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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-10-05-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE Minutes of October 5 1994 Meeting in Room 105 , Town Office Building, as amended and approved September 21, 1994 The meeting was called to order by Chairman McCabe at 8 05 p m with other committee members Edson, Bill Kennedy, Scanlon and Touart present Also present were Staff members Director of School Building Operation John Moynihan, Police Chief Christopher Casey and Fire Chief John Bergeron Trial Town v Briggs took place Thursday and Friday, September 29 and 30 , and the jury today awarded $92 , 500 in favor of the Town (applause) All present agreed the committee did the right thing Noted that Attorney Craig Stewart of Palmer & Dodge was very thorough in his preparation of the case The Town, through Palmer & Dodge, is now trying to recover court costs Dispatch Consolidation and Safety Proiects report from this morning 's construction meeting told of $196, 000 remaining in all the contingency funds Use of contingency included asbestos , wiring, and other work to bring the building up to code as well as approximately $15 , 000 worth of change orders including plumbing Completion remains about three to four weeks behind, with completion anticipated by mid-November Still awaited, hopefully by the end of next week, is the special raised flooring (to lay over computer wiring) that must come from Minnesota For the third time the communications tower is going before the Historic Districts Commission (RAM Communications ' George Kaufman reported later in the meeting that HDC verbally approved of the tower) The handicap entrance ramp that blends nicely with the building is nearly done Glass for the entry lobby is awaited Some revisions are still to be done in the booking room, which has the minimum ceiling height of seven feet six inches Wednesday morning construction meetings were described as beneficial and cooperative Fixing of the uneven brick walk was added to the project since workmen and funds were on hand Next to come are training, union agreements and rescheduling aspects of the total consolidation Reported that the East Lexington Fire Station boiler is working very well New telephones will be installed in the main fire station and soon door and traffic light controls will be added The underground cables connecting all safety service facilities are already in the ground and it will soon be hooked up In the soon to happen remodeling of the fire station areas there will be dry and wet storage rooms However, there are water leaks above these rooms The most significant hurdle, according to Bergeron, is to obtain a radio frequency licence There is a shortage of frequencies Sharing a I frequency with Ashland is under consideration Another major concern comes from fumes in both fire department buildings Present fans are inadequate Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulates all are present at high levels even though engine motors are turned off inside the buildings Fire department would like to capture fumes at their source Donham and Sweeney is working on a proposal that could be charged to the present project When the specifications are in it could go to bid About $85 ,000 to $90 ,000 worth PBC Minutes 10/5/94 - Page 2 of construction is contemplated Water problems in the fire station basement and cracks in the walls are being addressed VOTED to spend contingency funds if available on air quality solution plans Donham and Sweeney and the contractor on the safety services project were both complimented Tight quarters in the dispatch/communications area, especially during construction, were noted During renovations of the Police building attic fans were found inoperable and replaced The electrical contractor, the same one as at Hastings , was praised, particularly for taking responsibility for his mistakes Hastings reopening renovation was largely liked by the school 's staff , although the schools ' director of information resources expressed concern that the library is too small Change orders occurred mostly to fix up wiring problems Ventilation is now 0 K Payment was about $500 , 000 The school department now has about $1 1 million The State Department of Education certifications are now deemed sufficient to go ahead with bonding in March Then the contract can be amended upward to about $2 million In future planning, the school department are now considering about $4 5 million worth of projects , mostly from the facilities study Among those contemplated Harrington windows , HVAC at Bowman and Bridge from the KLQ study and the just-completed five-year plan John Moynihan said he would like direction from a representative committee from the School Committee, School Department , Capital Expenditures Committee and Appropriation Committee Should there be a town-wide "improvement team"? Moynihan noted that last year he proposed a $3 million building maintenance budget , including salaries The School Committee accepted $2 7 million of this School Committee will be working on capital proposals in their November 8 and 22 meetings Need for an overall plan generally expressed, including items that were never accomplished from the 5-year plan of 1990 that was supposed to be for $10 million Emphasized that building improvements and maintenance should be budgeted separately in addition to adequate budgeting for all other schools ' needs Privatization committee meeting reported briefly PBC role in this effort might be as a resource Management of buildings was mentioned as F a possible candidate for privatization J P Construction's response to the PBC letter of March 11 1993 was finally received, and a response drafted by Town Counsel ' s office will be sent after Town Manager has been offered opportunity to co-sign it The letter to J P says in essence "accept terms of our letter and we will pay you " Guest article on the PBC by Mary Lou Touart as revised will be shown Louis Coit and Town Manager before given to the Lexington Minuteman Further discussion of schools ' maintenance ensued with Ron Grammont of Capital Expenditures Committee Concern expressed that whatever is PBC Minutes 10/5/94 - Page 3 budgeted for school maintenance ($2 1 recommended in the forthcoming budget) should be used for that purpose only and not for some other purpose Ron Grammont said he would see the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen to help set up priority-setting mechanisms Meeting adjourned at 9 59 p m Respectfully submitted, 1411a-1, Q Erna S Greene Secretary