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1 Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee (AhCCAC)
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444/NGTQ� Minutes
Date November 8, 2013
Place and time Cary Memonal Building, Estabrook Hall, 9 00 A M
Members Present Michelle Ciccolo, Chair, Betty Borghesani,Harry Forsdick, Laura Hussong, Leslie
Zales
Members Absent Mary Ellen Alessandro, Florence Koplow
Liaisons Present Linda Vine,Vice chair of AhCCAC, Town Manager's Office, Charlotte Rodgers, staff,
Human Services,Norm Cohen, Board of Selectmen, Jon Himmel, Permanent Building Committee, Beth
Masterman, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC), Glenn Parker,Appropnation Committee, Jessie
Steigerwald, School Committee, Karen Simmons, staff, Recreation
Liaisons Absent(liaisons only attend as-requested and as-available to address relevant agenda items)
John Mazerall, staff, Police Department, John Wilson, Chief, Fire Department, Chris Filadoro, staff, Public
Works, Shawn Newell, staff, Public Facilities, Koren Stembndge, staff, Library, Donnda Goodman, staff,
Information Technology
Consultant Representative Present from Steffian Bradley Architects (SBA) Teresa Wilson, Richard Berry
Also present Pat Goddard, staff, Facilities, Sheila Butts, staff, Recreation, Carroll Ann Bottmo, COA
Board, David Kanter, CEC, Steve Daniels, resident, senior citizen advocate,Anne Frymer, resident,
Dorothy Tutko, resident, Glona Bloom, resident and Town Meeting member, Rita Sagalyn, resident
Recording Secretary Sara Arnold
The meeting was called to order by Ms Ciccolo at 9 05 A M
1 Opening Comments It was noted that LexMedia was not recording the meeting Those in attendance
introduced themselves
2. Minutes There was a correction to the October 30,2013 Minutes Ms Borghesani's name should be
added to those who agreed to document programming ideas
It was moved and seconded to approve the Minutes for October 22, 2013, and for October 30, 2013, as
amended The motion passed VOTE 5-0
3. Work Plan Update. The following was reported
• The meeting on November 13th will be at 8 30 A M,not 8 00 A M
• This Committee will be allowed access to the 39 Marrett Road building one day next week
• This Committee needs to make plans for the December 14th open house Perhaps there should be tours,
welcoming activities, refreshments,there should be a method for receiving public input
ACTION ITEM Ms Hussong, Ms Borghesani and Mr Forsdick will work with Town employees Ms
Vine, Ms Simmons, and Ms Rodgers to develop plans for the Open House
4. Correspondence Ms Ciccolo referred to a handout that included three emails received from residents
regarding the future Community Center She is monitoring comments on various Lexington Lists and
shared a possible general response She reminded members to forward to her any substantive emails
received by Committee members regarding the Community Center so they could be distnbuted to the entire
committee
5 Comparable Community Data• Ms Wilson used PowerPoint to present Community Center data collected
from 12 comparable Towns The presentation and subsequent questions triggered the following comments
• Community Centers in some Towns have computer rooms
• The need for an emergency shelter should be discussed with the Fire and Police Departments, if the
building is to be used as an emergency shelter,this will impact the need for showers, an emergency
generator and a kitchen
ACTION ITEM Ms Vine will talk to the police chief and the fire chief about this issue
• When discussing Community Centers in other towns,it is necessary to know what other resources these
towns have (e g how much gymnasium space is available per capita) or whether there is a recreation
center in addition to a community center Ms Alessandro and Ms Steigerwald agreed to pursue
identifying gyms per-capita for the comparable communities in an effort to understand how that
compares to Lexington's available gym space
• When evaluating Lexington's needs, it is necessary to understand what space is currently available in
the Town Mr Forsdick is preparing a list of space that can be leased or may be available to outside
groups He is also trying to determine if rental fees are charged for vanous spaces
• Mr Goddard's department manages the scheduling of the Town's resources Data that he has may help
this Committee understand how frequently groups are turned away, and whether these groups are
public or private Mr Goddard's data may also help in understanding demand for vanous types of
