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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-28-CEC-min •'pJ5 pAgb7 NIpBl„�� LL n Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting January 28, 2014 APRIL 19' Location and Time Town Office Building, Parker Room, 8.00 A.M Members Present Jill Hai, Chair, David Kanter, Vice-Chair, Bill Hurley, Wendy Manz, Beth Masterman Members Absent None Others Present Jon Himmel, Chair, Permanent Building Committee (PBC) and member, Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented • Notice of Public Meeting/Agenda for January 28, 2014, Meeting • 2014 ANNUAL TOWN WARRANT TABLE OF CONTENTS as presented to the Board of Selectmen (BoS) at its meeting, January 27, 2014 • Community Preservation Committee's FY2015 Project List, January 9, 2014, with Final Votes to that Date and with Mr Kanter's Annotations from the January 16, 2014, meeting of that Committee • Lexington Capital Projects Responsibilities Matrix, January 2014 Draft, prepared by Mr Himmel • Draft Minutes of the CEC Meeting, January 14, 2014 • Draft Minutes of the CEC Meeting, January 15, 2014 Call to Order Ms Hai called the meeting to order at 8.05 A.M Approval of Minutes There was discussion about amending the wording regarding support for the Community Center sidewalk in the draft Minutes for the January 14, 2014, meeting so as better to reflect the decisions at that meeting A motion was made and seconded to approve the Minutes, as amended Vote 5-0 A motion was made and seconded to approve the January 15, 2014, Minutes Vote 5-0 Organizational Roles and Missions as They Relate to Capital Projects Mr Himmel explained the matrix that he distributed which illustrates the three phases of a capital project, the multiple components associated with each phase, and the roles that he believes should be assumed by the 11 different stakeholders he identified He added that as phases one and two progress, the known information about a project increases, as does the accuracy of the estimated cost—which is to be expected Points made during this part of the discussion included • During the Study Phase, a contract team develops a schematic design and estimated costs are based on projected square footage Page 1 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting January 28, 2014 • During the Design Phase, the data from the Study Phase are tested and the project moves into design development, after which construction documents are generated • The Construction Phase includes bidding the project and actual construction • For each phase there is usually a separate award For the first two phases, there is a selection committee that chooses to whom to make the award based on criteria, it is common to use different contractors for these phases In the third phase, the Town generally makes the award to the low bidder or must describe why the low bidder is not being selected • The Town created the Department of Public Facilities (DPF) to manage the Town's buildings and to oversee projects associated with those buildings While the DPF staff does an excellent job, there are many demands placed upon it. Mr Himmel believes that some Town projects have become more complicated and/or more costly than necessary for reasons that may include the following • The decision makers have not been clearly identified • The decision makers have included groups that do not have the appropriate expertise to make decisions in a timely and efficient manner and/or to make decisions that factor in the financial ramifications • When a future user of a facility is making decisions the costs tend to increase • The role of the PBC has not been clearly defined, particularly as it relates to the DPF, but this is evolving During the discussion, Mr Himmel identified projects that were not given to the PBC for oversight, including the High School modular buildings, the Cary Memorial Building renovations, and the Community Center renovations Mr Himmel said that the PBC includes architects, builders, a building superintendent, and a facilities manager, and he would like to see the Town take advantage of the PBC's expertise more frequently and earlier in the process He noted that architects have a time-tested process for evaluating and working on projects He believes that the Town needs a policy that provides guidance for determining which projects go before the PBC and use of the matrix can help the Town have a better process for pursuing capital projects Mr Himmel said that he has recently met with Carl Valente (Town manager), Deb Mauger (Chair of the BoS), and Pat Goddard (Director, DPF) to discuss his concerns They suggested he meet with this Committee, the Appropriation Committee, and the School Committee Mr Kanter volunteered to help Mr Himmel package his presentation in a way that more clearly defines the issues Ms Masterman suggested using some illustrative case studies Mr Hurley—who is this Committee's designated liaison to the PBC—asked to be included on the PBC e-mail list so that he can attend its meetings FY2015—FY2019 Capital Program, including Specific Projects Mr Kanter reported that, to his knowledge, only the Community Center capital project has experienced changes since the last meeting of this Committee That project's scope has revised to reflect further Page 2 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting January 28, 2014 changes (e g , to enlarge the