On July 29, 2022, Basic and Transitional Studies suspended instruction at the New Holly Learning Center to address a Health and Safety complaint presented to the college under article 6.4 of the collective bargaining agreement.

This is an assessment of the complaints conducted by John Bowers, Dean for Basic and Transitional Studies, on August 4, 2022. The assessment included conversations with two faculty members who were on site to help students transition to remote learning during suspended operations. This report seeks a consensus from faculty teaching at New Holly concerning the health and safety issues and proposals for resolution. A consensus report would then be presented to campus leadership and administrative services to determine a timeline for addressing issues and resuming in-person instruction. 

Before I begin, I want to thank the custodial and administrative services team, who has already responded to some of the issues raised in the complaint. We appreciate you!

Context: Transparency and timeliness

This assessment is informed by a few hours I spent at the site and brief discussions with faculty. This does not include work that may have been completed or may already be planned by administrative services/custodial staff--beyond what is noted. My goal is to be transparent and timely, even when my information may not be complete.

If you seek transparency on an accelerated time table and an opportunity to participate, read on. If you prefer a fuller, more complete report, let me know. I should be able to provide that in the future, but my immediate focus is getting the issues understood and addressed as quickly as possible.

Context: The New Holly lease agreement

It is important to note that the New Holly Learning Center operates under a lease agreement with Seattle Housing Authority (SHA). Under the terms of that agreement, the college can only directly address some of the concerns in the complaint--like custodial matters. Others, such as the HVAC system and site security, require us to work in partnership with SHA. To that end, while I am committed to a rapid response, I am not willing to support resuming instruction without sufficient clarity on all the issues in the complaint, some which may require consulting and negotiating with our partners.

Summary

Below is a bullet-list of the concerns from the complaint with some brief remarks. A fuller explanation follows.

• Ventilation: This appears to have improved. It remains unclear what caused it to stop working and how it restarted, so I can't tell if this is meaningfully fixed. 
• Air Conditioning: Portable A/C units have been installed as an interim measure while plans to replace the building's HVAC system are underway. Issues with the portable units remain.
• Heating: As we consider fall quarter and beyond, we need proposals/solutions. The current HVAC system did not provide adequate heat last year.
• Custodial services: This appears resolved (thank you, custodial services!). We need to ensure that services remain adequate.
• Leaking pipe: This remains unfixed but instruction could likely resume with interim measures.
• Security: It appears security is adequate for our morning in-person offering but may not be adequate for the scheduled return of evening classes this fall.  
• Rats (door issue): I need more information. It was suggested that rats may not be an issue. Instead there is a problem with the lobby door that has been solved by having that door remain propped open (providing potential access to rats or other critters).

Ventilation

On August 4, I could feel air circulating from the vents, which faculty reported had not been true before. While this appears resolved, I am not aware of what action, if any, solved this problem. I am not prepared to support resuming instruction until we have a clear course of action that faculty, the site coordinator, or I can take if ventilation concerns return.

Air Conditioning

Per the college’s lease agreement, the HVAC system at New Holly is the responsibility of SHA. SHA has reported that the entire HVAC system must be replaced and work on that will not begin until winter 2023 at the soonest. They have provided portable AC units in three of the classrooms in the interim.

• Cords/trip hazards: The cords and plugs powering the portable units present trip hazards, which have been mitigated with heavy tape and other measures. I find this reasonable but invite comment from faculty. 

• Emptying the water reservoirs: In order to provide cool air, the units collect water in reservoirs which get quite heavy and require emptying. I do not believe this is appropriate to assign to faculty, who have periodically done this work. I wonder if this can be handled by custodial staff.

• Heat waves: The units were not adequate during the recent heat wave. I propose we contemplate suspending in-person instruction during heat waves.
• Operating the units: The units must be turned off when not needed, as we have already had one incident where water over-flowed the reservoir when a unit was left on overnight. I propose faculty simply take responsibility for turning them on and off as needed, but we need to extend that responsibility to East African Community Services and others who use the space. We can also ask custodians to ensure that units are turned off.

