Updates: Construction Community Meeting
Thank you to all who participated in last Wednesday's community meeting. A special thank you to Shepherd parent Kim Barnette who facilitated the meeting and to Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd for pulling the evening together.
Panel members at the meeting:
- Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd
- DCPS Facilities Coordinator Christina Weaver
- Department of General Services (DGS) Director Christopher Weaver
A full report will follow, but here are some highlights:
- Construction at Shepherd should be completed by July 2016 including construction of the new entrance and atrium.
- The Turner construction team is currently working 7 days per week and emphasizing activities generating the most noise during non-regular school hours. DGS Director Weaver acknowledged the difficulty of noise during aftercare hours, said they are attempting to balance moving forward with the project while minimizing disruption, and that the project should soon move out of the demolition phase and into build-out phase which produces less noise.
- DGS has arranged for testing of indoor air quality monthly. They have already performed testing for the month of January and report that levels were appropriate in all areas tested. DGS will make the results available on their webpage for the Shepherd construction project (not currently posted).
- A pest control/sanitation team will visit the school monthly on the 4th Friday of the month to address pest control issues in the cafeteria and other areas as needed. The school can contact DGS for urgent issues between scheduled visits.
- Council member Todd's office will work to arrange a meeting with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to discuss access of Shepherd students to the Shepherd field during school and afterschool hours.
- The mural on the side of the building will be preserved.
- Modernization of the cafeteria and auditorium/gymnasium are not part of the scope of this project. Councilmember Todd suggested that the Shepherd community work with DGS to get estimates on those modernization projects and then work with him to seek funding.
Click
here to visit the DGS website page for the Shepherd Modernization Project.
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