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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-05-01-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE Minutes of Thursday May 1 1997 Meeting in the School Administration Building in two sessions , as approved May 20 , 1997 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bruckman at 8 32 a m with other committee members Kelley, Johnson, Poinelli and Touart present Also present were Director of School Buildings Operation Moynihan, Dawn McKenna and Bruce Collier ( last-named in afternoon only) Prenaration for interviews Suggested that in first part of design development the scope of work must be well defined, and that the committee ask what additional information would be needed such as indoor and outdoor environmental testing Interview I HMFH Representing this firm were Principal-in-Charge John Miller, Project Principal for the high school Stephen Friedlaender, Project Principal for middle schools George Metzger, Design Director Mario Torroella, Project Manager for the high school Philip Lewis , Project Administrator Dorothea Hayes , M/E/P (engineers) Principal Michael Spence and Construction Manager James Mitchell HMFH stressed the importance of their assistance in building community support for the project so that it can meet success at Town Meeting and in an override vote They emphasized their already-established good rapport with school staff , reporting some staff skepticism at the high school , where renovating the Science Building and addressing deferred maintenance as well as systems upgrading are planned Torroella described the HMFH design philosophy providing a stimulating environment that is user-friendly and a flexible asset to the community Miller talked about logistics of renovating during school operation when "swing space" is lacking A "safe learning experience" is needed for all students , he stated He also explained his firm's cost estimating process , which would involve first the PBC and then the contractor in the planning Jim Mitchell added that cost estimating is done in two ways One is a computer-based program ("parametric") that factors in area costs and is capable of managing costs within three percent Cost managing measures must be accomplished with the stakeholders Miller summed up the advantages of HMFH head start , superior experience, design quality, management capability with quality teams , with depth of personnel to meet a tight schedule Responding to Bruckman' s questions on tasks for the first few weeks should HMFH win the design contract They would meet with the PBC to decide formats , organize a team for each school , and using the Archetype report as a basis , report on each school 's existing condition This process would be translated into the scope of work HMFH's fielding of questions included note of rejection of a plan for the town of Winchester, where citizens were insufficiently involved HMFH is presently seeking partial solutions to educational needs of this community and Wakefield in similar circumstances "Our job is to reinforce a community's educational philosophy, " HMFH representative stated, adding that (middle school ) clustering is difficult to encourage PBC Minutes of 5/1/97 - Page 2 and achieve through design At the high school the challenge will be the lack of unity among faculty and students ; there building redesign should encourage linkages and other positive changes Interview II Desian Partnership of Cambridae was represented by David R Phinney, landscape architect Gary Larson, Greg Schroeder for the high school , Keith Hoffses for middle schools and Jim McMillen for elementary schools They underscored their depth of experience in renovation, rapid response and high level of technology they could bring to a project They would use Meridian Engineering A time-line schedule had been drafted showing steps preparing for a September town meeting, with middle schools plans going to bid in winter A Design Partnership team would be freed June 1 , and the firm is presently recruiting to add to their staff of 45 If they should receive the Lexington job, it would be their number one commitment , taking the majority of their staff Responding to questions about successes and failures , they told what they had learned that preparation, organization and positive press are key, that specifics must be supplied early in time to be digested Project managers are an integral part of corralling community support DPC can produce brochures When asked about worst nightmare they cited Lowell ' s need to understand the budget before bidding and construction Their comments on the high school entry problems touched on the lack of a team of teachers , the confusing approach, the need for a central library location (and a recommendation that the library should include seminar rooms) , the need for more unified student commons and a total science laboratory enlargement/renovation Larson added that separate and clear accesses are needed for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with allowance for drop-off and pick-up More exploration of entry location may be needed Fielding queries on feed-back, cost estimating and phasing/scheduling, Phinney talked of need for close relationships with contractors and tradespeople, handling subcontractors with "an iron hand and tight fist" He pointed out that 80 percent of his firm' s work is in renovations When Moynihan asked what if the project is strung out , Phinney said they would like it ! His firm has had as many as nine projects going at once Design philosophy/approach would focus on each building' s needs to get more bang/economy of design Interior design commonality is a good idea to enhance what is already there Diamond, "most interesting, " would profit by having science integrated into the new addition DPC would be available to start work in two weeks A reauest for information from PBC has been received from supporters of the Town Meeting' s appropriation for design development Suggested the group 's literature include facts and what the alternatives might be if a negative referendum were to reverse Town Meeting's action The morning session ended at 10 55 