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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-05-19-BFC-min.pdf TOWN OF LEXINGTON AD HOC BUILDING FINANCE COMMITTEE Minutes of Meeting May 19 1995 meeting in the Professional Library, Lexington High School , as approved July 14, 1995 The meeting was called to order at 8 15 a m by Chairman Kelley, with all committee members except Eagle and Pierce present Fred Sweet appeared briefly, informing members that he could be reached at 861- 2728 Anthony Capezza, Assistant Principal , also attended Minutes of May 5 1995 committee meeting were APPROVED as amended In discussing the content of these minutes , Mark Moore passed out a list of tasks for the bandstand he had listed and sent with a letter to Pastor David Johnson at Grace Chapel A group from the church will begin working in about a week Questioned if pressure washing of the building should be done also Noted that the group should be thanked for their work on the bandstand New Boilers for the High School project has begin with a non-priced Request for Proposal for design and bid documents for new boilers and $ replacement other equipment in the boiler room except for the emergency generator Moynihan explained how this type of RFP works After picking its preferred proposal , the hiring agency then negotiates on price The agency can reject a too-high price and go on to the next best proposal (Example Archetype was selected and negotiated with successfully after the first choice proposer's would not come down to a price the town could afford ) Moynihan noted that alternative fuels are being explored, particularly natural gas , which is in a pipe along Waltham Street but would have to be brought to the boiler room Presently hot water is in a separate system, but it is likely to be tied to the heating system in the next round Schools ' Direction Statement was discussed with Capezza The School Committee is likely to take this up in late June or early July Groundwork is also being laid for planning renovation of school facili- ties About $4 million has been designated for high school renovation independent of any changes in program inside the building Of that amount $1 million would be for site and parking improvements This led to a discussion of maintenance and operations budgets Current maintenance budget is $660 ,000 Next fiscal year (FY96) the amount will be $640 ,000 if the override does not pass and $740 ,000 with override voted There is also a $2 3 million operations budget that includes custodians ' salaries When Moynihan was first hired six years ago, the maintenance budget was $340 ,000 It was noted that school operating maintainance budgets have been too small to provide for proper annual general maintenance, causing a detrimental and mignified impact on future capital maintenance budgets School Roofs still leak, some despite repeated corrective efforts There is a long-standing leak between J and G houses at the high school , and the field house is not watertight , particularly in a Northeaster storm It appears to be leaking at the transition area between the PVC cap and the shingles The roof was completely replaced in the summer of 1987 and since they has been partially replaced two times and the subject of a lawsuit in which the town won the $100 ,000 1' Ad Hoc Building Finance Committee Minutes 5/19/95 - Page 2 cost of redesign and replacement , with the award of court costs yet to be determined Roof cap, transition area and hips were redone The Archetype study of the Hiah School dealt largely with mechanical issues , new windows and gymnasium In addition, Capezza noted, the entire facility needs more electrical service Presently the school serves about half of the peak enrollment of 2800 of 1969 but use of the structure has changed In addition state standards mandate(particularly under Chapter 766) expensive modifications to meet the needs of as few as one student (example at Diamond) Concern was expressed on lacks in the science building as accrediting review approaches in the year after next Another need is for clocks that are accurate With a sigh, it was noted that in order to satisfy that need, whole wiring systems would have to be revised or redone Moynihan pointed out that $150 , 000 of the Article 18 appropriation of 1995 was for networking and electrical design The Archetype report recommended further study of the high school (and Clarke) The School Committee is talking about doing this in-house In the next few months the Building Finance Committee will be looking at the inequalities in the two middle schools and will take a look at Hastings , a freshly-renovated school (Work to complete Hastings is to start the day after school ends , according to Moynihan ) Chairman Kelley announced that before the next committee meeting July 14, he will confer with Town Manager and possibly Selectmen about overall expectations of the committee Then the committee will regroup for this effort Garber commented that the schools need better main- tenance before investment in capital improvements Committee members again questioned about what happens to the money the state reimburses for a particular project The meeting adjourned to tour the high school at 9 07 The tour included site of the GJ leak, boiler room and gymnasium with the inoperative divider doors that are to be repaired While walking along the halls , members noted several unused rooms and asked questions about the frequency and importance of their usage Space utilization planning is needed, the committee observed The tour continued after 9 30 p m , when several , including the Secretary, had to leave Respectfully submitted, Erna S Greene, Secretary