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
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