AVON FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY RENOVATIONS & ADDITION PROJECT
BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES
NOVEMBER 17, 2010
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:33 AM by Chairperson Diane Hornaday in the Avon Room Town Hall Building 1. Members present: Chairperson Diane Hornaday, Secretary David Goldsholl, Barbara Leonard, Janet Stokesbury, J. Tad Kuziak and Diane Carney. Member absent: Scott Boos. Also in attendance were Assistant to the Town Manager Steve Bartha, Library Director Virginia Vocelli, Assistant Library Director Donna Miller, Architect Peter Wells, Enterprise Builders Operations Manager Michael McNaboe, Enterprise Builders Project Engineer Wayne Czarnecki and Public Works Director Bruce Williams.
II. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING – November 10, 2010
Mr. Goldsholl asked to also include Mr. Williams as an attendee at the IT meeting under Section VI. Ms. Stokesbury questioned the Planning and Zoning’s additional requirements amount on page 1, Section III. The figure reflected the amount known at the time of the meeting which excluded Mr. William’s figure for the building of the wall around the dumpster ($50,000 originally and $15,000 additional). Mr. Kuziak questioned Ms. Hornaday’s remark under Section III regarding the building having the Town Council’s name on it. Ms. Hornaday clarified that she meant problems that arose after the Library work was finished would go to the Town Council for explanation and that it was important that the committee work together with them. Mr. Kuziak also questioned the position of the longer wearing roof and all
new windows. Mr. Bartha said they remained in the budget.
VOTE: Mr. Goldsholl motioned, Ms. Leonard seconded and all agreed to accept the November 10, 2010 minutes as presented with the changes. Mr. Kuziak abstained as he was absent from the meeting.
III. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE
Ms. Miller would like to go on the record as saying she would have commented at the last meeting on items L and M (sealed concrete and painted structure only in the IT office, IT repairs room and Friends space vs. the Chair Storage room), but thought they were included back in the budget. She saw that this was not done and requested the rooms (IT, Friends, Repairs) be put back in the budget in lieu of the work done to the chair storage room. She explained that these rooms were used on a daily basis and would enhance these work spaces for the workers whereby the chair storage area was hardly used. Ms. Miller added that these rooms were put in the basement because there was no other room to put them but that it did not diminish their usage.
Mr. Bartha explained the handouts that he brought to the meeting. He pointed out an updated VE list showing one change on page 3 which eliminates the dumpster wall, per Mr. Kushner, as a way to address the budget shortfall. He also starred a few items on the list that he felt needed to be discussed again at this meeting. These included the issue Ms. Miller discussed, the ceiling tiles to be discussed by Mr. Wells and the ceramic tiles to be installed in front of the circulation desk in lieu of carpet tiles. Mr. Bartha added that figures would shift slightly in certain categories that are percentage based, i.e. the CM’s fee and value of the performance bond. The second document was a working budget that showed a slight change of moving $300,000 contingency fee from the construction line-item to owner-contingency, for
a total of $350,000 in that line-item. He said he’d attended recent meetings with the town attorney, construction team and Mr. Williams to try to get the construction contract settled. Per conversations with Director of Finance Ms. Peg Colligan, he urged adding $10,000 to the legal and bonding line item on the working budget as already $5,000 has been spent to date. To answer Mr. Goldsholl’s question, Mr. Bartha said the truer number of the budget deficit would be $89,657.00 found on the bottom of the second page of the working budget.
Mr. Bartha continued that he’d like a motion to add an invoice from Enterprise Builders to complete the pre construction services portion of the project. The original amount budgeted was $14,500, but Enterprise requested additional monies of $2,500 to cover work done to date reflecting an overage of time spent on the pre construction phase. It would bring the total paid to Enterprise prior to construction to $17,000. Based on conversations with the attorney they are recommending that this invoice get approved.
Ms. Stokesbury questioned that Enterprise had a set fee. Mr. Bartha explained that they had originally proposed a higher $17,000 figure, $12,500 for work and $4,500 for reimbursables, which got whittled down during the negotiations. He added that time appropriated had been extended from 6-8 to 10-11 months because the project had stalled. The town attorney felt payment was acceptable for the work they have done. Mr. Goldsholl added that this figure would represent over budget on this line item. He also added that he hoped it would set a precedent that work should be approved before it was done even given its well intent. Mr. Bartha added that once the Town Council gave the green light on the project and construction started, it would be unlikely that charges such as this would be an issue. Mr. Kuziak said that
everyone knew that the project had stalled and there would be a period when everyone would wait to see and hope for a good outcome of the State bond issue. He added that he hoped they’d find the amount and more going forward, working the project and he felt they would.
