Town of Newbury
Municipal Building Committee
MINUTES
DATE: November 17, 2015 Approved as written, 12/17/2015
Present: Eric Svahn, Chair; Tracy Blais; Mike Doyle; John Lucey, Jr.; Martha Taylor; Damon Jespersen, BOS Liaison
Absent: Steve Fram; Donald Jarvis; Sam Joslin; Richard Ronder; Nathan Walker
Guests: John Ashton; John Ferrara; Adele & Bob Krumpholz; Jim Moran; James Sarette; Jim Slane; Tony Vinciguerra
Eric Svahn, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Motion: A motion was made by T. Blais and seconded by Mike Doyle to approve the minutes of November 5, 2015, as written. The motion passed unanimously.
Going forward, E. Svahn will attempt to make a brief report on the project at each Selectmen’s meeting. When work is complete on the update of the project assessment, he will request a joint meeting of the Selectmen, the Finance Committee, the Capital Planning Committee, the Municipal Building Committee, and the Planning Board. A request was made to establish a standing meeting time for the MBC. E. Svahn said that it is extremely difficult for him to commit to a set meeting date and time due to his work schedule, but will try to set a couple of dates between now and January 1.
The first step in moving forward will be to update the July 30, 2014 CSS report, including the overview and assessment, the program, and the construction budget. That will then be folded into the MBC recommendation with information regarding soft costs. Charts may be attached as appendices in order to simplify the body of the report. The target will be to get information to CSS by Thanksgiving for edits. T. Blais will need all cost information by the first week in January in order to incorporate it into the FY 17 budget that needs to ready for presentation to the Selectmen by February 1. E. Svahn is starting to contact Owner’s Project Managers (OPMs).
The Police Department program has been vetted; the Town Hall program needs to be brought up to the same level. E. Svahn requested that James Sarette, as Facilities Manager, be in charge of confirming Town Hall’s space needs; he will do that with assistance from M. Taylor and T. Blais. All offices currently housed in trailers need to be accounted for. Space totaling approximately 350 s.f. is needed for the Cable TV operation, including equipment and studio space. A request for space in Town Hall has come from the Council on Aging, although the COA Director does not see the need for any additional space at present. T. Blais said that the need for records storage has become urgent – records are being lost due to lack of climate control in the storage trailers on the landfill site.
Type and amount of storage needs to be confirmed. Suggestions have also been made to include offices for a possible future Town Engineer, the Board of Fire Engineers, the DPW, and the Fish and Clam Wardens, as well as a Community Room.
- Dissemination of Information to the Public:
Discussion was held on the best ways to disseminate information to the public once the work of the MBC is done, ideally by the end of January. Ideas that were discussed included holding neighborhood parties, email blasts to parents through the school, an MBC page on Facebook, emails to parents of children in sports groups, videos on Channel 9, and columns in The Daily News. A. Krumpholz said that The Vote Yes Committee will be able to take on an advocacy role. It was agreed that information should be succinct and specific. J. Ferrara said that it will be important to reach the 35-45 year old demographic and get them engaged – they are the greatest stakeholders and without their vote, the outcome will be the same.
T. Vinciguerra asked what had been done to get the pulse of the voters to determine what they will support. The feedback that he has heard is that people will support a stand-alone police station, but nothing more. A side-by-side comparison of a combined Town Hall/Police Station vs. a standalone Police Station needs to be presented, along with information showing that additional costs are short-term, not long-term.
- General Discussion Regarding the Proposed Project:
Discussion was opened to the public. Questions and comments were again raised regarding alternative sites and solutions for the Town’s space needs, including joining regional dispatch, building a stand-alone police station somewhere on Route 1, utilizing the State Police Barracks on Scotland Road for lock-up, acquiring the Protection #2 property, and the constraints of the current Town Hall site with respect to traffic flow and parking. E. Svahn recapped the site selection process that the Public Safety Site Selection Committee, the Public Safety Complex Committee, and the Municipal Building Committee had gone through before recommending that Town Hall, Police, and Protection #2 remain in the current location. He and T. Blais also commented on the cost savings – both long and short term – and added value of combining municipal facilities.
J. Moran suggested that the best option would be to buy the Protection #2 property; T. Blais noted that Protection #2’s offer to the Town was contingent on a positive vote on the project, which did not happen. E. Svahn added that Protection #2 was not interested in selling its property to the Town if the Company’s needs wouldn’t be solved as part of the process. D. Jespersen suggested that any questions regarding regional dispatch be taken to the Selectmen. With respect to use of the Troop A Barracks on Scotland Road, E. Svahn read a letter from Major Arthur W. Sugrue, Troop A Commander, saying that the Newbury Barracks is “not staffed or physically equipped to process and hold outside agency prisoners in a capacity other than to accommodate a temporary emergency that may be
experienced by another agency.”
J. Ashton proposed that the Town raise Town Hall up, build a new foundation underneath, and add a modular second story with a portico, handicapped access, and an elevator to serve all three floors. According to his calculations, estimated cost would be about $3.2 million. E. Svahn raised concerns about accessibility and the ability of this solution to meet the program requirements of both the Police Department and Town Hall offices – the Police Department program alone is 9,000 s.f. T. Blais noted that the Building Inspector has pointed out code limitations related to reuse of the existing building. She also noted that the Selectmen’s charge to the Municipal Building Committee had been specific and expressed concern about whether there was sufficient time to study this alternative to
meet the current schedule. E. Svahn suggested that J. Ashton send him an email with specifics regarding his proposal and he would check the program.
E. Svahn again said that the Selectmen’s charge to the Committee had been clear and suggested that residents with alternative ideas take them to the Selectmen at their next meeting on November 24.
On a motion made by M. Taylor and seconded by M. Doyle, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 a.m.
NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, December 3, 2015, 7:00 a.m., Town Hall
Respectfully submitted,
Martha L. Taylor, Town Planner
MBC Secretary
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