[Joseph McDonough]

Following up on Jon’s and Arthur’s postings, I expect that we will all soon be tasked with developing a COVID-19 Signage, Decals and Floor Graphics Plan for our schools whenever they reopen. Aside from spray painting hundreds of pairs of footprints 6 ft. apart outside the schools on pavement for queuing up prior to entering each day, we’ll be posting signs regarding masks and social distancing throughout the schools. I expect we’ll also be adding miles of yellow tape in our corridors to show the one-way traffic patterns that will be required. Has anyone found a good vendor that they wouldn’t mind sharing with us all? An intrent search for these vendors feels like a real crap shoot.

Thanks,

Joe McDonough

Town of Wellesley

jmcdonough@wellesleyma.gov

 

[Joseph McDonough]

Test Post No. 3

[Joseph McDonough]

Good Morning,

I searched MFAA website and found these four year old post on Hand Sanitizers – from back when we worried only about the H1N1 (Swine) Flue. So, I’d like to rekindle and update the conversation as it relates to hand sanitizers for COVID. Understanding: 1) soap and water is best, 2) hand sanitizers can have alcohol (fire issues), 3) ownership of hand sanitizers is sometimes a “gray area” (not Facilities has been our position/past practice), 4) Costs are not insignificant.

How are you all handling this issue?

1. Is your department (facilities) responsible to furnish, install and maintain hand sanitizers?
2. Did you purchase dispensers (or get free) and refill with your own staff?
3. Do you have a vendor (like CINTAS) provide turn-key services (install, maintain and refill)?
4. How are you deciding how many you will need?
5. How will adding (potentially hundreds) of these impact your custodial staff workload (refills)?

I’m considering having each each individual department and school pay for and manage the entire hand sanitizer initiative through someone like CINTAS. It may cost a little more, but we won’t get the bills and  I won’t have to hire a dedicated “hand sanitizer refill” custodian. This is going to cost tens of thousands of dollars in expense each year (for several years I suspect). I don’t expect many municipalities/districts will be looking favorably on budget increases in FY21 either.

Thanks,

Joe McDonough

Town of Wellesley

jmcdonough@wellesleyma.gov

[Joseph McDonough]

We are fortunate to have an outstanding Building Commissioner and Fire Chief in Town. Here is guidance that they provide my department, which could be relevant to all:

I took a look at the regulations. The code does not really contemplate this type of situation. Here is my opinion on the barriers/panels. I do not feel you need a building permit unless it is going from the top of the counter to the ceiling or top of the opening creating a wall effect. However, that does not negate some things that need to be considered:
• The Plexiglas barriers/panels should have slots at the bottom to provide access for transactions to take place or some form of opening to pass paperwork/materials. That could be determined on a case by case basis for each department’s needs.
• The material being used should meet the Z97.1 criteria for impact resistance if it is going to be mounted like at some grocery stores (on the side of a counter). This might drive the thickness of the panel that must be used.
• Attachment will need to be thought out. What is the best option for installation? Depending on the thickness of the barriers/panels weight will influence how to attach it. There should also be consideration of the material that is being attached to. Is it strong enough to withstand the weight and lateral movement of the panel?
• The barrier/panel definitely cannot interfere with the operation of the sprinkler system, if present. The panels should be installed far enough below the sprinkler heads so if the system goes off it can provide appropriate coverage (umbrella effect).
• If barriers/panels are being installed that sit on the counter and are self-supporting with some sort of leg system to hold them upright, this would probable negate the impact resistance and attachment issue as it would be able to be made out of a lighter material (thickness). However, the sprinkler issue would still remain as to height.

Joe McDonough

Town of Wellesley

jmcdonough@wellesleyma.gov

[Joseph McDonough]

OK, so it looks like this is the next COVID accessory that we all need to start thinking about. So many choices and questions: Vendor? (Suburban, WB Mason, Grainger, on-line), cost – what is the appropriate range? furnish only?, furnish and install?, self-supporting?, must be anchored? Fire-resistance/code? and of course, delivery. Has anyone done the research yet that would like to share?