IV. COMMUNICATION FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
V. REVIEW UPDATED PROJECT BUDGET – Updated VE list reflecting 11/10 LBC Mtg., Updated Library Budget reflecting 11/10 LBC Mtg., Email from Peter regarding VE list item 9e (ceilings)
The committee members discussed the revised VE list. Ms. Hornaday approved of Ms. Miller’s rationale for reinserting item L into the budget. Ms. Leonard agreed that the room needed a ceiling at the very least because it is so heavily used by staff. Mr. Wells added that we needed to clean those rooms properly. Mr. Kuziak asked what the ceiling would look like if they did nothing. Mr. Wells said it would be just painted exposed structural steel deck. Mr. Kuziak questioned that removing the ceiling tiles would add more room volume and thus better dissipate the heat from the computers. Mr. Wells said that it wouldn’t be substantial and the heat calculations were based from floor to ceiling without the tiles. Mr. Kuziak added that he had removed the ceiling tiles from his computer room to add more air flow. Mr.
Wells felt too that the ceiling tiles would provide a cleaner environment. Mr. Wells recommended adding back item L and removing item M.
VOTE: Mr. Kuziak motioned, Mr. Goldsholl seconded and all agreed to add back item L and remove item M on the Value Engineering/Cost Reduction Suggestions list. None opposed.
Mr. Wells discussed the ceiling tiles. He recommended adding the tiles (9e) back into the budget. Mr. Williams suggested adding the grid (9d) as well, as he uses these tiles throughout the town buildings. He said it would be prudent to stock one tile and one grid to use, though maybe not the best, they do meet all the moisture and fire rating standards.
VOTE: Ms. Leonard motioned, Ms. Carney seconded and all agreed to add back items 9d and 9e to the VE/Cost Reduction Suggestions list. None opposed.
Ms. Vocelli discussed item 9h – carpet tile in lieu of ceramic floor at front and sides of circulation desk. Ms. Carney was concerned that items were being discussed that had already been discussed in order to add them back in. Ms. Hornaday added that this was our last shot to add items because once we went to the Town Council, that would be it. Mr. Kuziak highlighted Simsbury Library’s plight of replacing cheaper carpet with new only after a year of wear. He feared downsizing this heavily trafficked area would result in a similar fate of early replacement. Mr. Goldsholl countered that we had been trying to reduce the number anyway we could. Ms. Vocelli reiterated the discussion that many items could be added back in after the building would open. She said from experience that this just wasn’t going to
happen. She’d like them to reverse their decision tonight.
VOTE: Ms. Leonard motioned, Mr. Kuziak seconded and all agreed to add back item 9h - ceramic tile at front and sides of circulation desk - to the VE list. None opposed.
Ms. Carney continued that she felt, from the last meeting, that the Town Council would be receptive to items being put back in. She said this was not the objective here. The objective was to stay within the budget they gave us and not to add more in. She questioned the inclusion of the glass display case for the history room on the list when she understood it to be a naming opportunity (fundraising tool). Ms. Vocelli said these naming opportunities do not pay for the items directly but show a patron’s interest in a particular item. Mr. Wells said the display case is built into the structure and does not exist as a stand alone. Ms. Carney continued in questioning the children’s area partition and hand dryers being added back in when they were not on the previous list. Ms. Vocelli emphasized the importance of
additional meeting space, having sold the residents on this aspect of the project. Ms. Carney also said she just needed clarification and wanted to emphasize the important things. Mr. Kuziak agreed but felt too that these things needed to be discussed for fear of overlooking something that could arise as a problem down the road. Ms. Hornaday also agreed and sees the value of taking the time to discuss these items. Ms. Leonard offered that she even looked at a similar dumpster enclosure, as the one P & Z proposed, and had difficulty justifying the cost. Visiting the Simsbury Library, she also saw the value of thinking through flooring material placed around the circulation desk for its long and short term replacement value.
Mr. Kuziak said he did visit the library bathrooms and concluded that he liked the painted one better over the ceramic tile. Mr. Kuziak questioned items 15a and 16e – PVC vs. cast iron and aluminum wiring vs. copper. Mr. McNaboe said the PVC is widely used in the industry today, to which Mr. Williams agreed, and the aluminum wiring is approved by code. He continued that the wiring would be installed and tightened properly and that each wire would be tested upon installation. Mr. McNaboe said they would not have recommended any of these items if there was a danger or a potential for inferior performance. Mr. Kuziak questioned the sidewalk and paving materials, indicating a preference for brick pavers. Mr. Wells said pavers or brick would be far more expensive than poured concrete, but conceded that concrete
fails when improperly poured or certain salts are used on it. Ms. Vocelli said having the snowmelt system has been nice in providing a cleared walkway from the curb to the front door. Ms. Stokesbury questioned if window seats could easily be added if there was fundraising money available. Mr. McNaboe said yes and that they had been submitted as add/alternates. He said they could look at the shop drawings for these kinds of details to add or change.
