2023-02-09-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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02/09/2023 AC Minutes 7 Mr. Bartenstein asked how much of the School Administration Building was unoccupied. Mr. Cro- nin said that people naturally expand to occupy all available space. A space study performed by the Superintendent and an outside contractor found that the building has about 45,000 sq. ft., but that the school staff need less than 20,000 sq. ft. This effectively doubles the heating and maintenance costs. A new School Administration Building would be half the size of Old Harrington. Mr. Barten- stein asked whether any other Town departments could share the building. Mr. Cronin said this was an interesting question but noted that it would not decrease the costs to maintain the existing build- ing. Mr. Padaki asked if the Stone Building could host the school and town administration. The an- swer, again, was no due to limits on space, parking, and the deed restriction. Mr. Bartenstein asked if the Town still owns the basement space in the Muzzey School Condomini- ums, which Mr. Cronin confirmed. The space has deed restrictions that only allow for Monday–Fri- day operation and allow the space to be used only for senior purposes, which greatly limits its use- fulness to the Town. The Town is currently using part of it as storage for the local food bank. The entire building has an ongoing fire code issue, and the Town has offered to cover more of the costs towards resolving this issue in exchange for lifting the deed restriction. Another option would be to sell the unit back to the condo association. Until the fire code issue is resolved, the Town cannot dispose of the space. Police Station Solar Panels Mr. Cronin said a design for the solar panels will be presented to the Select Board at their next meeting, and they have partial approval from the Historic Districts Commission (HDC) for a design that would have solar panels on a two-tiered canopy in the parking area behind Fletcher Park as well as on the roof of the Police Station Headquarters. The HDC has asked for solar panels that transmit some light. The solar panels approved so far will yield around 95% net zero operation for the Police Station (not including EV chargers). Additional panels under discussion between the Select Board and the HDC would boost the total yield to 115% of the building’s electric demand. The design estimate construction cost of the solar panel arrays is $3.3 million, which narrowly fits the $3.4 million appropriation request. This project would be put out for bid shortly after Town Meeting concludes, but construction would wait. Munroe School Mr. Cronin stated that the construction project would be fully managed by the Town. Lexington High School The Town is currently in the 270-day Eligibility Period, with 27 days to go. The Town has submit- ted all the necessary paperwork to the MSBA. On March 1 we hope to be invited to participate in the Feasibility Phase, during which the Town will hire an architect and begin analyzing basic re- quirements for the school building. This phase should be completed around September 2024. From that point construction could begin in September 2026, with students moving in September 2028, and fields completed in September 2029. Mr. Bartenstein asked what would cause the MSBA to withhold an invitation to the Feasibility Phase. Mr. Cronin said it was rare for a community to exit after the Eligibility Period, but it was usually the community’s decision not to proceed. Nevertheless, this will be one of the largest pro- jects the MSBA has done, and the Town must await the MSBA’s formal invitation. It is possible the MSBA could delay our invitation for a year in order to ensure they have the necessary funding to proceed.