 

Thanks,

Joe McDonough

Town of Wellesley

jmcdonough@wellesleyma.gov

[Joseph McDonough]

Hi Steve,

Just wanted to make sure you knew that DLS just said (via MIIA email) that you can return all of your custodians and maintenance staff to full-time work NOW – effective 4/24/20 right? You don’t have to wait to 5/26.

Joe

 

[Joseph McDonough]

Thanks for such a great response from our members. Let’s hope we can all now get our staffs working safely and we get some clear guidance from the State.

Joe

[Joseph McDonough]

Paul,

I like the idea of separating staff as much as possible upon their return to work, including use of PPE.   I starting drafting some general procedures for my staff for COVID precautions, many of which simply reference Federal, State and Local regulations. Contractors doing construction are being asked to prepare COVID safety plans and have a designated COVID safety leader. I am anticipating that our custodial and maintenance staffs will need to work under a similar safety plan once we get the OK to return. One of the keys aspects of my plan will be knowing not to report to work when you have COVID systems, quarantine requirements and screening using daily logs and remote thermometers. Watch, they’ll soon be like masks, electrostatic sprayers and toilet paper – hard to find.

 

Joe

[Joseph McDonough]

Joe,

We got the notification from Ken and from our insurance carrier, MIIA (see below):

 

April 2, 2020

Dear Members,

Mary Dozois CIH CSP Program Supervisor, Workplace Safety & Health Program for Public Employees, MA Department of Labor Standards, has shared the following information with us related to municipal operations and emergency closure orders.

The Governor’s Office has tasked the Department of Labor Standards to be the enforcement authority for the Emergency Orders for business closures.
We are issuing Cease and Desist Orders on behalf of the MA Department of Public Health, and to assist local Boards of Health who are overwhelmed with quarantine follow-up.

Currently all Cease and Desist have been for private businesses. But municipalities conduct business that could fall under the Emergency Orders. I’m sending this information along to reduce the need for a Cease and Desist to be issued to a municipality.

K-12 Schools and Town Buildings:

MAY REMAIN OPEN. Requires employer to implemented measures to prevent COVID19 transmission for employees performing these tasks.
Examples include:
• Functions to facilitate distance learning
• Food services
• Facility maintenance operations to verify integrity of building (i.e. security walkthrough, check heating/plumbing function, pest control.)
• Emergency repair of plumbing, roofing, heating problems
• You may have a person perform field maintenance when that specific activity is critical for the survival of the field
• School construction projects and public works construction projects that were in progress by a contractor

CLOSED
Examples include:
• Custodial and facility maintenance tasks that are not directly related to the community’s COVID response
• Summer/vacation cleaning projects
• Furniture re-arranging projects that were on your wish list
• Landscape, field maintenance not directly required for the continuity of building function
• Golf courses. The foursome does not qualify for the 10-person social distancing guidance.
• School sports and captain’s practices

List of Essential Services updated 3-31-2020 https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-essential-services

Lin Chabra
MIIA Member Services and Training Manager
617-426-7272 (250)

 

[Joseph McDonough]

Hi All,

I’m updating a post I made on a previous similar MFAA question (Mike D’Angelo’s about supporting first responders):

Here is what we are doing in Wellesley, where facilities is responsible for both school and municipal buildings. As a consolidated facilities group (schools and municipal), all custodians and maintenance staff are in one AFSCME union. This has created some “challenges” as far as pay equity and who gets to “stay at home” and who has to report to work. I’m interested to hear how other consolidated organizations are dealing with the COVID situation. Her’s what we are doing since the latest order from the Governor, which is in conformance with the DLS’s cease and desist order:

