AVON FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY RENOVATIONS & ADDITION PROJECT
BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES
JANUARY 19, 2011
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:58 PM by Chairperson Diane Hornaday in the Avon Free Public Library Community Room. Members present: Chairperson Diane Hornaday, Secretary David Goldsholl, Barbara Leonard, Janet Stokesbury, Scott Boos and Diane Carney. Member absent: J. Tad Kuziak. Also in attendance were Assistant to the Town Manager Steve Bartha, Library Director Virginia Vocelli, Architect Peter Wells, Interior Design Consultant Janis Newell, Public Works Director Bruce Williams and Enterprise Builders Operations Manager Michael McNaboe.
II. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING – January 5, 2011
Ms. Vocelli requested adding herself as a contact person along with Ms. Miller under section IV. Mr. Boos questioned the town and Enterprise’s policy regarding offering discounts for quick payment. Mr. Bartha said it had not been discussed but that he could look into it. Mr. Williams said that he takes advantage of vendor discounts when available and that they are being offered less and less.
VOTE: Ms. Leonard motioned, Ms. Carney seconded and all agreed to accept the January 5, 2011 minutes as presented with the change. Mr. Boos and Mr. Goldsholl abstained as they were absent from the meeting.
III. COMMUNICATION FROM THE AUDIENCE
None.
IV. COMMUNICATION FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Mr. Goldsholl has been attending the construction manager’s meetings and was delighted with their productivity and flow and he’s encouraged. Ms. Hornaday said the groundbreaking ceremony was well attended and quite a success. She apologized that she erred in not publicly thanking the committee members for their hard work and continued dedication to the project. She added that she was pleased the proceedings stimulated public interest and enthusiasm for the project and also thanked Mr. Bartha and his wife for the delicious treats they brought. Mr. Bartha mentioned a Hartford Courant piece covering the event that was in today’s paper. Mr. Wells officially thanked Enterprise Builders for the shovels and hats. Public Works kindly had the sidewalk cleared of snow ahead of time.
V. CONSTRUCTION MANAGER UPDATE/REPORT – Simplified Construction Schedule
Mr. McNaboe updated the committee members on the construction schedule. Footings are scheduled to be poured Friday and he noted that the project has stayed on schedule despite the poor weather of late. Shop drawings continue to come in and are turned around quickly. He added that the “wild card” is still the CL & P changeover of electric power. Mr. Goldsholl asked for clarification of the utilities’ request for an easement. Mr. McNaboe explained that the new protocol for CL & P requires an easement wherever a new service is installed. Mr. Williams added that the easement covered additional right to property access to install the new service and to have control over how it will be laid out later. It basically insures perpetual right to the areas they need to access. Mr. Williams also said we have
approval for a temporary service but still need to coordinate with the utility for equipment installation which right now is scheduled for the second week in February. Power will be connected the week of February 14th to the 21st. He’s making efforts to push up this schedule to keep on critical path. Mr. Goldsholl reminded that the easement still had to be approved by the Town Council. Both Mr. McNaboe and Mr. Williams are hopeful to coordinate the utility in the next two weeks to avoid project delays. Mr. Boos wanted it noted that the recent weather pattern was unusual for this area and that delays should be allowed for this. Ms. Hornaday asked to include the easement issue on the Town Council’s agenda for their February 3rd meeting so we’d be all set for the power connection. Mr. Bartha will coordinate.
VI. ARCHITECT UPDATE/REPORT
Mr. Wells agreed with Mr. McNaboe that the shop drawings were flowing very well. He is currently missing only the lighting package.
VII. REVIEW PROJECT BUDGET
Mr. Bartha noted that there wasn’t much to review since the last meeting. He said there were some invoices to approve, which included the first substantial requisition from Enterprise since construction started. Mr. Bartha asked to eliminate the printing of the budget for meetings where there weren’t substantial changes, but would provide them on an “as needed” basis. Ms. Vocelli questioned the timeliness of the approval of invoices as she needed figures to supply to the State for the grant requirements and its entry into the budget accounting spreadsheet. Mr. Bartha said approved invoices were accounted for very quickly in the system upon approval. Mr. Goldsholl questioned if there was an operating budget where money sat waiting to be spent or if it was spent from other funds, in hopes to avoid
the trouble of overdrawing an account. Mr. Bartha can get more clarification of the process from Ms. Colligan, the Finance Director.
