Town of Newbury
Municipal Building Committee
MINUTES
DATE: August 4, 2014 Approved as written, 8/14/2014
Present: Eric Svahn, Chair; Tracy Blais; Steve Fram; Sam Joslin; John Lucey, Jr.; Richard Ronder; Martha Taylor
Guests: Chuck Bear & Damon Jespersen, Selectmen
Eric Svahn, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:05 a.m.
Motion: A motion was made by R. Ronder and seconded by J. Lucey to approve the minutes of July 21, 2014 as amended. The motion passed with five in favor (Svahn, Blais, Lucey, Ronder, Taylor) and two abstentions (Joslin and Fram, who were not present at that meeting).
E. Svahn welcomed the Committee’s new member, Steve Fram, who is a Byfield resident, Chair of the Board of Health, member of the Newbury Border to Boston Trail Committee, and who, during his tenure as Newburyport’s Health Agent, was involved with the City’s efforts to build a new Police Station.
The revised report from CSS has been received and distributed to the Committee members for review. Once approved by the Committee, E. Svahn will review it with the Selectmen and discuss the four options being considered:
Option #1: An addition and renovations to Town Hall to increase space for both the municipal offices and the Police Department;
Option #2: An entirely new building on the Town Hall site to house the municipal offices and the Police Department;
Option #3: A new Police Station on undeveloped land elsewhere in town, with renovations and possible addition to Town Hall for the municipal offices;
Option #4: Relocation of the municipal offices into an existing building elsewhere in town and either renovation of Town Hall into a larger police station or demolition of Town Hall and construction of a new Police Station on the site.
E. Svahn suggested developing a condensed version of the report for general distribution which focuses on the program and an analysis of the four options. The options which have been deemed to be no longer viable should be removed from the list. Confirmation of the program is needed; J. Lucey is to review and verify the space needs for the Police Department.
The spreadsheet outlining costs that E. Svahn has developed will enable an “apples to apples” analysis of the four options under consideration. He noted that the costs do not vary significantly between the options. The goal will be to narrow the options down to two, a preferred option and an alternate, to recommend to the Selectmen.
E. Svahn will provide costs for the four scenarios to T. Blais so that she can determine tax implications for Newbury residents.
- Public Outreach – Police Station Video Tour:
J. Lucey will begin scripting the video tour of the Police Station so that filming can be done as soon as the current round of repairs is complete.
The Committee will contact the Newbury PTA and the Girl Scout/Boy Scout leaders for help in communicating the Police Station’s deficiencies and proposed solutions to parents.
S. Fram asked if there were any other sites that the Committee should be considering for the Police Department. The Committee discussed the options that had already been reviewed and deemed infeasible. The Town Forest was suggested again as a possibility and the question was raised as to whether it would be worth testing once more to see if there are soils anywhere on the site suitable for a septic system. The previous test results will be reviewed.
On a motion by R. Ronder, seconded by S. Joslin, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, August 14, 7:00 a.m., Town Hall Annex.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha L. Taylor, Town Planner
MBC Secretary
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