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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-00-00-Cary Memorial Building Renovation and Facilities Improvements..rpt Cary Memorial Building Renovation and Facilities Improvements 1) Make it possible for participants at Town meeting, graduations, lectures and other meetings to be able to hear and understand people when they speak in Battin Hall. Reduce HVAC noise levels, improve hall acoustics, and replace dysfunctional public address and AV technology systems. 2) Make all the other meeting rooms in the building function better so they will satisfy high demand for such spaces in Town. Reduce HVAC noise levels, provide 21 century AV technology for presentation and st telecast… in Battin, Estabrook, Ellen Stone, Legion and Bird Rooms., 3) Make more spaces accessible to the handicapped by bringing existing facilities up to code and improving others. Replace the exterior entrance ramp, for the first time make the auditorium stage (and Green Room below stage) fully accessible from the floor, make the Bird Room accessible, provide wheelchair seating in the auditorium balcony. This will allow for more of the spaces in the building to be scheduled for public meetings. 4) Make the building safer for users by bringing all its life safety systems up to current fire and other building codes. 5) Improve the functioning of the heating and air conditioning systems (which also serve the Town Office building) by replacing the 85-year old heating system with current higher efficiency units, and replacing and moving the current higher-than-needed capacity chiller before its predicted life’s end in 6 years. Benefits include reduced operating costs, and reduced noise in the building. 6) Replacement of the 1928 public restrooms with new and adequate fixtures which meet the gender unit count (and accessibility) standards for public buildings. 7) Improve the functionality of the original Battin Hall stage area for all projected purposes by providing sufficient lighting of it, and by restoring the below-stage area to its original purpose as a “Green Room” for practice, warm-up, dressing and holding of participants when not “on stage”. 8) Improve the functionality of the current temporary thrust stage in Battin Hall by making it larger. permanent and integrated with the original stage area. Assure continued use by current committees, schools and organizations and attract new ones for meetings, exhibits and performances, many of which provide rental income partially offsetting the ongoing required maintenance of the building. 9) Preserve, improve and restore a unique historic and iconic building in the heart of Lexington Center with respect for its architectural and aesthetic integrity. Fulfill the Town’s commitment to the Cary family for the maintenance of this gift of theirs to us for the “storing and display of historic treasures and the improvement of the moral, intellectual and educational advancement of the community/” 10) Make best use ever of Community Preservation Act funds – faithful to the Act’s intent – in improving a facility which already provides a wide range of services to the community, and whose improvement will assure more frequent and extensive use in benefit to the Town.. Timeline When Cary Hall was given to the Town in the late ‘20’s, it was with the understanding it would be used for public meetings and performances. For nearly 90 years, it has served this purpose – but less well as it has aged. It is long overdue for improvement and restoration. Two Town Meetings have acknowledged this and taken steps to prepare to make a major investment in it. For over two years, a terrific team of architects, building engineers and citizen volunteers have been working to evaluate building’s needs and to make a plan for meeting them. In 2010 Town Meeting voted to fund a major evaluation of Cary Hall. A committee was formed to interview prospective contractors, and the firm Mills Whitaker (based in Arlington) was chosen and began work in the fall of 2010. Their team included experts in structural engineering, mechanical and electrical systems, theatrical staging and lighting, and acoustics. The team interviewed users of the Hall and held hearings for the interested public. They completed their work in June 2011. The final evaluation report totaled over 300 pages and is available on request. Total costs were estimated at over $8 million. The project would be eligible for Community Preservation Funds and would be financed with a combination of cash and debt. The Hall would need to be closed for the better part of year to accomplish the work. In 2012, Town meeting voted to budget a review of the evaluation with the objective of seeking public input on the benefit of the recommended improvements, to refine and prioritize the project tasks, and to update the projected costs. A citizen committee was formed, proposals were assessed and, among those seeking to manage the review, Mills Whitaker was again chosen. The committee met for over eight months, gathered information and reported its recommendations to the selectmen on January 14. This report is available for download and viewing at lexingtonma.gov/committees/CaryMemBldgPlngCom/CaryMemBldgCom-Final Report- 011813.pdf The report will be presented to the spring 2013 Town Meeting with a request for CPA funding of design and construction drawing ($500K) in the FY 13 budget and with projected funding of the actual construction ($8 million) the following year.