VIII. APPROVAL OF INVOICES – Enterprise Builders $66,808.00, Tuthill & Wells $27,960.00, CL & P (paid) $559.32
Mr. Bartha requested that an invoice submitted by Alford Associates, for survey work done related to the easement, be included on the agenda. Mr. Goldsholl questioned where the expense would fall in the budget to which Mr. Bartha said the temporary utilities line item.
VOTE: Mr. Goldsholl motioned, Ms. Leonard seconded and all agreed to include the Alford Associates invoice #3107, dated 1/10/2011 in the amount of $801.75, to the agenda. None opposed.
VOTE: Mr. Boos motioned, Mr. Goldsholl seconded and all agreed to the payment of the CL & P invoice in the amount of $559.32 and the Alford Associates, Inc. invoice in the amount of $801.75. None opposed.
Mr. Bartha explained the partial payment for the Tuthill & Wells invoice, in the amount of $23,000.00 in lieu of the total of $27,960.00, is in order to retain some monies until their consultants’ bids are in. The consultants are paid as Tuthill & Wells are paid and this would reserve partial funding until all bidding is complete. Mr. Wells added that from now on he will be invoicing an administrative fee based on the number of months left, as is in the contract.
VOTE: Mr. Boos motioned, Ms. Leonard seconded and all agreed to partially pay the Tuthill & Wells invoice in the amount of $23,000.00. None opposed or abstained.
Mr. Bartha explained the $66,808.00 Enterprise requisition presented to the members. The requisition was recently brought to the construction meeting and reviewed by Mr. Williams and Mr. Wells. The system moving forward will be to have it ready and reviewed by the construction team a week ahead of the building committee meeting in order to address any issues. The committee will have a copy in their agenda packets for discussion at meetings. Barring any issues, the committee Chair would approve and have Mr. Wells sign the requisition for Mr. Bartha to take to Town Hall for processing. Mr. Boos requested that Enterprise include him in the purchasing decision when they go to procure certain items such as fencing or the dumpsters. Mr. Goldsholl expounded that expensing should be done before the fact and the committee was
concerned with the “overall” going “over budget” in order to avoid surprises.
Ms. Hornaday questioned the 5% “retainage.” Mr. Wells explained that this is monies withheld for assurance until the job is complete. Mr. McNaboe said that this is in the subcontractors’ contracts. Mr. Boos added that we keep monies until the job is done and can release some ahead of time if we choose.
VOTE: Mr. Boos motioned, Ms. Leonard seconded and all agreed to approve for payment the Enterprise Builders application for payment in the amount of $66,808.00. None opposed.
Mr. Boos discussed the performance and payment bond aspect of the project. He questioned if Mr. McNaboe could find out if the project (being a public project) would be subject to a lien by any of the contractors. He questioned if Enterprise needed to go to the trouble of collecting lien waivers from the contractors if the “public” status of the job prevented it or because they have a bond on the job. Mr. Boos posed that if McNaboe is collecting lien waivers from the workers, would we want to collect those waivers. Mr. McNaboe said the most important lien waiver was the one we collected from the contractor when they are paid off. Mr. Bartha reiterated Mr. Boos’ point that can these subs lien the job or the bond because this is a public project?
Mr. Wells asked for the Committee’s position regarding some contractors purchasing long lead job related items ahead, storing them for later use and invoicing the town. Mr. Boos cautioned against materials stored offsite that are not unique to this project, could be being used in other jobs. He recommended, to the members, payment of items stored offsite provided that it’s job related and a case by case basis. Ms. Hornaday asked for consensus that this will be our process.
IX. OTHER BUSINESS
Ms. Hornaday introduced the Interior Design consultant Janis Newell to the members. Ms. Newell has been conducting meetings with committee members and staff and interviewing residents about colors, fabrics and carpeting choices. She brought along samples to show the members for discussion. Furniture and fabric recommendations were displayed by library section: first floor, children’s, teens’ and tech. The first floor will have a combination of carpet and ceramic tile around the circulation desk. The community room will have a different carpet with more texture and a darker color (to conceal stains better). She said too that we’d be retaining around 60% of the existing furniture and having it recovered. The carpet will have a backing that will provide a comfortable feel while walking around the library.