• All Schools closed (limited administrators in Supt’s Central Office) and most municipal buildings closed with a skeleton crew of administrators and lunch vendor working there intermittently.
• As a result of these closings and the Governor’s order for “non-essential” staff to to shelter-in-place, I’ve directed the vast majority of our custodians and maintenance staff to stay at home – and receive their regular pay. We are; however, providing custodial support in buildings in which first responders work.
• First Responder Locations -Police, Fire, DPW and Health Department: We are providing our regular custodial crew at Police and DPW. We provide limited support for the two Fire Stations and Health Department. Firefighters typically perform their own cleaning since they “live” at the stations part-time, but we have jumped in to help them with twice weekly deep cleaning and disinfection. We open and close the Health Department building and perform minimal custodial services twice a day. They are working constantly – no surprise.
• Custodial Services at Other Closed Building – Town Hall, School Supt’s Office, Library: We open and close these buildings and provide limited custodial (trash and bathrooms) for the few staff required to work there (mostly doing payroll, food services, etc.).
• Maintenance: Our eight (8) in-house staff was also told not to report to work (same union as custodians – equity issues), but must be available to respond to emergency work requests in any of the buildings.
• Building Checks: Now that the threat of frozen pipes is gone (hopefully) we’ve reduced in-person building checks from daily to twice per week for schools and other closed municipal buildings, supplemented with 3X per week remote checks of our HVAC systems using Metasys.

There are overtime costs to consider for those facilities staff working to support Police, Fire, DPW and Health Department, but these buildings are relatively small and the health/safety benefits that the custodians can provide are tremendous and greatly appreciated by the first responders. Police and DPW have two custodians who know their buildings well and whom the police officers and DPW workers know and trust. I can’t “plug and play” other custodians on a rotating basis into these buildings for that reason. My dilemma was, how can I ask some people to stay home and get paid, while others have to report to work to support the first responders (and also take on more risk via exposure to COVID). So my decision was to pay these staff at time and one-half OT pay. I’m rationalizing it as being a holiday (say Patriot’s Day), and staff who work that day get paid OT. In reading the various posts from our colleagues (which are very helpful by the way), I can see there is no “one size fits all” solutions. We’re all doing our best to be supportive and keep our staffs safe. I’m hoping that a large percentage of this OT will  be reimbursed by FEMA, if not – so be it. Our central office staff has been mostly working remotely. I had been going into the office daily – mostly to deal with the union issues and what do we do with 53+ staff, but now that this is resolved somewhat (at least until May 4th), I’m planning to work mostly at home.  I have a number of design and construction projects that I was planning to design/bid now, for a July 1st (FY21) start, but I have no idea how to proceed with this work.

Thanks to all for sharing and stay healthy!

Joe McDonough

Town of Wellesley

jmcdonough@wellesleyma.gov

 

 

[Joseph McDonough]

Michael,

Excellent suggestions on how to show leadership in a crisis! What an opportunity for our MFAA colleagues to be supportive of the various “first responders” and “essential staff” in their communities – whether their facilities group  normally provides custodial/maintenance support or not. There is no “one size fits all” approach to how we are all dealing with the COVID-19 situation and it changes daily.  I find it very helpful for my MFAA colleagues that take the time to share their stories on this webpage.  Here is what we are doing in Wellesley, where facilities is responsible for both school and municipal buildings:

• All Schools closed (limited administrators in Supt’s Central Office) and most municipal buildings closed with a skeleton crew of administrators working there intermittently.
• As a result of these closings and the Governor’s order for “non-essential” staff to to shelter-in-place, I’ve directed the vast majority of our custodians and maintenance staff to stay at home – and receive their regular pay. We are; however, providing custodial support in buildings in which first responders work.
• First Responder Locations -Police, Fire, DPW and Health Department: We are providing our regular custodial crew at all but fire. Firefighters typically perform their own cleaning, but we have jumped in to help them with twice weekly deep cleaning and disinfection.
• Custodial Services on Other Closed Building – Town Hall, School Supt’s Office, Library: We open and close these buildings and provide limited custodial (trash and bathrooms) for the few staff required to work there (mostly doing payroll, food services, etc.).
• Maintenance: Our in-house was also told not to report to work (same union as custodians – equity issues), but must be available to respond to emergency work requests in any of the buildings.
• Building Checks: We are doing daily in-person checks of schools and other closed municipal buildings, supplemented with remote checks of our HVAC systems using Metasys.

