AVON FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY RENOVATIONS & ADDITION PROJECT
BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Chairperson Diane Hornaday in the Avon Room Town Hall Building 1. Members present: Chairperson Diane Hornaday, Diane Carney, Tad Kuziak, Scott Boos, Janet Stokesbury, Barbara Leonard and Secretary David Goldsholl. Members absent: none. Also in attendance were Assistant Town Manager Blythe Robinson, Library Director Virginia Vocelli, Architects Peter Wells and Bruce Tuthill, and Clean Energy Commission Chairman Olivier Gressier.
II. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING - SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
Diane Carney motioned, Tad Kuziak seconded and all agreed to accept the September 16, 2009 minutes as written. None opposed.
III. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE
(Mr. Gressier's comments appear in subsequent sections.)
IV. COMMUNICATION FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
After speaking with some local legislators, Ms. Stokesbury relayed the need to contact our state representatives about getting us on the State Bonding Commission's agenda in order to move the project along. Ms. Robinson suggested she write a letter or could get Mr. Schenck to write one. Ms. Hornaday reminded the members that there was not much they could do without the grant money. Ms. Vocelli said the State notifies her when items relating to libraries were going to be on the agenda and she hadn't heard of any lately. She also said that it is the Governor who sets the agenda. Ms. Hornaday said she was very pleased with the outcome of the referendum but had expected it to pass with a larger margin. She also added that she is only hearing positive things about the project now.
V. DISCUSSION - METHOD OF PROJECT CONTRACTING
Mr. Boos discussed the pros and cons of using a general contractor versus a construction manager for the project. In using a general contractor, the architect will gather the contract documents and send them out for public bid. The general contractor collects bids from subcontractors and presents a number for the job. The committee could reject a bid but predominantly you are going to go with the lowest bid as long as that firm can post a bond of appropriate size. This process by nature is last minute because subcontractor suppliers often do not give general contractors a price to prevent shopping around for a better one. This method can result in some poor subcontractor choices in the frenzy to submit the bid to the Town. The Town will still have the right to reject a particular subcontractor. The general contractor is in charge
of the job but can also hire a supervisor and project manager to oversee the day-to-day operation. A Clerk of the Works is also hired to review the work which can cost $100,000.00 a year. Mr. Boos added that this method will provide "nothing more, nothing less" than what the building documents say and changes are added and not carried by the contractor. He also said choosing the lowest bidder can create an adversarial relationship where the contractor is out to save as much money as he can and not necessarily look out for the interests of the Town.
A construction manager works with the architects and can act as an advisor or the builder as well. Ms. Robinson added that change orders under the contract manager on the high school and town hall renovation projects were handled smoothly. They were presented to the subcontractors, priced and a recommendation made by the construction manager and accepted by the Town. Mr. Tuthill added that it all depended on who you got, whether a general contractor or contract manager, and that he's found success or failure with both. Mr. Goldsholl asked if there was a big difference in price between the two. Mr. Boos said that one method was not significantly more expensive than the other. Ms. Carney posed to go with the architect's preference. She added that we chose the architects and should trust their judgment on which method to use. Ms. Robinson
summed up the discussion by saying a construction manager is one that you sought to manage the project for you and your interests, and could make for a more friendly working relationship. Mr. Boos added that Hank Frey believed the Town was very successful using a construction manager for the high school project. Chairperson Hornaday added that it has been the Town's pattern to choose a general contractor based on the lowest bid and that you'd need an awfully good reason to choose another. Past difficulties with some Town projects may have contributed to choosing the construction manager option for more recent ones. She also said the method for choosing a construction manager would be similar to the RFP process for choosing the architects and suggested doing it soon while the final drawings were being made. Mr. Wells also agreed that the earlier you brought in the construction manager for the job, the better.
The members voted: Diane Carney motioned and Janet Stokesbury seconded to recommend to the Town Council to authorize the Building Committee to interview and hire a construction manager for the Library Renovation project. All members agreed with the exception of David Goldsholl who abstained.
Ms. Hornaday introduced Mr. Olivier Gressier, Chairman of the Avon Clean Energy Commission, who was asked by the Town Council to attend the meeting.
VI. REVIEW ARCHITECT'S CONTRACT a)Review and recommend contract to Town Council, b) Discuss Architect's Proposed Consultants
Assistant Town Manager Blythe Robinson discussed the architect's contract as it needs to be recommended to the Town Council for acceptance. It was reviewed by Ms. Robinson, Ms. Vocelli and the Town Attorney. The contract contains the total basic compensation figure of $527,200.00, which is in keeping with the 7.5% of the budget amount negotiated with Tuthill & Wells at the beginning of the project, less the $32,000.00 paid in the first phase of the project. The Attorney would like to remove the words "general" and "generally" in Document B201 -2007, §2.6.2.1, to facilitate the architect's continued adherence to scheduled visits to the site. Ms. Hornaday questioned the Exhibit B page - additional services - 3.1.6 Building Information Modeling. Mr. Wells explained this as an extra charge for generating formal
reports to secure a plaque stating LEEDS Silver Level compliance which he said he does already without the plaque. Mr. Gressier suggested there may be some government stimulus monies available for having this plaque. Mr. Wells countered that the materials themselves came with much of the back-up information for the certification. Mr. Gressier said he and members of the Energy Commission would be looking for these criteria. Ms. Hornaday also questioned 3.1.9 - Architectural Interior Design - suggesting that it would include a member from the Library Board of Directors with the Library Staff in working with the Interior Design consultant. Ms. Vocelli questioned 3.1.27 and suggested removing the word "out" to avoid confusion.
Ms. Robinson recommended Tuthill & Wells' choice to retain several consultants for the project including a Technology Consultant (IT) to design technology, telephone and security systems and a Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment consultant to design all of the items that are moveable or not "built-in" to the Library (circulation desks for example). They also recommended changing mechanical engineers for this phase of the project. Having the architects hire the two consultants will save the Town two more RFP processes and provide better coordination between the architect and consultants. Ms. Robinson offered the choice to the committee to interview the consultants at upcoming meetings. Ms. Carney suggested trusting the architect's choices as well as Ms. Robinson's advice to prevent micro-managing the project. Mr. Gressier
concurred that you only had so much time to devote to different phases of the project and to use the time wisely. Ms. Hornaday added that speaking with the contractors helped to have answers when the residents asked questions about the project.
Barbara Leonard motioned and David Goldsholl seconded to recommend acceptance of the contract to the Town Council at their next meeting December 3, 2009. All agreed. None opposed.
VII. DISCUSS PROJECT SCHEDULE OF WORK
Ms. Robinson briefly discussed the projected timeline of the project. She said she had a rough draft of an RFP for the temporary library facility. The design development phase should be completed by April, 2010. Selection for the temporary library space should be made by March with renovations to the space made by June. Contract bids should go out in June and be awarded in August. The Library should be relocated and construction begun by September and be completed by the end of 2011.
VIII. REVIEW & APPROVE 2010 MEETING SCHEDULE
The Library Building Committee will meet on the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 AM in the Avon Room Building 1 Town Hall. The Committee will also meet the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Avon Room Building 1 Town Hall.
Mr. Goldsholl motioned and Mr. Kuziak seconded and all agreed to accept the 2010 schedule as proposed. None opposed.
IX. OTHER BUSINESS
The next meeting will be held Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 7:00 PM in the Avon Room, Building 1 Town Hall.
X. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Boos motioned and Ms. Leonard seconded and all agreed to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 PM. None opposed.
Recorded by:
Susan Gatcomb, Staff Person
David Goldsholl, Secretary
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