The bathrooms will have white tiles for the walls with accent colors for the paint around the toilets. Mr. Boos questioned the choice of vinyl flooring instead of ceramic tile which he thought we chose. Ms. Newell circulated a comparison flyer showing the cost of VCT tile vs. ceramic tile. Vinyl tile is the least expensive to purchase but the most expensive to maintain and is slippery, which can pose liability issues. She recommended considering the ceramic tile for its maintenance, safety and wear ability benefits.
Ms. Vocelli mentioned discussion around adding another column to the value engineering list to show drop dead dates for decisions. Ms. Hornaday concurred so we could look at other costs as we go along to see where savings could be used for other items. She spoke with Mr. Williams and found that ceramic tile is being used all over the bathrooms (in other town buildings) for ease of maintenance. She agreed that we’d need the drop dead list so we’d know absolutely when we could not change our minds. Mr. Boos suggested we make the decision now to install the ceramic tile in the bathrooms instead of the VCT tile. Ms. Leonard agreed that ceramic tile would be easier overall to maintain which would result in less cost to the taxpayers. Ms. Carney and Mr. Goldsholl felt that the budget number was given to the Town
Council with those value engineering cost savings in it and the choices were already made on finish materials. Mr. Boos felt that we as a group were going to be able to find the dollar difference to have ceramic tile in the bathrooms by the end of the project. Mr. Goldsholl reminded that it was agreed that monies found would go to the top priority of the group’s choices and not individuals’. Mr. Wells offered that Enterprise was working on an over/under list to compare cost savings or overages. Ms. Newell added that her recommendations were within budget.
Mr. Boos questioned the floor material around the circulation desk fearing it vulnerable to cracking. Mr. Wells explained that there are different qualities of the material and end use requirements pre-determine material choice to ensure proper selection and application. Mr. Boos questioned the connection between ceramic and carpet. Ms. Newell answered that transition strips are applied. Mr. Wells told of the expansion (seismic) joint that will be in place where the old building meets the new. It will be comprised of two pieces of aluminum, which you don’t see, filled with vinyl material used to accommodate movement in case the building shifts and that also it is required by code.
Ms. Carney questioned the neutral circulation desk counter material color and had hoped for more of a “wow” effect. Ms. Newell showed where it blends nicely with the tile in front of the counter. She said that darker colors tend to show scratches more. Ms. Hornaday feels you lose things on a dark surface. Ms. Newell also said that the “wow” factor will be felt when visioning the library as a whole, the open area between the first and second floors and window seats for example. Ms. Stokesbury questioned using granite as a material and at what added cost. Mr. Boos liked the softer counter material at the Barney Library which is made of linoleum. Mr. Wells added that this material is coming back and that it is a “green” one.
Ms. Newell showed flooring plans for the children’s area highlighting a circle pattern, which creates a pathway to follow. She is currently working with the manufacturer to get the costs within budget. Vinyl flooring was chosen for the craft story area for easy maintenance. The teen area shows colors chosen by teens which include orange, green and purple with black book shelving. Ms. Leonard liked that the area was distinctly theirs. She also liked the carpet color separation between the children’s and teens’ area to show the two distinct areas. Ms. Newell added that the fixed millwork will be in a neutral laminate so as to blend in with replacement carpet choices in the future.
Ms. Newell brought along sample chairs for use in the community room for the members to try. They unanimously chose the black chair with the pattern upholstered cushion seat. Ms. Newell said the next step will be to choose fabrics to reupholster furniture that is being reused. Ms. Hornaday thanked Ms. Newell for her informative presentation.
Mr. Bartha discussed discontinuing the first Wednesday morning committee meeting. Members agreed keeping the date on the schedule as an as needed basis and be given ample notice if the meeting will be cancelled and keep the third Wednesday as the regularly scheduled meeting. The Avon Room has been reserved for the year for both meeting dates if need be.
X. ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Leonard motioned, Mr. Goldsholl seconded and all agreed to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 PM. None opposed.
Susan Gatcomb, Staff Person
David Goldsholl, Secretary
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