a m ; the afternoon session opened at 1 00 p m Interview III D R A who were represented by Carl Franceschi , Jim Barrett ( formerly with Hastings project) , Pao-Ching Chi , Scott Dunlap and Nancy Angney These people all showed on the organization chart in PBC Minutes of 5/1/97 - Page 3 a folder of materials given the committee Under them would be job captains and consultants chosen for the project About 25 to 28 of the 45 person firm would be working on the Lexington project Barrett would be point person, channeling information in two directions They showed on a board a 17-week work plan to the first week in September They would want to establish the project goals and hold weekly meetings The work plan for the project showed work on elementary schools proceeding first In the question period, DRA representatives cited design challenges in giving the high school entrance better definition (more connected and unified, with opportunity for outdoor relations) ; challenges at the middle schools would be to make clustering work, and the elementary schools need updating and to be made "more welcoming" When asked how they could help with publicity and displays , DRA people recommended public forums PBC chairman Bruckman asked about the role of "job captains" (would be people having intimate knowledge of the project without administrative responsibilities The "worst nightmare" response told of fumes from a new gym floor in Gloucester, where the floor had not been properly prepared Parts of that job had to be redone Interview IV Earl R Flansburah & Associates Inc featured a large team that included Design Review Principal Earl R Flansburgh, Principal -in- Charge David S Soleau, Community Relations Principal , Kate M Brannelly, Senior Project Manager Duncan McClelland, On-Site Coordinator Dominic Pedulla, project manager for elementary schools Jeanne Kuespert , project manager for middle schools James Highum and project manager for the high school James Williams , Jr Of the 82 total on the Flansburgh staff , who have been specialized in schools in the past 31 years , about 20 would be available early in June Consultants agreeable to Lexington would be engaged Project issues were explained, as seen by the firm's visit to Lexington' s schools Two independent cost estimators would be used Overall oversight would be provided by Earl Flansburgh himself Considerable attention was given to the possibility of waiving Chapter 149, the filed subbid law) as an aid to renovation projects The firm is working to incorporate construction management into the project until September, since costs and scope must be confirmed prior to a fall special town meeting In the proposed work plan, all pertinent studies would be reevaluated right away As-built plans would be scanned in; RFP ' s would go out for extra studies that might be needed Weekly news releases , including updating a web site, would be done by Kate Brannelly In the question period, design opportunities at the middle schools were considered most challenging - to bring 40 to 50 year-old buildings "back to life" The Flansburgh team would spend a day at school , checking how lockers , circulation, school culture and long corridors work Seismic code will have to be dealt with in the buildings , which are principally steel-framed Different engineers would be hired for the elementary and secondary schools , and the town would be consulted on who these would be Moynihan quizzed the group on how they would handle construction during the school year without "swing space" Flansburgh people would PBC Minutes of 5/1/97 - Page 4 analyze the situation school by school Thought that some flex space might be found at Clarke The firm has had experience with renovations for the Renaissance (charter) School in Boston Flansburgh invited the committee to their offices (being renovated) and to tour the firm's projects Included in the Flansburgh handout were evaluation sheets for site RFP and project management bids (described as 2 to 2 5 percent of project cost) for a job in Malden Interview ended at 3 00 p m and meeting resumed at 3 15 to consider interviewing firms The evaluation Process began with Moynihan's statement that he had checked the references of the four bidders but not visited their projects cited Bruckman asked each committee member to rank the designers and explain reasons Below are some of the comments during this round About HMFH "Knowledgeable and with well established relations , but may be too married to what they have already recommended They have a leg up Followed our directions on presentation New design power would be aboard for the next stage tremendous experience, good design does not have to cost there were scheduling problems in the study preparing the Master Plan, partly due to Lexington's actions HMFH is a nice firm, but their first pass is overdesign What you see is what you get But they are not strong on cost control HMFH must tell us when the information is bogus We need to question their cost estimates more often " About Design Partnership "They have good energy level , freshness and capability, technically up-to-speed However, they do not have a history of accomplishment They are too small and somewhat insensitive they do not have design capability, lacking imagination they are light on people power " About DRA They are adequate and will catch on Their schedule sank them Franceschi is impressive, but none of the others have enough experience They are not in touch with the town " About Flansburgh "They have public relations capability; there may be some economies of their size I like them best; they have lots of person power We heard more from the chiefs than from the actual working people; when they err they do it big Site management is a great idea, but I wonder about their design ability " The chairman then announced that HMFH and Flansburgh tied for first place Further discussion, ranked HMFH first Agreed to re-interview Miller clarify more about job organization Suggested he meet with Moynihan, Bruckman and Johnson tomorrow at 12 30 in Moynihan's office Meeting adjourned at 4 18 p m until Tuesday, May 6 at 7 30 p m Respectfully submitted, I Erna S Greene, Secretary