AVON FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY RENOVATIONS & ADDITIONS PROJECT
BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES
JUNE 18, 2008
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Barbara Leonard in the Avon Room in Town Hall Building 1. Members present: Barbara Leonard, Secretary David Goldsholl, Janet Stokesbury, Scott Boos, Tad Kuziak, and Diane Carney. Also in attendance were Library Director Virginia Vocelli, Assistant to the Town Manager Blythe Robinson, Architect Peter Wells and Senior Mechanical Engineer Tony Omicioli of Legnos & Cramer. Members absent: Chairperson Diane Hornaday.
II. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING - JUNE 4, 2008
Tad Kuziak was absent for the vote. Janet Stokesbury and Barbara Leonard abstained from the vote because of their absence from the last meeting. David Goldsholl motioned, Diane Carney seconded, and the minutes were accepted as written.
III. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE
None.
IV. COMMUNICATION FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Virginia Vocelli told of her visits to the grand openings of the Wallingford and Simsbury Libraries. She said they were very beautiful, interesting, and well received by their communities. She also reminded the committee of the field trip planned for next week, Wednesday, June 25th, to the Tuthill and Wells library project at Monroe, CT. Peter Wells also suggested visiting the Wallingford Library to see his "train."
V. REVIEW LIBRARY PROJECT DESIGN
Peter Wells reviewed his project meetings with the Town Planner, Fire Marshal, Building Official, and Town Engineer. The Town Planner suggested changes to the parking area. He asked the Town Engineer for budget numbers for connecting the expanded building to the sewer system. Peter's estimator has visited the Library and taken pictures. Peter has drawings for the soil borings for which Blythe will obtain proposals. Secretary Goldsholl revisited the noise issue, recalling his visit with the Town Clerk who told him there were really no ordinances against it. Peter and the Engineer assured him there were indeed State ordinances in place regarding noise. Tony Omicioli said most municipalities typically follow the State's ordinance.
Peter then showed the Committee the changes he'd made to the site plan. After meeting with Town Planner Steve Kushner, Peter changed the parking space arrangement to remove dead-end spacing bringing the total number of car spaces to 111. Fire Marshal Jamie DiPace suggested creating an emergency vehicle entrance strip from Sunnybrook Drive which Peter said could be achieved by using pre-seeded concrete block material. The Fire Marshal also requires that all paved exits from the building, leading to the parking lot and to the street, be kept clear of snow. Janet Stokesbury was concerned about the proposed courtyard being cleared during the winter. Scott Boos and Peter explained the exit there would be paved and the gate would be equipped with special unlocking hardware, to facilitate adherence to the Fire Marshal's
requirements.
Peter presented the changes he'd made to the second floor children's area. He reorganized the story and craft rooms, added a toilet for the little kids (which could also act as a sound barrier), a puppet theatre and heavy duty folding room partitions to add flexibility of use to the rooms. He moved the children's desk to get a better sight line in the area. He suggested storage area be achieved by the use of kitchen cabinets with counters along the walls which would also provide more work space.
Tad Kuziak is concerned about the locations of the bathrooms in relation to potential problems recently experienced at the Hartford Library. Peter is trying to avoid walls and partitions that will block view. Barbara Leonard spoke of the need for more meeting space for the Town. Janet said that more meeting space in the Library would be a good selling point for the project. Peter is still working on a better layout for the second floor. Peter and Virginia are continuing to work on the grant application.
Engineer Tony Omicioli then made his presentation regarding the new mechanical (plumbing, fire protection, HVAC and electric) systems needed for the expansion project. Some examples include enlarging the pipe size feeding the water to the Library, increasing the hot water capacity and changing it to a gas/oil fired system, tying into the Town's public sewer system, upgrading the HVAC system to a four pipe system (which basically heats and cools at the same time), a new fire protection system, a generator to provide power back-up protection, or digital control systems vs. web based controls. Tony explained the benefits/disadvantages and cost considerations of the various mechanical systems: wet vs. dry sprinkler systems, dual (oil/gas) energy heating/cooling systems vs. single energy (oil or gas fired) systems, security
monitoring, water vs. air heating/cooling systems, hydronic vs. forced air systems, and the noise produced by the various systems vs. cost to keep the noise to code levels. Tony suggested a water cooled system with chiller would be better overall - more maintenance but the long run operating cost would be significantly less. Peter suggested a brand new electrical room with the main panels in the basement with sub panels throughout the building. Both Tad and Scott want a "life cycle" analysis of the mechanicals for comparison. Diane Carney is concerned with the rising price of oil. Tony said electricity costs three times that of other energy sources to produce the same amount of BTUs. Tony also mentioned that the utility companies charge a better rate when one uses a dual fuel system.
Peter said the mechanical costs usually run 30-33% of the overall construction costs. He usually can look at an estimate to determine if these are good numbers. Blythe reminded that we'll determine what stays and what goes in the project the closer we get to a good number. At this stage of the process, Peter recommended that we carry a 15% contingency on construction costs. As we progress through design and decisions are made so the project can be more clearly priced, the contingency will go down to about 5%.
Engineer Tony Omicioli also provided a list of energy conservation/green building item suggestions for the committee to review. Some of these included .5 gallon flush urinals, infrared sensors on toilets, demand ventilation controls, daylight harvesting (window size and placement), occupancy sensors for lighting control, and low volatile organic compound solvents for conduits. Tony also spoke about geothermal heat pumps: expensive and noisy. Peter said they are better for cooling than heating.
VI. PROJECT BUDGET
Blythe included with the agenda a preliminary expenditure detail of the Library's budget for this part of the project thus far. Diane Carney questioned some of the amounts such as the payroll. Blythe explained that this was the cost for the clerk for the meetings and not a part of her regular salary. She also explained that mileage amounts were for reimbursement for travel to meetings held offsite. David Goldsholl is concerned about cost accountability for the project's budget. Blythe, Virginia and Peter are meeting Monday to go over the budget and are starting to work on operating costs as well.
VII. OTHER BUSINESS
Blythe reminded the Committee of the upcoming Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 and going to the Town Council meeting with the Commission's suggestions. The next Building Committee meeting will be held in the Avon Room of Town Hall Building 1 Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 6:30 PM.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
David Goldsholl motioned, Tad Kuziak seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 PM.
Recorded by:
Susan Gatcomb, Staff Person
David Goldsholl, Secretary
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