2023-01-11-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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01/11/2023 AC Minutes 2 Ms. Burwell and Mr. Healy addressed the Committee, making the following points: The project has already been presented to the Dept. of Recreation and Community Pro- grams, the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC), the Dept. of Public Facilities (DPF), the Historic Districts Commission (HDC), and to neighbors of the Munroe Center. The Town Manager has also been involved in extensive discussions with the Munroe Center. The goal of the project is to address immediate needs of the building related to accessibility (as regulated under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA) and interior climate con- trol (HVAC). By an act of the Town, the building has been used to support practicing artists and arts edu- cation for roughly 40 years. A nonprofit, Lexington Friends of the Arts (doing business as Munroe Center for the Arts), has been managing the building since 1994. In 2020, the Mun- roe Center signed a 10-year lease with the Town, with the option for two 10-year extensions. The Munroe Center pays the Town $2,000 per month, and also covers all ongoing mainte- nance and operating expenses for the building, including utilities and the fire monitoring system. The nonprofit has also covered some capital expenses, including a new roof, an up- graded parking lot, new attic insulation, and re-keying the building for better access by emergency services. The Munroe Center partnered with the Town to replace 123 windows, a major capital invest- ment, so that essentially any additional work will trigger ADA requirements to make the building fully accessible. The Munroe Center regards accessibility as a very important issue for its community. The project will provide access to people who cannot use stairs, as well as accessible, gender- neutral restrooms on all floors of the building. The addition at the rear of the building will, in effect, become the new “front door”. The proposed work will also replace an aging HVAC system, including a very old boiler. The need for this work is driven by two factors. First, the local climate, and the patterns of use for the building have changed greatly since its origins as a school building. Second, the DPF has rejected the use of window-mounted air conditioners on the top two floors because they cannot meet the practical demands of current users, so, as a result, there is no air condi- tioning in the building. Committee members directed questions to Ms. Burwell. The project will be managed through the DPF. The CPC has voted 7-0-2 to support the project. The requested CPA appropriation was stated to be $6.79 million, although Mr. Kanter recalled the CPC voting on $6,635,191. (After the meeting the latter number was acknowledged to be correct.) The estimated cost includes a 10% construction contingency with a 7% escalation. The Town will fund this with $2 million in CPA debt, with the remaining cash coming from the Community Preserva- tion Fund (CPF). This would leave the CPF with about $1.5 million in Unallocated Reserves. Ideally, the project would begin in summer, focusing initially on the heating system, and then pro- ceed through the winter with completion the following summer. Ms. Burwell stated that the Munroe Center would maintain its programming schedule during construction. Mr. Bartenstein asked for more explanation of the functional features of the addition. Mr. Healy listed the handicapped-accessible entrance, a new elevator surrounded by gender-neutral restrooms,