City and MSBA anticipate an architect to be under contract for this work by May 1, 2019. 

The selected architect will begin the Preliminary Design Program immediately after contract execution. This study will determine the required program needs for a comprehensive high school with an enrollment of 1670 as determined by the MSBA and Worcester Public Schools. The Preliminary Design Program will establish the needed infrastructure required to meet the program. It is anticipated the Preliminary Design Program will be completed and submitted to MSBA by August 1, 2019. Along with the development of the Preliminary Design Program, the City, architect, and OPM will begin to study options that will lead to a Preferred Schematic Report. This Report exams the condition of the existing facility and the requirements to upgrade it to design current standards. This Report will also study the existing building’s ability to accommodate the design program or the existing building with additions. The Report will also examine building a new facility at the current site or at an alternate site. The MSBA has established the June 2020 Board Meeting to act on the Preferred Schematic Report and authorize Schematic Design.

That's...everything in the Feasibility phase, save selection of the Owner's Project Manager, which maybe you should have mentioned the name of. So what has the city been doing for the past year? As far as this report reveals, nothing. And the school website doesn't even having a building link on it.

There's a few reasons why this matters. First, nothing else is moving until Doherty does. Want a new Burncoat? Not til Doherty moves. Noticing we have some aging elementary schools? Not til Doherty moves. Doherty is the bottleneck in the system.
Also, notice that there have been no meetings and no notices about what is happening. This tends to be the way the city operates, so it can then spring a "deadline's looming, we have to do this" option. The obvious version of this is the city says, "sorry, the only option we have is to take Newton Hill." The less obvious version of this is the city has brought to their attention that most of the unbuilt space within Doherty's quadrant is preserved open space, parkland or otherwise. Because the city seems stuck on the notion of a suburban campus, they're looking for acreage, just like they did for Worcester Tech.
It's useful to note that Worcester Tech took as long as it did (once we started trying) because the city was sued over the project. I would assume the same would happen if the city tried to take other preserved open space for the program. There are other options; we could convert buildings. We could build up.
The first thing we have to concede, though, is that Doherty isn't in the suburbs.
I will also reiterate: This is public funding for a public project of major concern. There should be regular public meetings happening. There are not.

It's time to talk about Doherty

The good news last month that Doherty was invited into Feasiblity with MSBA on their renovation/rebuild means it's time to start paying attention to this project. Feasibility is the part  where renovation is considered, and locations of a rebuild are considered.

South High was relatively easy: the school department had enough space at the Sullivan/South campus to build a new building onsite while continuing to use the current building. The city did this at Nelson Place as well.

There will be no such solution possible at Doherty. The footprint of the school, the parking lots, and the practice field are all that the school department has. The rest is parkland.

Those who watch green space in the city have every reason to be concerned: Worcester Tech, of course, was built on Green Hill Park land, after a protracted legal battle. A quick glance down the list of current Worcester schools shows that this was a standing Worcester practice: Belmont Street and Wawecus both have nice granite posts outside not because the school is there, but because they are on what was parkland. And they're hardly alone.

A year ago, Mayor Petty tweeted out this:

RE: New @DohertyMemorial I have no intention of encroaching on Newton Hill. We’ll be discussing alt. sites & the community will be involved

— Joseph M. Petty (@MayorPetty) February 21, 2017

There are other answers possible. It isn't, for example, as though Worcester lacks space in buildings that can/have been schools that can be acquired and renovated. There are also schools of significant size--Everett High comes to mind--that have been built on small footprints for many kids.

Worcester tends, though, to quietly do things behind the scenes unless public process is demanded. Time to start speaking up.

Outdoor schools

What I found most encouraging about this coverage of an outdoor preschool in Seattle is that it's expanding, and not just in private education:

Back in Seattle, Andrew Jay, a former Audubon Center director and non-profit entrepreneur, thinks it’s far past time to take advantage of the low facility costs of outdoor-based programs and open them up to a broader range of families. He is planning to open nine outdoor schools based in Seattle City Parks in the next two years. 

“A city park is the most democratic space” for a school, Jay said. “The nature part is amazing. But what hooked me was making it available to all.”

Just reading about Doherty's designation now?

If you're just catching the Worcester School Committee's designation of Doherty as the number one priority for rebuild/renovation now, you can read why I voted against it here ('though Steve Foskett captured it well in the article).
As for Mr. Miller's concerns, you can read more of them on the Friends of Newton Hill blog.We do, in Worcester, have a pretty atrocious history of foisting things, including schools, on our parkland.

Also, I've had a few questions on what this means for South: nothing. South has already been accepted by MSBA last round. So long as we keep doing what we need do on that--we're in the 270 day eligibility period right now--we're moving ahead on South already.

Finance and Operations meets Wednesday at 5!

The Standing Committee on Finance and Operations meets this Wednesday, January 22 at 5 pm. You can find the agenda here.
And welcome, Ms.Ramirez for her first meeting!