Heating

As we look ahead to fall, we need to ensure adequate heat. Again, SHA reports that work to replace the HVAC system will begin in winter 2023 at the soonest. I think it's prudent to imagine that we may not have adequate heat from the current HVAC system for all of 2022-23. Last year, as early as October 7, 2021, heat was identified as an issue. Below is a picture of the thermostat sent to me on that day.

Before we confirm plans to resume instruction for fall 2022 or winter 2023, I am seeking confirmation that we have a plan to adequately heat the space.

Custodial Services

A big thank you to the custodial team! The complaint noted concerns about the bathrooms and general cleanliness. When I visited the site yesterday, I thought the custodial work looked really great. It appears we just need to ensure we have a plan to meet ongoing needs.

Leaking pipe

I'm not a plumber, but I think the bathroom in room 205 needs a new U-bend. This seems like a minor fix and, with faculty support, I'd be fine re-opening while we try to get some attention on this. I've put in a work order today, in case that hasn't been done already. The temporary fix is to let the dripping water collect in a waste paper basket, which faculty periodically empty into the toilet.

Security

The complaint included concerns about unhoused individuals. Per our lease agreement, security is provided by SHA, and my understanding is campus security actually has no authority to respond to concerns (outside of the actual second floor, which we lease). 

It's helpful to acknowledge reports of security concerns in fall 2021/winter 2022, when SHA was unable to hire sufficient staff. During that time, I met with faculty to discuss a plan, which included me personally arriving at New Holly on days of in-person instruction to make myself available for any concerns. This cannot be our permanent solution, as it was difficult as an interim measure. To my understanding, security has not been an issue since winter 2022, when SHA was able to hire sufficient staff. I will confirm this with New Holly faculty and seek input on additional needs.

Also to my understanding, security is not currently scheduled to be present at New Holly until 9 pm, when our evening classes typically end. To my recollection, this was also true prior to Covid-19 remote operations and had been a standard practice. I will revisit our needs before resuming evening instruction at New Holly for fall 2022. My intention is to do everything I can to restart this important (and in-demand) evening program, but safety matters must be adequately addressed, and the needs may have changed since the evening program last ran. 

Rats and doors

The complaint includes concerns about rats on site. I need to investigate this further, as I saw no evidence of rats nor heard any specific concerns when I visited New Holly. I got feedback that this concern might be connected to an ongoing problem with the lobby doors.

Prior to remote operations for Covid, the lobby doors at New Holly would unlock automatically in time for students to enter the building and come to the second floor--our learning space--for class. Faculty, who had keys, could arrive before class for prep, and they could remain in their classrooms confident that the building was secure until the first-floor lobby doors unlocked for students. This mechanism no longer is working. As a result, faculty and others who use the building generally prop the lobby doors open. This is both a security and--arguably--a rat problem. I propose we ask SHA for more information about the doors and potential solutions.

 General upkeep

While this was not part of the complaint, New Holly would benefit from some general upkeep. The space feels overdue for better furniture, fresh paint, updated computers, and similar work. Scuffs are common. Furniture is often mismatched, cracked, and/or stained. Signage feels improvised. Faculty are improvising solutions to keep screens in place. While I appreciate the can-do attitude, I want a space that's respectful and deserving of our students.

Work is underway

I want to give another big thanks to the custodial team who responded quickly and specifically to Matt Dimeo for being a solid partner. I also want to acknowledge that some of these complaints have been on-going and have received some attention, though I consider the complaint an opportunity to ask if our efforts need to be improved.

Thank you and how you can help

New Holly is incredibly important to our mission and we've had a 20+ year history providing services at the Learning Center for this corner of our city which historically lacked services. You can help now by sending me your feedback or additions to this report. I will specifically reach out to current New Holly faculty to see if this captures their concerns and consider if/how we can resume instruction perhaps as soon as this summer. But, as this report shows, I also need input and clarity on our needs for fall, winter, spring, and beyond. 

Email me your thoughts! Thank you again for everything. Have a great summer.