dining area beyond that identified in the fall 2013 plans) and the estimated cost has been revised as it is now based on the design effort having progressed further toward completion Also being recognized is the advice from the BoS that based on higher-priority capital needs—specifically those supporting public safety—a funding request for Phase 2 of Community Center project is not likely to be presented to Town Meeting for several years Without including funding for a full enhancement of the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, there would need to be a request for about $1 7 million to supplement the $3 169 million Phase 1 appropriation that was approved at the November 4, 2013, Special Town Meeting (STM)—which would increase the total estimated cost for Phase 1 to about $4 9 million Costs and timing for the fully enhanced HVAC upgrade are yet to be determined If this component were to be included with the rest of the Phase 1 project, occupancy of the Community Center would likely be delayed approximately five months to about July 2015 The alternative is to move into the building in January 2015 and further upgrade the HVAC system after the building is occupied The BoS has asked for updated cost and timeline information for both of those options The BoS has indicated a desire to do the project "right" rather than "fast" At the same time, it recognizes that delays in opening the Community Center have impacts that include • Human Services Department, which manages the Senior Center in the Muzzey Condominium building There is a desire to move out of that building as soon as practical to avoid renovations needed there and to be able to offer expanded services in a Community Center • The Recreation Department, which uses the Cary Memorial Building for program space and storage Cary Memorial Building is scheduled for renovations starting in mid-2014, making it unusable for 18 months It is anticipated that the Selectmen will make a decision at their February 3, 2014, meeting The Committee's Report(s) to the 2014 Annual Town Meeting and Accompanying March 24, 2014, STM Mr Kanter will compile the report(s) as soon as members supply him with their material His goal is to have a strawman report ready for comment at the Committee's February 4, 2014, meeting He asked that each person include in the submittal the amount that was appropriated for each line item in FY2014 If that line-item's work wasn't accomplished, consideration should be given to including an explanation as to why It was noted that Bill Hadley, Director, Department of Public Works, is developing answers to questions that were asked by this Committee during his Department's presentations to this Committee on the DPW FY2015—FY2019 Capital Program Ms Hai commented that Mr Valente and Ms Mauger expressed concern about this Committee's verbal report at the latest Summit Meeting Ms Hai advised them that everything that was reported had been discussed during prior meetings of this Committee at which senior Town staff was present and that no concerns had been expressed by that staff, therefore, she was surprised by any concern Page 3 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting January 28, 2014 Member Concerns and Liaision Reports There was discussion about Committee-member involvement in the campaigns of those running for Town-wide elections Mr Kanter advised the Committee that when the matter was originally raised [in December 2004], at the request of Deborah Brown (then Vice-Chair of the Appropriation Committee), that Committee adopted a policy to limit such involvement and this Committee decided to follow the same policy [In January 2010, this Committee revisited its decision and decided not to change it after Ms Brown, then the Town Moderator, reaffirmed her preference that her appointments to the Finance Committees so limit their involvement.] Ms Hai, Ms Masterman, and Ms Manz reported that they had never been informed by Ms Brown about this policy when she appointed them nor had the subject arisen since they joined this Committee, until today Ms Masterman stated that she does not agree that committee members should have to forego the right to publicly support a candidate in a Town-wide election Mr Hurley also had reservations about the policy Mr Kanter said that the policy was adopted to avoid any perception of impropriety, as this Committee must reflect impartiality in its dealings with elected officials ACTION ITEM Ms Hai will invite Ms Brown to the next meeting to provide additional context to this discussion with the intent to decide on what the Committee's policy on this matter should be, moving forward Mr Kanter reported that at its meeting last evening the BoS agreed to transfer $100,000 into the FY2015 street improvement project to support traffic-calming work on Shade Street with those funds coming from the amount that would be proposed for addition to the Capital-related Stabilization Fund He also learned at that meeting that, as part of the annual bonding next month, there would be $5 5 million for the 2014 Phase 1 —which is now being rebid—of the Lexington High School Modular Building project which had $7 7 million appropriated at the November 4, 2013, STM for both that Phase and the 2015 Phase 2. Adjourn A Motion was made and seconded at 10.32 A.M to adjourn Vote 5-0 These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on February 4, 2014 Page 4 of 4