HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-04-08-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS
PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE
Minutes of Tuesday April 8 1997 Meetina in the Maria Hastings School ,
as approved May 20 , 1997
The meeting was opened by Rick Rogers , Principal of the school shortly
after 7 30 p m and attended by Chairman Bruckman and Johnson and Kelley
of the PBC Also present were School Committee Chairman Peltz , Director
of School Buildings Operation Moynihan and Dawn McKenna as well as Jan
Avallone, Lisle Swanson, Maria Constantinides , Randi Levine, Richard
Christiano, Lynne Klemner, Joyce Cheng, Marya Dantzer-Rosenthal , Barbara
Lockwood, Deborah Jackson (Co-Chairman of the Site-Based Council ) and
Anne Carothers
Copies of the site meetings scheduled between April 4 and 15 as well as
a compendium of schematic plans for the Hastings site and building were
available and distributed
Moynihan gave a general description of the proposal of the project in
all of Lexington's nine schools to meet growing enrollment and to
restore the buildings ' shortcomings due to current overcrowding School
committee policies guiding the just completed HMFH space study and
forthcoming plans for all elementary schools are (1) class sizes will
remain the same as current and in each building there will be (2) art ,
music and computer labs rooms as well as (3) a learning center to assist
children with special needs or those needing extra help to remain in
mainstream classrooms
Among the comments and suggestions were the following
More hardtop space is needed outdoors "off the wall " Traffic flow
improvements and expansion of parking are needed Various revisions of
patterns for school buses and for parents picking up and dropping off
their children were suggested, with no firm conclusions
Principal Rogers expressed delight with the plans to have four
kindergarten rooms I
The Lextended Day program that now serves about 75 children has been
allowed space for an office only; storage for the program has been a
constant problem Sharing spaces with the regular schools program can
also present a problem Cafeteria and other flexibility possibilities
were suggested
Relationship of the health office with the general school office should
be a close one, as the nurse is not present full time, and children must
be served at other time by aides
Doors between rooms and possibly movable walls as well as courtyards
were deemed of value to the school ' s program Considerable attention
was given to storage for children' s outdoor clothing and paraphernalia
Lockers in the back wing provide inadequate coat storage Hooks on the
wall , possibly with shelves above, were more favored
Input from school children and more site councils will be helpful
Consideration should be given to maintenance of the enlarged school
PBC Minutes of 4/8/97 - Page 2
spaces Improvements in soundproofing and plumbing are especially
needed at Hastings, since these were not included in the last upgrading
of the building
The public participation section of the meeting featuring the Hastings
School ended about 9 p m and the PBC meeting continued
Moynihan told of a conference in Lexinaton sponsored by the law firm of
Gadsby and Hanna on Thursday May 8 from 9 a m This seminar will focus
on designer and contractor selection legal issues Jim Anderson of the
State Building Assistance Bureau will participate
HMFH has billed the town for S9 400 worth of additional work beyond the
original scope of their "master plan, " Moynihan reported Committee
VOTED (three of the Town Manager-appointed five present) to pay that
amount
Construction manaaement possible arrangements debated with the
conclusion that construction management offered by an architectural
firm, while legally no problem, would present a moral conflict of
interest Committee members present favored the town's building its own
management staff , including a general project manager and two clerks-of-
the-works, plus accounting and clerical staff In any case, whether
provided by a firm or especially hired individuals , a town overseeing
coordinator is needed Recommended that the general contractor be
required to supply trailer space and equipment for town project
oversight The town's responsible person should report to Moynihan
Bid opening will be Thursday, April 17 at 10 a m Twenty-seven firms
showed up at the pre-bid meeting At least two from the PBC are needed
to do the first evaluation of the proposals The question of how many
firms to select was not decided Several of the firms were deemed large
enough to do the entire nine school job (about 50 employees would be
needed)
Meeting adjourned at 9 35 p m
Respectfully submitted,
Erna S Greene, Secretary