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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-07-14-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE Minutes of July 14 1993 Meeting in Room G-3 , Town Office Building, as approved September 22 , 1993 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Kennedy at 8 18 p m with other committee members Edson, Johnson, McCabe, Scanlon and Touart present Also attending were Director of School Building Operation John Moynihan III , Fire Chief Bergeron, Capital Expenditures Committee representative Karen Dooks , Joel Bargmann of Archetype Architecture, Inc , and Irene Gravina of the Lexington Minute-man Minutes approval was postponed until the September meeting Format of reports on school buildinas Joel Bargmann distributed a schedule of work on the schools study In June the educational program in each school was surveyed, along with the bus and traffic issues Diamond School will be visited early next week Basic diagrams on each school ' s facilities and educational program are now being input All of Lexington' s schools are now operating at capacity Examples of problems discovered were technical issues such as circuit overloads and Jerrybuilt arrangements and more mundane obstacles such as lack of storage space Questions remain about the educational program for Hastings when it reopens in fall 1994 Will it be K-5? A magnet school? contain Kindergarten only? A landscape architect will be at the high school tomorrow A further check on schools may be necessary in the fall to pin down details on buildings Database will be compiled during the last three weeks of September, including building needs and overall trends (Among trends noted Science and math departments are galloping ahead and reaching into lower grades ) Bargmann said his group needs direction on use of buildings over duration and long-term investment A study of long-term solutions was advocated It appears that not a very large investment will be needed to bring about ADA compliance A meeting on demographics will take place next week The final report will use generic software such as Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 Before finalizing the documents a meeting will be held with school principals at the end of September or early October Town Buildings Work on town buildings - to be grouped - will begin later this month, with a draft report anticipated at the end of October For each building there will be a sheet enumerating capital plans and forms to help custodians to inspections Bargmann said he is working closely with Peter Chalpin on town buildings and with John Moynihan on schools In both studies an "index of standard level" or "model classroom" will be developed and add-ons or options will be listed along with costing and payback data Advisability of maintenance or further capital outlay will be weighed Examples of questions Has the building outlived its utility? Is it worth investing more in? It today' s level the optimum? PBC Minutes 7/14/93 - Page 2 Capital Expenditures Committee member Dooks expressed need to have more basis for capital planning decisions Usually life-safety and code/ADA items come first and measures beyond involve some opinion Other issues that should be considered are underground fuel tanks ( for which Fire Dept has town-wide data) and demographics, which figure prominently in a just-completed Planning Department study The School Superintendent has recently formed a committee on reopening the Hastings School , and their report is due in November PBC should be represented on this committee PBC members McCabe and Touart will be informed of the committee' s activities and attend their meetings if possible Input from this committee will be needed by Archetype as soon as possible Educational consultant John Miller will be working on this The opening of Hastings would especially affect the Estabrook School In September the PBC should again meet with Bargmann for a progress report Touart and McCabe will be involved in schematic reviews with each school principal , and there should also be a town-wide review of the draft report Archetype' s contracts are now with the Comptroller and first invoices are to be approved later this meeting Consolidation and communication for protection agencies Specifications are now being prepared for consolidation and communication Chairman Kennedy and Jim Scanlon are going to Portsmouth NH to visit what is considered the best facility in the region Chairman Kennedy noted that he has the Central Fire Station drawings Payments APPROVED for Secretary Greene and for Archetype through June 30 for work on schools These invoices are also to be filtered through John Moynihan Committee VOTED that the two contracts for studies of schools and 18 town buildings be signed Contract for Hastings and Clarke renovations Agreement has been reached with DRA on drawings plans for reopening needs at Hastings and for rebuilding of sills and windows at Clarke A different engineering firm, Thompson Consultants of Marion MA will be employed The original price of $68 ,000 has been whittled to $52 ,000 , and is now within budget The contract will be ready to be signed in the next two weeks , with some readjustments to be made in the town' s favor Construction expenditure of about $ 500 ,000 plus 10 percent is expected John Moynihan and Chairman Kennedy will study and approve the contract with DRA in consultation with Town Counsel Schools followups Chairman Kennedy reported that the Briggs suit is scheduled for trial December 6 , 1993 John Moynihan reported that the elevators are working at the High School and Diamond and that work on the science labs at Diamond is virtually complete, with the punch list to be finished tomorrow Central consolidated ioint dispatching Action of last meeting was reviewed for Fire Chief Bergeron There will be a separate contract for a communications consultant Bergeron is assembling an RFP to be ready in the next three weeks Of concern are staffing, number of consoles , PBC Minutes 7/14/93 - Page 3 training, supervision, space, computer software and disaster needs In any case, the Fire Department radio system needs replacement (digital or analog? ) Will the Fire Department tap into the Police network? How will coordination be worked out with inspectional services? with hydrant and water flow data? Regionalization? So far Lexington has been going on its own Are frequencies compatible? Data terminals mobile? Other Fire Needs Quality of air at the main station is a concern because diesel fumes are seeping into offices and living quarters Furthermore, the boiler at the East Lexington station has sprung a bad leak and it will not last another winter Required would be $2 ,000 for engineering services and more than $30 ,000 to convert to a gas system (gas is already in the building ) Asked where outside air is coming from Meeting adjourned at 9 55 p m until Wednesday, September 22 at 8 p m Respectfully submitted, Erna S Greene, Secretary to the Committee 4