Town of Newbury
Municipal Building Committee
MINUTES
DATE: July 21, 2014 Approved as written, 8/4/2014
Present: Eric Svahn, Chair; Tracy Blais; John Lucey, Jr.; Richard Ronder; Martha Taylor
Absent: Sam Joslin
Eric Svahn, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:10 a.m.
Motion: A motion was made by T. Blais and seconded by J. Lucey to approve the minutes of June 26, 2014 as amended. The motion passed unanimously.
- Review of Draft Presentation to Board of Selectmen:
E. Svahn outlined the presentation he had prepared for the upcoming Selectmen’s meeting on July 22. His goal is to achieve agreement on the program in order to move forward with budget, schedule, and site selection. As part of the report, he has developed a spread sheet analyzing the costs for four different project scenarios: 1) An addition to Town Hall; 2) Replacement of Town Hall with a new building on the same site; 3) Construction of a Police Station on an undeveloped site and renovation of Town Hall; and 4) relocation of Town Hall to an existing commercial building and renovation of Town Hall to accommodate all the Police Department functions and personnel.
The Committee discussed the recent near-failure of the sewage ejector pump in the Police Station and the need to connect to Newburyport’s sewer system regardless of which option is chosen. T. Blais noted that $60,000 from free cash has been spent to date on repairs to the Police Station.
a. Police Department FF&E: E. Svahn requested that J. Lucey verify the furnishings, fixtures, and equipment needs for the Police Department and determine what can be reused and what must be purchased new to help in developing the FF&E budget.
b. Impact on Taxes: Once the budget numbers are solidified, T. Blais will determine the implications for property taxes.
The Committee’s goal is to get agreement from the Selectmen on the program in July in order to move forward with the other steps in preparation for a funding request at the October Town Meeting.
E. Svahn will provide cost estimates for the different alternatives to T. Blais, who will develop financing scenarios. She noted that no grants are available for public safety facilities and the cost of financing has doubled in the past year. She also noted that it will no longer be possible to work financing for the proposed project into pay down of the existing debt service in a timely manner to keep tax payments for residents relatively level.
On a motion by M. Taylor, seconded by T. Blais, the meeting was adjourned at 8:08 a.m.
NEXT MEETING:
To be determined
Respectfully submitted,
Martha L. Taylor, Town Planner
MBC Secretary
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