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Home My WebLink About1997-02-22-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE Minutes of Saturday February 22 1997 Meetina in School Administration Building, as approved November 4, 1997 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bruckman at 8 30 a m with other committee members Himmel , Johnson, Kelley, Poinelli and Touart present Also present were School Committee Chairman Feltz , Director of School Buildings Operation Moynihan and Dawn McKenna Dorothea Hayes and John Miller of HMFH appeared shortly after the meeting began Minutes of February 15 1997 were APPROVED as amended Chairman informed the committee that Ted Edson will return from his current overseas assignment in August Contract for Desian Development cannot be with HMFH without rebidding unless the wording of the original RFP included possibility that same contractor could continue with design development Even if rebidding process is used, HMFH could not be used unless an independent evaluation (at a cost of $1 ,500 to $2 ,000) of their space utilization Master Plan is done Therefore, according to this information brought by Moynihan, another RFP and legal advertisement would be required If HMFH is to be asked to do work beyond the scope of their original contract , only minor changes in scope of work are permitted According to town policy, contracts are not to be modified more than 10 percent Major extension of contract simply is not allowed An RFP for design development is to be prepared Handouts from Miller and Haves of HMFH One called "Preliminary Scope of Renovations and Cost Estimates, " featured all elementary schools with breakout of all categories of renovations including site work that had been listed in the Archetype report, with 1997 price tags All items completed, notably at Hastings, were so indicated Total preliminary construction cost estimates for renovations on the last page totaled between $675, 207 for Hastings to $3,715,591 for Fiske Another handout arrived at a somewhat lower total cost for Bowman, broken down into the same categories vertically and across the page according to source of need recognition (BFC report 1995 , BFC escalated to 1998 , Deferred maintenance required, deferred maintenance optional ADA required, Life safety required and site/landscape optional Differences between two totals in the two elementary school-related handouts was explained by Dorothea Hayes as due to rough cost estimating and fact that "total estimated" is the sum of subtotals Committee members asked how the estimated costs arrived at double the amount in the BFC report Poinelli listed these reasons Increased enrollment and program reclamation (music and art, for example) have especially driven new construction; while program enhancement , special education, deferred maintenance and program updating have been driving F renovation of existing space PBC Minutes of 2/22/97 - Page 2 Missing from the BFC report has been some new construction, project costs , program reclamation, special education current requirements and program enhancements In addition the BFC-listed items do not qualify for the 59 percent state reimbursement Poinelli and Peltz said they would gather some statistics on educational offerings in comparable nearby towns The restoration of art and music spaces is a reflection of School Committee policy that the Permanent Building Committee must see addressed in buildings Kelley said he is not confident with the present estimates , including site work Before total wrap-up of costs, it was agreed that new cost estimates should be obtained When a report is presented to the Selectmen and other town agencies, it was recommended that an executive summary including total cost estimates appear on a top sheet Poinelli noted need for trade-offs in refining during the design development phase For example, it would be prudent to allow seven to eight percent in renovation work What if buildinc program cannot proceed? This prospect was viewed as "scary" Peltz cited an example During February six new families with school children moved into the Fiske School district Cost estimates for needed addition square footage were mulled Proaram for coming fiscal Year to be requested at the 1997 Annual Town Meeting would be for funding through design development I , or to September, when a special town meeting is envisioned This would include scope, sots estimate, provision for program and elevation drawings About $1 million would be needed to carry into September Money to prepare an RFP is available (though not as much as mentioned at the last meeting, since the School Committee thought it should return the unspent funds from the article for technology/electrical upgrade) The RFP would have to be contingent upon town meeting appropriation (of an amount between $2 and $3 million $900 ,000 would be required for schematics and engineering work alone Poinelli suggested that although the RFP would be for the whole project, work would be accomplished in phases Scope of entire project should be encompassed at least through design development I and II Next phases would be negotiable with "incremental funding" (HMFH people left at 10 30 a m ) It was also recommended that the RFP call for an interim report for a September town meeting (about half way through design development) Presentations of nroaram to Selectmen and other town agencies and related activities occupied the remainder of the meeting Addressing the issue of operating budget for school buildings (a point of Paul LaPointe, Appropriation Committee Chairman) , it was noted that the BFC report contained a strong plea for high budgets in this area Moynihan stated that the national average operating budget for schools is $4 per square foot Lexington' s is $ 67 per s f ! Among the information that the committee should be reporting in the coming week 's meetings PBC Minutes of 2/22/97 - Page 3 1 How much is needed for design development? 2 More detailed cost breakdowns 3 Some history may be used, such as the $2 million to reopen Hastings 4 Do not disregard Archetype altogether (the basis of BFC charge) 5 Enrollment has already outstripped available school space 6 Comparison with other towns , many building new schools 7 In Lexington renovation may in short run be cheaper than new building In view of the School Committee's decision-making meeting on Tuesday night , it was agreed that the PBC should request a postponement of its appearance at the Selectmen's meeting A better time to introduce the PBC' s report might be at the Thursday morning mega-meeting Other forthcoming meetings such as Town Meeting (starting 3/24) and TMMA information meetings of March 11, 12 , and 17 , were noted School Superintendent Young and John Moynihan will be meeting with the editor and principal education reported of the Lexington Minuteman to gain more understanding reporting to the public The appropriation request related to the building project is in Article 23 The PBC will have to be talking with Capital and Appropriation committees regarding borrowing and debt service Possibly the committee could meet with the Appropriation Committee Chairman on March 8 Noted that design development money is reimbursable only if the project is approved by Town Meeting and the SBAB The PBC should expect some questions about the $120 ,000 requested for repairs to the School Administration Building Moynihan listed what must be done next The Master Plan must be completed; an evaluation of the HMFH Plan and their work must be ordered (by Moynihan) , RFP must be prepared, registered and advertised; proposals must be evaluated and top candidates interviewed, with the first choice negotiated with Regarding evaluation of HMFH work, Moynihan will call the designer selection board and call three firms from their list He can obtain a review in about two weeks (a two to three page document) This must be received before the designer selection meeting Meeting adjourned at 11 35 a m until Thursday, February 27 at 7 30 p m Respectfully submitted, Erna S Greene, Secretary