HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-03-31-PBC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS
PERMANENT BUILDING COMMITTEE
Minutes of Tuesday March 31 1998 PBC Meeting in Estabrook Hall , Cary
Memorial Building, as approved April 7 , 1998
The meeting was called to order at 7 10 p m by Peter Kelley, Chairman
of the PBC in the absence of Library Building Committee Chairman Walter
Pierce Present were the following PBC members W Bruckman, P Johnson,
P Poinelli and M L Touart, Library Staff C Mahoney and J Triessl ;
Design Advisory Committee members J Frey, B Creager, S Hurley and B
Whitman, Town Meeting Member Bigelow Moore; and architects for the
project M Bennett and S Hale
Preparations for Thursday's HDC hearina were outlined by the architects,
who pointed out that only an hour was scheduled for the hearing and that
likely discussion would most likely concern only the first-listed item
1 Handicap ramp on the Clarke Street side of the building
2 Historic windows
3 The ceramic slate roof
4 Pre-cast stone-based siding
Elevation drawings, not completely finalized were displayed Samples of
materials will be brought to the hearing
Concerns aired
Library Director Mahoney pointed out that she is concerned that delays
in construction could be costly However, she has been observing that
bidding for nearby similar projects has been favorable She commented
that timing for moving the library to Cary Building should be fall I
rather than winter
TMM Moore called attention to his memo to the library building
committee, PBC and architects regarding his concerns about skylights and
their requirements for stronger roofs , more maintenance and additional
heating and air conditioning costs His concerns were answered by the
architects who pointed out that the roof has a drainage pattern to
accommodate the skylights The skylights also have light baffles to
allow light without direct sunshine glare, and they will be energy
efficient The architects later added that the advantages of saved
artificial lighting (an estimated $5,100 annually) might very well
outweigh any additional air conditioning need
PBC members individually stated their concerns about the roof (roof
tiles are guaranteed for 50 years; original roof was red, as a
contemporary post card shows, original building drawings specify "red
slate ") and building envelope materials , inquiring about experience
with them Concerns about the south entrance and building's complexity
were lessened when a new simplified configuration of that entrance was
displayed Member Johnson raised a concern about cost, to which Director
Mahoney responded that the library trustees are accepting full
responsibility for raising additional needed moneys Prospective donors
are being cultivated, she said
DAC members were quizzed about their experience with the HDC
PBC Minutes of 3/31/98 , page 2
Detailed configurations of the bays and windows facing north and east
were discussed, as were comparisons between present and planned main
entrance dimensions and levels PBC members advised that only the latest
committee-approved drawings should be shown at the HDC hearing or
publicly displayed They also commented that the term "mezzanine" for
the library upper level was technically a misnomer, as a mezzanine
should be only 1/3 of the area of floor below onto which it opens So
the upper level was informally termed "a floor with a hole in it "
The meeting recessed at about 9 45 to the Cary Building lobby tables ,
where boxes of building surface material samples that will be brought to
the HDC hearing were displayed PBC members urged that color samples be
pared down to those already chosen by the architects and committee,
especially colors
After about 15 minutes of examining the samples, library and DAC people
departed and the PBC returned to Estabrook Hall to continue its
discussions
PBC oversiaht of the library nroiect will require that the committee
receive two sets of Design Development drawings ("pricing drawings") and
outline specifications that are supposed to completed by April 15 They
inquired about how the architects are being paid and urged that the
architects be pushed to produce and progress
Schools vroiect ad hoc committee contacted architects HMFH without
consulting the PBC, it was pointed out The "report" of that group,
distributed at last week's (3/26/98) PBC meeting and reported in the
Lexington Minuteman of the same date, elicited strong objections by
Poinelli When the PBC approved the expenditure of $22 ,000 for the
"study" of what kind of a project at the high school could be
accomplished for $15 million, the School Committee had already at its
Tuesday (3/24/98) meeting approved of the expenditure Committee members
decried the process of the advisory committee' s preempting the role of
the PBC and several suggested that the approval of the $22 ,000 be
rescinded Several actions and motions were proposed, and the chairman
was instructed to visit Town Manager with the motion that was passed and
action agreed by consensus
"Motion VOTED MOVED that if a study for $22 ,000 is to be done by HMFH,
such study be under the direction of the Permanent Building Committee
and that if the members of the ad hoc advisory group want to
participate, they must come to PBC meetings as citizens Furthermore,
that John Miller of HMFH present to the PBC (only) for approval at its
meeting of Tuesday, April 7 , 1998, the plan of how his firm is going to
do this $22 ,000 project
"It was further agreed by consensus of PBC members that the so-called
report of the ad hoc advisory group be returned to Town Manager White
for correction to omit mention of the Permanent Building Committee on
the report heading as well as the line beginning, "Appointed by
since the Permanent Building committee never appointed any such advisory
group or subcommittee " (A copy of the motion and consensus agreement as
FAXed to Chairman Kelley is attached )
PBC Minutes of 3/31/98 , page 3
PBC members emphasized in discussion that HMFH must work and report to
the Permanent Building Committee Questions were raised about the scope
of work that would be used for a scaled down project and whether this
would meet the educational needs of the schools and town Members
recalled the committee's nearly two years of intense meetings to become
thoroughly knowledgeable about School Committee educational program
decisions , school enrollment statistics and state standards so they
could formulate and propose optimum building solutions
Minutes of Thursday March 26 1998 were APPROVED as amended
Meeting adjourned at 10 55 until Tuesday, April 7 , 1998
RReespectfull submitted,
(/s/�it/e.� `"•J.�cI�ems"" i
Erna S Greene, Secretary
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