NEWTON MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
MEETING MINUTES
November 18, 2013
In attendance, in alphabetical order: Mary Allen, Leonard Beauvais, Jim Doggett-Chairman, Roger Hamel, Bill Ingalls, Bill Landry-Vice Chairman, Trisha McCarthy, John Meserve, Dale Putnam, Jim Ryan, Ron Saunders, Joe Simone, and Nancy Wrigley.
Bradley Cardoso, Robert Donovan Jr., Larry Foote, Frank Gibbs, Charles Melvin, Mike Pivero, and Larry Streeter were not in attendance. Barbara and Jim White were excused. Mrs. Wrigley recorded the minutes.
I Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:07 pm.
II Acceptance of Minutes: Mr. Landry made a motion to accept the minutes as written; second by Trisha McCarthy. Mr. Ryan asked for his name to be corrected on the Subcommittee List from John to Jim. Unanimous approval.
III Warrant Article Proposals and Discussion: The Committee had discussion on the wording of the Warrant Articles. Two separate warrant articles will be necessary: one warrant article to set up a new Capitol Reserve Fund (CRF) and transfer the balance from the old CRF to the new one; and a second warrant article to establish a new CRF to raise and appropriate money to support the work and administrative costs to develop plans for town-owned property. A third warrant article was put on hold until further information can be gathered and will most likely be presented at this time next year.
Proposed Warrant Article #1:
To see if the Town of Newton will vote to establish a Capital Reserve Fund to be known as “The Newton Municipal Complex Study Capital Reserve Fund” under provisions of RSA 35.1, and to raise and appropriate a sum not to exceed $50,000. The Selectmen will act as agents for this fund.
The purpose of this fund is to support the ongoing work and administrative costs to develop plans for the town-owned properties to maximize their use to benefit the Town of Newton and have these plans included in Newton’s Capital Improvement Plan. There was unanimous approval for Warrant Article #1 as written.
Proposed Warrant Article #2:
To see if the Town of Newton will vote to dissolve and transfer the balance of $4,561.77 plus accrued interest currently in the Capital Reserve Fund set up in 2005 named the ‘Safety Complex Building Fund’ to a new Capital Reserve Fund to be known as “The Newton Municipal Complex Study Capital Reserve Fund” under provisions of RSA 35.1.
The purpose of this fund transfer is to support the ongoing work and administrative costs to develop plans for the town-owned properties to maximize their use to benefit the Town of Newton and have these plans included in Newton’s Capital Improvement Plan. The Selectmen will act as agents for this fund. (This warrant article will have no effect on the tax rate, and requires a 3/5 majority vote to pass.)
Mr. Doggett reported he had approached the Planning Board regarding sponsoring the warrant article, and the Selectmen’s representative suggested a petitioned warrant article would be appropriate. Mr. Doggett reminded him that the Committee exists at the will of the Selectmen
and as such, the Selectmen should be responsible for putting in a warrant article to fund the committee’s work.
Mr. Ingalls opined the money in the fund was for a Safety Complex, which was for the fire department and police department. His thought was it should go back to the fire department
or stay in the safety complex fund. Mr. Doggett noted the money did not come from the fire department account. Mr. Ingalls stated it specified Safety Complex.
Mrs. Wrigley stated the committee was asking for the monies to be changed to a different purpose. Mr. Landry noted that there was not going to be a safety complex anymore, and all they were doing was changing the name (of the fund) where the money was residing; it would be going towards the same ultimate use. Mr. Doggett noted this would need a 3/5 majority vote to pass and he would be glad to explain it at Town Meeting.
Mrs. Wrigley reminded Mrs. McCarthy that when she was a Selectman, they spoke of closing the account out and Mrs. McCarthy had asked for it to stay as they may need it for a future study. She agreed that had happened; that’s why the money is still there. Mr. Doggett noted if the account is closed, the money would go back into the General Fund.
Mr. Ingalls also asked how the money in warrant article #2 was going to be divided between the Town Hall, Fire Department and the Library. Mr. Doggett answered that all the committee was doing was developing a site plan. Mr. Meserve reminded the committee that they would not be taking physical control of the property for 2 more years.
Mr. Doggett explained he wanted to have the warrant article to the Selectmen as soon as possible so in case they decide not to go forward with it, there would still be enough time to submit a Citizen’s Petition.
Mr. Doggett asked for a MOTION to request the Selectmen place Warrant Article #1 & #2 on
the ballot.
Mr. Simone MOVED to request the Selectmen place Warrant Article #1 & #2 on the ballot.
Mrs. Allen seconded. Mr. Ingalls voted no; all the rest voted yes. Motion carried 12:1.
Mrs. Wrigley will check the changes to the wording with DRA.
IV Subcommittee Reports:
Library Subcommittee Report
Mr. Meserve reported his committee had met with three different architects and asked for some preliminary plans to be submitted - Baker Architects, Concord; Samyn D’Elia Architects P.A.; and
SMP Architecture, Concord had all submitted preliminary plans. They had asked for the project to be separated into phases, which some broke down more than others.