Town spaces Mr Goddard added that there are fees for the use of Town facilities,but in some
circumstances those fees may be waived
• In response to a comment about the high demand for meeting space, Mr Goddard said that the
anticipated Cary Memorial Building renovations will increase the number of meeting rooms for use by
town committees It was noted that Town Meeting purchased the buildings at 39 Marrett Road for a
Community Center,not to expand meeting space
• The net-to-gross space factor at 39 Marrett Road as compared to other towns should be made available
along with information about the impact of constructing a new building vs renovating an existing one
Ms Wilson noted three reasons the 39 Marrett Road building has a low net square footage for
community center use as compared to its gross square footage
➢ The basement has a large area that is not accessible and can only be used for storage
➢ There is a large mechanical area in the basement
➢ The building has long hallways
• Ms Mullins and Ms Rogers emphasized that the PowerPoint graphs that identify the number of
requests for different kinds of space reflect the demand for current programs,they do not include any
new programs It was also noted that these graphs do not include any weighting to indicate scheduling
demand by time-of-day,thus,the perceived adequacy of the space based on this data may be skewed
• The use of outside space will not involve creating playing fields It was noted that historic preservation
restnctions will be placed on the property after the purchase is finalized Those restnctions might
impact outdoor uses and should identify both what is and what isn't of historical significance so the
planned and likely work for both Phases 1 &2 is established as allowable
6. Next Steps. SBA will be creating three scenarios with schematics based on a space needs analysis This
will include identifying generic spaces, dedicated spaces, and Phase 1 unmet space needs
ACTION ITEMS This matenal will be distnbuted on Tuesday,November 12th, and the Committee will
hopefully be prepared to discuss it the next morning,Wednesday,November 13th
The Committee will have an opportunity to visit the 39 Marrett Road facility on Thursday,November 14th
at 2 00 P M This will hopefully be a posted meeting so that there can be discussion and/or positions taken,
as needed This will ensure that the Committee's comments can be incorporated into the matenal before it
is presented at the 7 00 P M, Tuesday,November 19th open-comment session
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The November 19th evening meeting needs to be publicized
ACTION ITEMS Ms Vine agreed to update the flyer that was used for the first evening meeting that was
open to public comments Copies will be distributed as was done previously It was noted that Ms
Hussong, Ms Koplow, and Ms Borghesani will continue to create a list of program ideas that have been
identified,while Ms Allesandro will continue to identify dedicated space needs
Ms Steigerwald reported that transportation to the community center is being considered by the School
Department because students will want to take a school bus to the Community Center immediately after
school It was noted that the Transportation Advisory Committee is also looking for opportunities to serve
the new center
Ms Hussong showed a mug and a key chain that might be appropriate marketing tools for the Community
Center Those in attendance applauded Special Town Meeting's support on November 4th of the Article that
requested funding for the completion of Phase 1 of this project, for the design of a sidewalk from Marrett
Road to the Center, and for an increased effort in the Schematic-Design phase for Phase 2
7. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at10 05 A M
These minutes were approved on November 12, 2013
Materials used at the meeting:
➢ Public Meeting Agenda, November 8, 2013, AhCCAC
➢ Proposed 2013 Meeting Schedule and Work Plan—11/08/2013
➢ Emails Rosemary Levy to Michelle Ciccolo, November 7, 2013, RE Community Center, John Zhu to
Leslie Zales, November 6, 2013, "Classroom availability in Lexington Community Center?", David Lang
to Michelle Ciccolo, November 7, 2013, "Correspondence TBN-3"
➢ `Rough Conceptual Estimates of Land Value Cost Comparison,"DRAFT by Michelle Ciccolo,
November 7, 2013
➢ Lexington Community Center AhCCAC Meeting—November 8, 2013, PowerPoint presented by SBA
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