HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-10-27-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS
PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE
Minutes of October 27 1993 in Room G-15, Town Office Building
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Kennedy at 8 03 p m , with
other committee members Police Chief Casey, Fire Chief Bergeron, Edson,
Johnson, John Kennedy, McCabe, Scanlon and Touart present , as well as
John Moynihan of the School Department The three major topics of
discussion were announced Dispatch/Communications for protection
services , future of the PBC and schools
Dispatch/Communications Chief Casey noted that of the 24 firms
attending the information meeting on the specifications for bidding nine
proposals materialized A subcommittee of Chief Bergeron, Chief Casey
and PBC member Jim Scanlon evaluated these and recommended a short list
of four architects
Donham and Sweeney
Pepi Associates
Melissa Butler Bennet
Powers and Company
The subcommittee used a list of seven criteria to guide their
recommendation (see attached) The PBC conducted a review of the four
candidates , the criteria used and discussed their particular strengths
The committee generally felt that all were qualified but selected Donham
& Sweeney as being most qualified
The communications consultant , Ram Communications, was the only proposal
on the communications work However, after discussion, the PBC agreed
that they were qualified and had submitted a responsive and satisfactory
proposal Therefore Ram was selected as the Communications Consultant
The selection is contingent upon successful negotiation of the
proposal 's cost Their bid will be further evaluated by a team
consisting of Julian Bussgang, Caleb Warner and selected staffs of the
police and fire departments
The communications work will be divided into Phase I costing for
budgeting by December and starting of the frequency application process;
and Phase II preparing accurate specs for building so that bid
documents can be prepared in time for appropriation request to the 1994
Town Meeting
John Moynihan raised questions about the legality of having only one bid
to consider (to be checked with Town Counsel ) Committee members
pointed out that time is of the essence, and rebidding might delay
needed political schedule The funding request of Ram is still in a
sealed envelope; if the amount is too high, negotiations are expected
Commented that Ram is generally a well-thought-of company
VOTED to select Ram and Donham and Sweeney proposals if finances can be
satisfactorily negotiated
Future of the PBC Chairman Kennedy announced his impending resignation
Exact effective date has not been set, but Kennedy would like to end his
chairmanship and committee membership no later than the end of 1993
PBC Minutes of 10/27/93 2
Edson told how in Windsor CT he had been staff liaison person with a
similar committee when he was DPW Director there; he recommended that
the committee receive similar support from a town staff person, inasmuch
as there will not be assistance of the type supplied by Chartwell in the
schools renovation project of 1986-92 Committee members also noted
that the responsibilities were excessive for a volunteer chairman who
also has a full time job
In discussion of qualifications for the next chairman, committee members
agreed that the next chairman need not be an engineer or architect but
should be a good administrator John Kennedy expressed desire to see
tenure limitation or rotation for committee positions Concern was also
emphasized about preservation of building plans and records and for
continuity of committee membership
Noted that the committee chairman is elected from among the members, who
are appointed by Town Manager Need was generally seen for more drawing
into town committees, the PBC in particular, of the vast amount of
talent among Lexington citizens Committee vacancies can be publicized
in the local media, it was noted
Schools The Briggs high school field house roof court case has again
been postponed - this time until March, 1994 No response has been
received from J P Construction Co since the committee last wrote them
in spring J P has not yet received final payment Town Counsel has
been consulted regarding possible legal action against Smith Grove, who
still owe the town about $20 ,000 worth of work on elevators and science
labs at the high school and Diamond In addition, payments to
subcontractors are still in contention
DRA' s work on Hastings School is now at the 10 percent stage They are
now planning modifications to the front entrance and window walls as
well as elevator location Bids are scheduled to go out mid-December,
with opening and evaluation in late January Construction should begin
late February to early March so that work can be completed August 1 in
time for the 1994-95 school year Suggested that DRA give a
presentation at the next PBC meeting Budget for construction is about �
$600 ,000
Moynihan described a three-hour meeting with Archetype's engineers,
reviewing each school ' s electrical and mechanical details
Architectural work has already been done A draft report, is supposed
to be delivered by Monday, November 1 Emphasized that school staff
need to see this report Moynihan pointed out that the October 31
deadline for the final report obviously will be overrun
A "wish list" of $6 to $8 worth of project will be recommended, along
with possible program changes and contingent plans Predicted that
further study of Clarke and the High School will be recommended because
these buildings are not suited to the types of programs now being run
As examples , the house system at the high school is not working in the
facility and the program at Clarke is not operating according to the
open plan of building
PBC Minutes of 10/27/93 3
Another cause of delay of the Archetype report is lack of a vision
statement from the school administration Assistant Superintendent
Carol Filarski will produce it this week
John Kennedy suggested using the draft as a basis for planning Sense
of the committee keep pressure on Bergmann, but not to the detriment of
the study John Moynihan' s plea to, "show me the engineering report , "
brought forth such committee consternation that no invoices to Archetype
were approved, "until the product is seen "
Need also pointed out for a disc for the town to feed its computers on
Monday
Next meeting for presentation of the draft report scheduled Wednesday,
November 3 at 8 p m
Minutes of September 22 1993 were approved as submitted
Meeting adjourned at 10 02 p m until November 3 (see above)
Respectfully submitted,
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Erna S Greene, Secretary to the Committee
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