• We're getting a report back from Administration (on a motion I filed) on fixing the pesky problem of knowing what door to go in. 
• We have the Blue Ribbon Technology report up for consideration. You'll remember that we've funded the first round of computer rentals, so we'll be getting a progress report. With the needs we also have with the upcoming PARCC assessment coming in, there's some cross referencing we need to do here as well. And possibly capital funding.
• We're sending both the FY14 budget and the FY14 capital budget to our joint committee with City Council.
• WPS participated in the drafting of the 2013 Open Space and Recreation Plan, a document that the City is required to submit every seven years.
• We have the usual quarterly budget report, with an update on all accounts. It looks to me that the big things here--beyond underfunding workers' comp, which you'll remember we discussed at our last meeting and are taking up again at this one--are special education costs and a few categories of overtime. 
• We're getting an overview on the review of playgrounds that has happened. Schools do have the specifics for their own playgrounds; do keep in mind that this is a citywide view. I've already gotten some questions: if your school has a brand new playground, chances are that what you need is a sign and possibly better groundcover. 
• Mr. O'Connell had a query on adding assistant principals. 
• It's MSBA Statement of Interest time! The rebuild/renovate proposals remain the same: South at number one, with Burncoat and Doherty to follow. Proposed accelerated repairs for this year--all on windows--are Clark Street, Goddard, Union Hill, and West Tatnuck. Those have to pass out of F&O, through School Committee, then through City Council, and (in the case of the accelerated repairs) all by the first week of February.
• Miss Biancheria inquired about WRTA bus passes. 
• I've got some concerns about our snowblowers and lawnmowers. You have to read between the lines, but that's a worried Facilities department. 
• And Mr. O'Connell referred the school nutrition account here, so we should get to have some conversation about school lunch!

It's a long one, but it all starts at 5 on Wednesday! Fourth floor of the Durkin Administration Building (or live on Channel 11). 

WPS input into the City's Open Space and Recreation plan

and we have Rob Antonelli from city Parks and Rec here
Allen: "you read about net school spending and budget hearings when it comes to the city, but the schools have very strong relationships with city departments...very strong relationship with city and parks"
new playgrounds at Quinsig and Gates Lane
"in that spirit, I see the school department being very willing and able to work with parks"
Antonelli: 20 public hearings across the city regarding the master plan
in the process of putting together a lot of the pieces of what those guidelines are
five year plan that was initially developed through Conservation and Recreation
city is required to have one for state and federal grants
state decided to extend the program for additional two years; now a seven year program
"not as crisp" when done in house, so outsourced this year
open space records in many different locations; no central repository for mapping
Weston and Sampson putting it all on one format
making sure all of the properties correct; surveys and maps of properties
draft document for some time longer; draft going in mid-June (must have in for grant eligibility in July)
revisions are nearly always required by the state
several upcoming meetings at end of June, beginning of July
approval by Council in the fall
inventory of school department facilities: needs updating and correcting
Looking to include:

• inventory of outdoor recreation facilities at schools
• condition assessment and access allowed to public facilities

Parks are assessed for their condition as part of the open space master plan

• are there a planned capital improvements plan at school facilities to put into the plan?
• changes in delivery of maintenance...could also be included in the plan to give the public better information about maintenance of properties

public survey was completed in May; will have results in next week or so

• is their room for further collaboration? beyond what is already being done

Foley: draft document submitting to state will include only listing of schools; no action items as with other properties

Antonelli: there are open spaces in public schools

Foley: suggestion that we keep this here and discuss the upkeep and needs of fields

Antonelli: to include short and long term goals over the next seven years; we would like to do X by this date

Foley: putting a plan together to look at this

Colorio: clarifying what the plan is, how the grant cycle works, looking at lines of access and trails

If trails are being connected, properties are looked at, sidewalks looked at

Novick: if it's in the plan, it can be grant funded; our needs making the list

what about swimming due to loss of students?

Whale's Tale program: looking to bring back and note, due to need of water safety

Tech School students working on the vernal pools

need for trail maps: getting people to these: "People don't even know that we have a waterfall in Worcester"

Things that people don't even know that we have

talking to various city departments about the information on their end...need that information as part of our document
"when they go for a grant...they can say...'it's included in the open space plan'..incorporates more and better collaboration with city departments and maybe gives them a leg up on communities that maybe didn't have that"
makes it a stronger plan: makes it a much better document
Allen: intent is to include all WPS properties in the open space plan, and then rolling forward to identify access and condition

Spray park open for the heat wave

The City of Worcester has just announced that the Greenwood Street Spray Park will be open today through Sunday from noon to 7 pm.
The park is on, yes, Greenwood Street in Quinsig Village, 'though you can best access the spray park from Forsberg Street.

it's back

...the City Council has sent the question of repairing the South High pool over to us, and there's an item in the City Council Parks and Recreation committee on it, too, so it's being referred to our joint committee (F&O and Education).

New playgrounds!

I didn't manage to post on the presentation we had yesterday in Finance and Operations subcommittee by Rob Antonelli, Assistant Commissioner of Parks for the city. There are (or will be as of the end of next week) two new playgrounds in the city of Worcester, one next to a school and one on school property.
If you've been swimming in Bennett Field Pool this summer, you've witnessed the first one. The Parks and Recreation Department has put together a new master plan for Bennett Field (from airport money), and the first priority was the playground. This is a parks playground, but the property lines between city park, state park, and public school run so crazy back there, you'd never know it; this is the Gates Lane School playground. It's brand new; there's a little kid section and a big kid section, and when I went by yesterday, it was full of kids!
The other playground, on school property this time, is at Quinsigamond School. This is paid for with Greenwood Street landfill funds. They are just missing the start of school for having it done; it should be finished next week. Again, two playgrounds, one for each age group, plus swings. Also, this one has the poured rubberized surface (for those who hate concrete and anyone who knows how quickly mulch subsides). Looking forward to seeing that one.
Abundant thanks due here to Councilor Eddy, Councilor Clancy (each of whom advocated for their district schools, respectively), and the Parks Department. Excellent work!
Photos to follow!