The costs ranged from $19,800 to $49,000. The proposals had just been received, therefore Mr. Meserve stated they would need to be reviewed to be able to better compare them as some may have combined multiple phases in their proposal amounts. He asked for volunteers to help with the review. Mr. Doggett and Mr. Simone volunteered to review the proposals against each other, along with the subcommittee members.
Mr. Meserve noted that after the review, the amount stated on warrant article #2 may have to be adjusted, but could be changed at the Deliberative Session with an explanation.
Members of the subcommittee had met with three different architects and who toured the buildings at 8 Merrimac Road with them. The present garage building was discussed and it was noted that since codes have changed drastically since it was built, there may be no way to repurpose it; to enable the best use of the property, it may need to be removed and new building(s) erected in its place. One architect also toured the Town Hall.
A list from one of the architectural companies includes the following in Phase I: Data Collection (with visits to each building and interviews); Engineering Survey and Environmental Program
(as needed) for the PD, Town Hall, Library, and Workshop Building; Building Needs Assessments for the PD, FD, Town Hall and Library, and Conceptual Design including Master Plan Analysis, conceptual floor plan, preliminary design for FD (1 preliminary and 2 rounds of changes); public forums, workshops and meetings, and presentation of a preliminary budget.
Phase II covered Design Development. The total for all that comes to approximately $20,000 which the committee agreed was a lot for the money. That was what they had asked for to be ready for Town Meeting for March of 2015.
Mr. Landry noted that they needed to work on a way to present the information to the public so they would understand what the goals were and to get public support. One of the architects had suggested opening up the buildings to the public so they could see the issues the committee was addressing.
The group agreed that even though they were working on the entire conceptual design for the town, they acknowledged that the Fire Department would be at the top of the list. The goal was
to come up with the best plan possible for the entire town. Mr. Doggett commented that once the ball was rolling, they could entertain plans and proposals from various companies interested, which would be at no cost to the Town.
Mrs. McCarthy commented this group was focusing on the entire picture and it was particularly helpful to hear all the other ideas from the various departments to enable them to do the best job possible. Mr. Doggett noted if the committee does its due diligence on the plan, no one can accuse them of duplicating services or creating spaces that are not necessary.
Fire Department Subcommittee
Mrs. McCarthy reported the subcommittee had two meetings; one at the Junction Fire Station and one at the green building where Mrs. McCarthy took several pictures and measurements.
There were questions about what the future plans were for the Junction fire station. Mr. Ingalls noted the building belonged to the church and not the town. Mr. Doggett noted that since it is not town-owned property, they cannot include it in any of their plans; they can only state that in the foreseeable future they do not see it as being closed. Mr. Doggett acknowledged the committee would not recommend closing the Junction station.
Mr. Ingalls noted some renovations could be done to the Building such as putting in one door for
a fire truck. The furnace needed to be replaced for certain and Mr. Ingalls was not sure if the church would share in the cost. Mr. Ryan suggested a study of costs for running that station.
Town Hall Subcommittee
They had met last week and discussed if it would be feasible to move the Town Hall functions into the green building. They opined it could be repurposed and everything would fit reasonable well.
They had also discussed the meetings with the architects and the warrant articles.
They have assessed what people want, what we have, and have come up with some alternatives.
The consensus is there is nothing more they can to at this time for the project until the next step comes along.
Mr. Doggett asked if the subcommittee was at a point they could recommend, if feasible, leaving Town Hall in Town Hall? Mr. Hamel stated they were if there was a new meeting space to be built. Mr. Doggett suggested the Town Hall Subcommittee make that vote and present it to the main Committee at the December meeting.
Mr. Hamel stated they would like to see what suggestions the architects come up with before they make a final decision.
There was group discussion regarding a new meeting space and what it would take for it to qualify as a warming shelter (heat and a/c) versus a full-blown shelter (heat, a/c and kitchen and shower facilities). Mr. Doggett reminded the committee it would be important to provide all that informa-tion to the architects so they could diagram for that space in their plans.
V Other: Mr. Doggett reported he had tried to contact one of persons interested in being on the committee via e-mails and a phone call, and had gotten no response. There were also several others who had expressed an interest in being members but had not attended for various reasons. Again, the fact was brought up about having members who do not show up and affecting the quorum needed for a vote. It was determined they needed to be dropped from the committee so the committee could have effective meetings with voting outcomes and not have a quorum issue.
Mr. Doggett asked for a MOTION to request the Selectmen to rescind the appointments of Mr. Cardoso, Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. Donovan from the NMCC roster due to non-attendance.
Mr. ____________ MOVED to request the Selectmen to rescind the appointments of Mr. Cardoso, Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. Donovan from the NMCC roster due to non-attendance; Mr. Landry seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Jim Ryan noted that the meeting day was incorrect on the town website and should be corrected.
The next meeting will be on December 16 at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall Meeting Room.
VI Adjourn: Mr. Meserve MOVED to adjourn; Mr. Landry seconded. Motion was unanimous.
Chairman Doggett adjourned the meeting at 8:45 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Barbara White
| 
