Minutes of a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Library Trustees, with guest Anne Larsen (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners)
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Town Hall, Bolton, MA
Meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Ken Troup. Mr. Troup and Bob Zak (trustee chair) presided.
Mr. Zak introduced Anne Larsen, building specialist for towns under 10,000 for the MA Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).
Ms. Larsen encouraged an open forum and invited questions from the attendees. Ms. Larsen gave a brief overview of the MBLC’s public library construction grant program, noting that she first met with Bolton at the beginning of the process over 8 years ago. Ms. Larsen noted that Bolton did well in the latest construction grant round, ranking in the top 7 of 40 applicants and #1 in its population group. Ms. Larsen said that any library notified of provisional grant status has six months to raise matching funds locally. She discussed the Bolton Trustees’ successful appeal to the MBLC for an extension on that deadline, which is now December 7, 2006. Ms. Larsen encouraged the Trustees to raise the required funds and sign the first contract as soon as possible.
Ms. Larsen outlined the disbursement of grant funds as follows: having secured local funding, the first contact is signed and funding is immediate (30% of the state grant). The town then has 9 months to sign with a general contractor, at which time another 30% of state grant money is released. When the project is judged to be 75% complete, another 30% of state grant is issued. The final 10% of the grant comes when the town produces a certificate of occupancy.
Ms. Larsen took questions from those assembled as follows:
Q from Mark Harwood: Must the town’s funds all be in the bank before the contacts are signed?
A: That is a local decision. MBLC accepts pledges as part of local funding. MBLC’s concern is that the town raise eligible costs as soon as possible, for the longer the delay in signing a contract the costlier the project may be. Bolton’s grant application shows $6.7 million in eligible costs. $3.5 million was approved at Annual Town Meeting 2006, $2.7 will come from the MBLC grant, and the balance from local fundraising. Ms. Larsen noted that the MBLC was surprised at how much materials costs have risen since the last grant round, but assessed Bolton as being in good shape with three contingencies and one escalation.
Q from Wayne Wetzel: There is a conflict with the Board of Selectmen’s stated refusal to sign contracts until all of the money from fundraising is in the bank, and the MBLC’s acceptance of pledges. If the pledge drive is unsuccessful, will the MBLC ask for its money back?
A: Yes, MBLC will ask for the money back. If the town signs a contract with MBLC, the expectation is that it will execute the contract. If not, the money must be returned. Ms. Larsen discussed Boylston as an example. The town can do more fundraising, ask for another extension, or ask the town for more money. Ms. Larsen recommended getting two more independent cost estimates, and doing value engineering. She cited Georgetown, which made many decisions about materials and furnishings during value engineering. She noted that most libraries do value engineering rather than ask the town for more money.
Q from Mr. Harwood: How many years are covered in Bolton’s $1.4 million escalation?
A: Five years. Ms. Larsen cautioned the trustees not to touch the contingencies as one never knows what may happen during the construction.
Q from Mr. Harwood: What are the ineligible costs? Are the figures shown in the grant application sufficient to cover them?
A: Ms. Larsen said that the grant application includes $290,000 for shelving, $25K for furniture, and $225K for paving. Ineligible costs are items like furniture, landscaping, and equipment. Donated services (e.g., DPW doing landscaping, or a paving company donating its services) will free up money for other things, so should be actively solicited. Ms. Larsen gave the example of Williamsburg, which asked for its furnishings at cost and employed many volunteers in the trades. Volunteers can be counted as in-kind donations
In response to a query by Mr. Wetzel, Ms. Larsen stressed that some decisions must be made locally. She speaks to the requirements of the grant program, not to local decision-making. Ms. Larsen said that she could not think of a single project where fundraising pledges didn’t come through. Christine Sterling noted that cash is coming in now, and that employer matches over the three-year giving period mean more money for the library. Ms. Larsen said that she has experienced every kind of fundraising, and that typically 5-10% of the project cost is raised privately.
Q from Noel Dill: If the project came in under budget, how would this affect the MBLC’s contribution?
A: Ms. Larsen noted that in the history of the grant program over 200 projects have been completed and that no grants have been reduced. Some towns add eligible items back in at the end, after removing them during value engineering. At the project’s end, MBLC requires an audited report to insure that no state grant funds were used for ineligible costs.
Ms. Larsen advised the trustees to think about how to proceed with forming a construction committee, hiring an architect, etc. She noted that there is no standard for assembling a construction committee, that each town determines that committee’s composition, relationships, and authority. Ms. Larsen advised drafting a written charge of the construction committee’s size, duties, relationships, and authority. The Inspector General’s manual gives some guidance about the construction committee’s composition.
Ms. Larsen discussed the new public construction law, passed two years ago. The new law requires hiring a project manager with certain degrees and/or qualifications. Hiring this person must be done first.
Roland Ochsenbein commented that the Bolton Library’s construction budget includes substantial sums for the project manager and administration salaries.
Q from Panny Gerken: Must we take the lowest bid?
A: Ms. Larsen said that the new law is flexible in some ways, and discussed the prequalification round.
In response to David Lindsay’s question about short term and long term bonds, Ms. Larsen said that this is another local decision, and that MBLC has few requirements about how and where local funding is secured. She cited the example of Provincetown, whose fundraising kicked off on 9/11/01.
Mr. Wetzel said that Mr. Lindsay’s question about bonding was in conflict with the Board of Selectmen’s statement about not signing a contract until all of the money is in the bank. Mr. Zak advised those assembled to make the best of Ms. Larsen’s time and to sort such issues out later.
Mr. Wetzel asked about local bylaws and zoning issues, and asked whether the Selectmen were going to do their duty. Mr. Troup replied that later in the evening, the Selectmen intended to set up a schedule of continued discussions at upcoming meetings.
Ms. Larsen concluded stating that conflict is part of every project. She advised those present to resolve as much as possible, to realize that the extension for fundraising was very generous, and that there are 33 towns on the waiting list ready to start. Ms. Larsen does not foresee another grant round in 4-5 years. We should move forward or accept that the library project will not happen for 6-7 years or longer.
Mr. Zak introduced Ann Hurd, who presented an update of the Capital Campaign Committee’s activities. Ms. Hurd said that they have received two private pledges of $100,000 each, and one of $50,000. To date $485K has been pledged, and money is in the bank already. The Capital Campaign Committee plans to host house parties, a car raffle, appear at the Bolton Fair, approach businesses, seek grants (e.g., Target), and issue another townwide mailing.
This portion of the meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.
The Trustees reconvened at the library. Mr. Zak proposed that the trustees’ next meeting be held on Monday, August 14 at 6:30. Seconded by Ms. Sterling.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Collins
Director of the Library
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