There are overtime costs to consider for those facilities staff working to support Police, Fire, DPW and Health Department, but to Michael’s point,  these buildings are relatively small and the health/safety benefits that the custodians can provide are tremendous and greatly appreciated by the first responders. Most all of this OT will probably be reimbursed by FEMA eventually too as he indicates. It’s certainly not easy for custodians to clean/disinfect these 24/7 facilities with police, fire fighters and DPW working there at the same time (concerns with infection – both ways), but if they take proper precautions it’s manageable.

So I strongly support Michael’s challenge to our membership to offer custodial support to your first responders in your community! Let’s all push the “Keeping First Responders Healthy Initiative”

Stay healthy and safe.

Joe

 

 

[Joseph McDonough]

I think the most important information will be age and condition of the boilers when MSBA considers whether or not they will provide partial funding under the Accelerated Repair Program. Might want to actually call MSBA to see if they have any minimum age levels before they will even consider boiler (25 or 30 years??). Data helps too – how many School Dude Work orders have been executed responding to service calls? What is the risk of boilers failing – cancelled school? Have your boiler service provider prepare a detailed list of deficiencies for inclusion in the SOI. If you have boilers that need to be replaced in other schools, see if MSBA will entertain a multi-school boiler replacement project.

[Joseph McDonough]

Jon,

Paul summed up pretty well the best way to try to manage rentals. Some more thoughts:

1) You need a good rental policy – plenty of good ones out there. Google them and find one you like, edit it to suit and then have your School Committee vote it as policy. It can be your hammer with renters.

2) Get School Dude’s Facility Scheduling software if you can (use rental proceeds to pay for it).

3) School Business Office (BO) is generally responsible for managing rentals – you provide the custodians to open/close. Use the rental policy to your advantage.

4) Remember that revenue generated by rentals goes into a rental revolving fund that the BO usually manages, which is earmarked by the State to be used for building maintenance only (including hiring a rental coordinator if needed!). This is a nice way to get supplemental funding for your maintenance needs, but the BO won’t usually volunteer how much money is in it – you need to ask for it.

5) I’d give the Superintendent one “free pass” when he/she asks you to open up a school after hours for some non-emergency situation (Johnny forgot his trumpet or the Old Men Basketball Team got locked out), then I’d use the policy. need to send a custodian on minimum 4 hours OT to open up the school – do you still want to accommodate this person 🙂

Good Luck!

Joe

 

 

[Joseph McDonough]

Hi Tony,

To Joyce’s point, I would hope/expect that with few exceptions, all of the fixtures, furniture and equipment (FFE) going into a new school would also be new. If you are stuck re-using a lot of old FFE, then someone dropped the ball. MSBA even reimburses for this stuff. That being said, if you are going to bring old stuff to the new building, I’d treat it the same way we do with furniture during summer cleaning. Pull it all outside (on a nice Cape day) and clean it top to bottom.  See if the project will pay the custodians on OT to do it.

Good luck!

Joe

[Joseph McDonough]

Hi Chris,

I think the Assistant’s salary depends on a lot of different factors, including duties/responsibilities, qualifications and experience, but I think it mostly depends on what the Director, him or herself is making. Also, is the Assistant capable of performing all/most of the Director’s work? Could he/she fill the position on a temporary long-term basis if needed? If the answer is “No” to these two questions, then there’s part of your answer. If “Yes”, I’d expect the Assistant to be within say 10 to 20% of the Director. In Wellesley, we don’t have an “Assistant” Director, but we do have managers for Design/Construction, Operations/Maintenance and Custodial. I’m still trying to figure out how most cities/towns/school districts even set the salaries for Directors – never mind Assistants.  The good news is that salaries for municipal facilities professionals finally seems to be increasing, but still much lower than we all know it should be.

Good luck!

Joe