Mr. Wells discussed the children’s area, stating he hoped to add back two items to try to enliven the area for the children: the hoops in the ceiling and the Avon market scene. Ms. Stokesbury added that this was an item that the Trustees really wanted to retain. Mr. Goldsholl suggested a high priority list be made when cash was available and that this item be at the top.
Ms. Hornaday reiterated that they asked the construction manager to compile a list of savings and that we could take out items that we knew could be put back in when the money was available. Structural items would become hugely expensive to put back in once they were omitted. She said this was also Mr. Boos’s position. Ms. Hornaday continued that she had an item she felt was important to add and that is to ask the Town Council to increase the contingency. Renovation is where you are going to have surprises such as what could be found behind walls. Mr. Goldsholl questioned how the construction manager achieves the contingency percentage amount: on the whole job or just the construction part. Mr. McNaboe said it is typically based on the whole job and Mr. Wells added 5% for new and 10-12% for renovation types. Mr.
Williams agreed that now was the time to go before the Town Council with the request. Mr. Williams suggested adding $90,000 to the contingency figure (total $440,000) which would bring the budget request to the Town Council of $8.7 million. Mr. Goldsholl added that with the changes tonight, $890,000 has been found to offset the $1.0 million reduction from the original budget of $9.5 million, leaving a balance of $110,000 additional request. Committee members discussed choosing a 5% contingency fee base on the total amount of the construction exempt of the architectural fees and drawings. Mr. Bartha said adding $50,000 to the contingency fee would bring it up to 6% of the construction costs, using the $6.5 million figure for construction. He said we’d be at $8.61 million and adding the $50,000 we’d be at $8.66 million. Ms. Stokesbury urged going to the Town Council with the $8.7 million figure and that it was still $800,000 less than the original proposal the committee
started with. Ms. Hornaday agreed that it would be a positive kind of comment to present to the Town Council. She continued that we asked the construction manager to get the figure down but there were some items that we agreed should not be taken out and should be put back in and to provide a list.
Ms. Hornaday asked Mr. McNaboe if he could send a list of everything we are doing so we don’t forget an item such as a boiler. She feared that what happened at the High School, where a boiler needs to be replaced just two years after the renovation, could happen to the project. Mr. Bartha will compile the information and changes made at the meeting and forward it to the members.
VI. RECOMMENDATION FOR TOWN COUNCIL APPROVAL
Mr. Bartha noted that one goal of today’s meeting was to made a recommendation to Town Council for approval of final plans and specifications.
VOTE: Mr. Kuziak motioned, Ms. Stokesbury seconded and all agreed that the Library Building Committee recommend that the Town Council approve final plans and specifications for the Avon Free Public Library Renovation/Additions Project as presented at the December 1, 2010 Town Council meeting; that Town Council approve an overall project budget not to exceed $8,700,000; and that Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute a contract with the Construction Manager not to exceed $6,579,864. None opposed or abstained. Mr. Boos was absent for the vote.
VII. APPROVAL OF INVOICES – Day Pitney, LLP $18,566.85 (budgeted)
Ms. Hornaday questioned the service the firm Day Pitney provided. Mr. Bartha explained that this was a budgeted amount and that Dennis Dix was our financial advisor and Gillette is our bond counsel. He added that this was basically the same fee we’ve paid in the last few bond issues. Ms. Stokesbury requested some detail on the invoice. Ms. Leonard felt it was incomplete. Mr. Bartha will contact the firm for more information.
Ms. Hornaday asked if there was any more discussion for the Enterprise invoice.
VOTE: Mr. Goldsholl motioned, Mr. Kuziak seconded and all agreed to approve for payment Enterprise Builders’ invoices #5517-02 Revised, dated 10/11/10, and #5517-03, dated 11/16/10, in the amount of $7,000. None opposed.
VIII. OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Goldsholl said that Mr. Bartha contacted Mr. Feld to set up the next IT meeting, check everything Ms. Miller has set up and to make it work now that the money has been approved. The rest will be detail work and high tech devices that have been paid for by donations.
Ms. Vocelli reminded that there was a furniture meeting at 1:00 PM today to discuss lounge chairs for the children and adult areas and colors.
Ms. Hornaday would like the committee to meet one last time to go over what we’ve discussed and how to make our presentation. She’d like to meet at 6:00 PM before the December 1st Town Council meeting in the Avon Room, Building 1. Mr. Bartha said he hoped the Library presentation would be first item on the agenda to present to the Town Council at the December 1st meeting.
Mr. Wells extended a thank you to Enterprises for their hard work in preparing the value engineering/cost reduction suggestion list. Ms. Hornaday said it shows that we have picked the right people for the project.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Goldsholl motioned, Mr. Kuziak seconded and all agreed to adjourn the meeting at 9:17 AM. None opposed.
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Susan Gatcomb, Staff Person
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David Goldsholl, Secretary
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