HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-08-16-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS
PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE
Minutes of August 16 1994 Meetina in Room 111, Town Office Building
The meeting came to order at 7 47 p m with committee members John
Kennedy , Bill Kennedy (new School Committee appointee) , Dan McCabe (now
Town Manager appointee) , Mary Lou Touart present Committee members
Edson and Johnson arrived after 8 00 p m Others present included Ed
Mello of Donham and Sweeney, Staff members Director of School Building
Operation John Moynihan, Town Engineer Francis X Fields and Police
Chief Casey as well as School Committee member Barrie Peltz
Progress report on dispatch center The project is now two and a half
months into a five-month schedule and three to four weeks behind
schedule The schedule was somewhat unrealistic in the first place
One delay was caused by a wait for door frames that had to be installed
before walls Possibly the project could in the end be about two to
three weeks late
Subcontractors on the job - electrician and plumber - are quite good
Masonry and finish work have not begun The contractor, Robichaud, is a
small family outfit or two or three people, plus those hired from the
union who need to be kept after for cleaning up So far the job is OK
on the money, partly thanks to $55 ,000 extra contingency available So
far contingency funds have been used to correct existing illegal
electric work and a ceiling fan that needed replacement The Police
Department is pleased with the work Progress meetings are held every
Wednesday at 9 a m Police and Fire cross training for the new dispatch
center is now in progress , and the enhanced 911 service is expected to
arrive in town in December During construction people needing to be �
locked up are being sent to Arlington, where a Lexington officer is
assigned duty
Progress on Hastings School was reported by John Moynihan Although the
required plans and drawings have been submitted to the state, the State
Board of Education has not yet approved the project So far only
$960 ,000 has been allowed to be spent of a $1 8 million contract
Anticipated that $600 ,000 will be spent before November The job is not
easy Scope of work has been agreed upon Painting comprises 65 percent
of the work to be done Floor tiles had to be removed due to their
asbestos content Because of a contract snafu, the work suffered seven
to eight weeks of delay
Exterior work will be postponed until next summer Moynihan is spending
about five hours at Hastings every day If the State does not approve
of the project the school would lose new windows and parking lot work
Furniture was purchased last year Dropped ceilings are being installed
below the existing ceilings New rooms are now being framed John
Kennedy asked if a contingency plan were in place should the school not
be ready Moynihan assured that the building would be ready for
occupancy on September 8 , 1994
Phase II - building the new library and computer center - will begin
October 28 However, Richard Rogers , the new Principal of the school ,
has requested that no work be done between Christmas vacation and
summer Present work brings the school up to life safety codes
PBC Minutes 8/16/94 - Page 2
Equipment has been ordered for kitchen, which will be a satellite
operation Carl Francheski of DRA is Principal Architect for the
project
Election of Committee Chairman Dan McCabe was nominated as citizen-
chairman of the committee by Mary Lou Touart and unanimously elected by
those present He has been attending the Wednesday morning construction
meetings John Kennedy recommended that committee members (including
those appointed by the School Committee) receive summaries of the
minutes of these weekly meetings so that they are able to help and
expedite the project
The role of the committee and its chairman was discussed briefly, and
general agreement seemed to point toward general management and planning
rather than micro or daily supervision But in the next breath someone
pointed out that the High School boiler needed replacement
Pending Problems Court date has been set for September 19 , 1994 for
the Town v Briggs trial The Town is suing Briggs for $200 ,000
There are problems with the elevators installed by Smith Groves About
$22 ,000 worth of work has been left undone, costing the town about
$17 ,000 to otherwise take care of Completion was considerably delayed
in the $196,000 job
School Facilities report is promised next month About $64 million
worth out of the study has to be prioritized a five to ten-year capital
plan Two-thirds of the proposed construction is program driven
School Committee participation is needed So far Moynihan is
disappointed with the study's lack of depth in planning for the high
school
Discussion returned to role of the PBC in school project Peltz saw the
PBC as more of an advocate for building maintenance, who must also
justify projects with the School Committee Moynihan sees the committee
as a resource Bill Kennedy said, "There' s room for advocacy within the
scope of our work " He would like to eliminate competition between
program and building needs
Also noted that total infrastructure of the town needs to be addressed
in a Town Meeting article, and the public needs education on this , too
Agreed that the committee should meet monthly, with next meeting
scheduled for Wednesday, September 21 at 8 00 p m
Meeting adjourned at 9 25 p m
Respectfully submitted,
Erna S Greene, Secretary to the committee