Town of Newbury
Municipal Building Committee
MINUTES
DATE: August 14, 2014 Approved as written, 8/21/2014
Present: Eric Svahn, Chair; Steve Fram; Sam Joslin; John Lucey, Jr.; Martha Taylor
Absent: Tracy Blais, Richard Ronder
Guest: Damon Jespersen, Selectmen
Eric Svahn, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:05 a.m.
Motion: A motion was made by S. Joslin and seconded by S. Fram to approve the meeting minutes of August 4, 2014 as written. The motion passed unanimously.
E. Svahn recommended that the final draft of the CSS report be printed and distributed to the Selectmen, the Finance Committee, the Capital Planning Committee, and the Planning Board, with copies available for the public at the Town Clerk’s office, the Library, and on the website. He noted that as a first step consensus needs to be reached on the program. S. Fram suggested that Option #1, the addition to Town Hall for both municipal offices and the police, be removed – in his opinion it is a Band-Aid solution and the Town would be throwing good money after bad if it were selected as the preferred option. The Committee was requested to look at this option, so the consensus was that it should remain in the report to indicate that all options were vetted.
E. Svahn has done a preliminary analysis of the projected project cost to show what the average annual, quarterly and monthly cost would be to tax payers. He will continue working on this with Tracy.
The Committee discussed the importance of having good back-up for the program, including PD certification standards, comparables, and CSS’s broad experience with municipal facilities – it is critical that all the decision makers understand that both the Police Department and the municipal offices need improvement and what standards need to be followed. The Police need to do a final review of the program and confirm that it meets their needs or provide feedback on any ways in which it does not.
Regarding construction type, S. Fram asked if a modular police station has been considered, noting that it might be a less expensive option – all options should be researched before a final decision is made. E. Svahn noted that in general modular systems are more economical for repetitive structures, but that unique structures lose some cost advantage.
E. Svahn will redistribute the May 8, 2012 Capital Planning Committee “Newbury Police Department Facility Site Inspection Report and Recommendations” authored by Bob Connors to the Municipal Building Committee members. The report clearly and succinctly outlines the PD deficiencies and needed program elements.
- Flyer: E. Svahn has put together a draft public awareness flyer and will incorporate comments from the Committee members and others who have reviewed it. J. Lucey will set up a separate e-mail address – mbc@townofnewbury.org – for comments, inquiries, etc., from residents.
- Police Station Video Tour: Planning is in progress for the video tour of the Police Station. S. Fram suggested that the Committee also put together a virtual tour of what the Police Station should have.
- Community Groups: J. Lucey will contact the Scout leaders for help in communicating the Police Station’s deficiencies and proposed solutions to parents. The Committee will also reach out to the PTA.
- Meetings: M. Taylor has received comments from a couple of residents who would like to be involved with the process but cannot attend the 7:00 a.m. meetings. The Committee agreed to try holding an evening meeting once a month.
On a motion by S. Fram, seconded by M. Taylor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:23 a.m.
NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, August 21, 7:00 a.m., Town Hall Annex.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha L. Taylor, Town Planner
MBC Secretary
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