North Stonington Volunteer Fire Company
EMS Building Committee
Meeting Minutes for October 6, 2014
Location: North Stonington Volunteer Fire Company – Meeting Room
267 Norwich-Westerly Rd.
North Stonington CT
In Attendance: Mark Perkins-Chair, Charles Steinhart V, Bob Shabunia, Jon Bosma, Ryan Burdick, Brian Elias, Paul Kowack, Nick Mullane
Peter Springsteel, Kati Murphy, David Stein, Ken Sgorbati
Meeting called to order at 7:01 PM by Chairman Perkins
Minutes: Motion by Charles Steinhart to accept the minutes of Sept. 29, second Jon Bosma. All in favor. Motion passed.
Correspondence, Bills, and Invoices:
Invoices:
K. Murphy Inv. # 21 - $157.50
Motion to approve by Bob Shabunia, second by Jon Bosma. All in favor, motion passed
Silver Petrucelli & Assoc. Inv#14-807 - $25,295.00
There was discussion/explanation to clarify what has been invoiced to date, and what was being invoiced for this month. Everything invoiced to date has been for program development.
A motion was made by Paul Kowack to approve for payment, second by Ryan Burdick. All in favor, the motion passed.
Correspondence:
Approval from USDA of plans and specs for site work was received, with comments, received Oct 6 and forwarded to Committee
Copy of Memo from Juliet Leeming relative to Special Permit application was received Oct 3 and forwarded to Committee
Bob Shabunia requested that, going forward, all correspondence be included in the minutes and that the Committee be copied on all correspondence.
Public Comment. None
Old Business:
David Stein began by addressing some of the comments from USDA. In his view the RFP is currently incomplete until Town Counsel has been heard from and USDA’s comments are addressed by the Committee.
USDA had some concern with the “voluntary alternative” item in the bid documents. If the low bidder is selected, using an alternate method, the bid could be protested by other bidders. In that instance a new spec would be prepared, based on the alternate method, and would be put out to bid again. This is something Committee has to decide on. Once comments are addressed and any revisions made to the RFP the Committee will need to take a vote to approve before it can be advertised.
There was also comment from USDA regarding redundant language in the RFP. David stated that there is but that the language in Federal documents will always trump all of the other documents. Wait to see what Town Counsel suggests.
Mark Perkins stated that once all comments on RFP are received, the Committee will review and hopefully be able to vote and approved the revised document at the next meeting on Oct 14, so that it can be advertised. There was some discussion as to whether or not things should wait until after Planning and Zoning Hearing on Oct 9. General consensus was to not wait, Peter Springsteel agreed.
Nick Mullane asked if the building was being designed so that any of the various steel building companies in the region could bid on it. David Stein stated that they will put forth a performance spec for the building, but that they need to work off of a basic design. However, any steel manufacturer would be able to bid on it. Voluntary alternatives and substitutions would be considered, but would have to meet spec.
Mark addressed the memo from Juliet Leeming to Don Smith. Don is addressing any errors and/or omissions that was noted in the memo. David indicated that Planning & Zoning has concerns with the buildings aesthetics. Nick indicated that this should not be an issue for the site plan and could be addressed further down the road once building plans are complete.
David indicated that the aesthetics could be a hang-up and he needs to know how the Committee wants the building represented. If a variance were to be requested it would have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Nick suggested waiting to see how the Oct 9 hearing goes and see what P&Z’s position is on the building appearance. David stated that a fire station is a utilitarian building and the P&Z’s regulations really don’t address that type of structure. Mark and Peter suggested perhaps getting approval, with conditions, with the understanding that changes will effect the final cost.
Mark Perkins has asked Peter Springsteel to attend the Oct 9 Planning & Zoning hearing.
Nick will speak with Juliet to make sure that P&Z has everything necessary from the Committee.
Discussion turned to continued modification of the floor plan.
Per Brian Elias recommendation at the Sept 29 meeting, the toilet was removed from the decon room, and the room reconfigured based upon his diagram. Moving a bathroom next to the radio room was decided against due to space constraints and the need for bathrooms to be handicapped accessible
One of the comments from USDA was that the mezzanine, originally targeted as a storage area for the Ambulance Company, would need to be accessible. This would require an elevator, which is not doable within budget. Brian indicated that they need storage space for their equipment. The mechanical room may offer a solution. The final outcome of the discussion was that the block wall around the stairwell will be removed, along with the stairs. The ceiling in this area will be framed out for future stairs if necessary. If the station air compressor is to be located in the mezzanine then it will be surrounded by a railing. The mezzanine will be attic space. Mechanical systems will be located above the living space of the building. A double door will be located high in the wall of the apparatus bay for
access to the mechanical area over the living area this space.
There was discussion of which door will have controlled access with no final decision reached through out the building. No decision was reached on this topic. The subcommittee of Mark Tate, Brian Elias, and Bob Shabunia will continue working on developing a recommendation for the Committee to review. Bob indicated that this could be costly and David agreed that it would add to the soft costs.
Brian is going to follow up on code requirements for an EOC. The building will not be a shelter, so it is David’s belief that it needs to meet wind loads only.
Window from radio room to bays has been added.
Fold down seats in showers will be worked in to design.
Space for a sink and fridge in day room added.
Bob requested the number of windows in the multi-purpose room be reduced and that projection be directed to them.
Paul requested that a project plan with action items be developed by SP&A. David indicated that they will submit an updated schedule.
Ken Sgorbati discussed HVAC and zoning the building. He is trying to keep AC balance at 5 tons, as anything over that would require an economizer, which would be costly. Ken was asked about utility incentives. He will look into this but does not believe it will be cost effective. Mark wanted to know if it would pay for itself. Ken said he would need to do an energy survey to be certain. More information will be forthcoming as they progress.
Nick questioned whether or not there would be an air exchange incorporated into the AC to avoid stale air. Nick was also going to check through his sources about incentive for the HVAC and generator for the building. Ken stated that the system will be able to handle this so stale air should not be an issue. Vents in the rooms will have variable diffusers so that incoming heat/AC can be adjusted. Jon Bosma asked if a steam humidifying system could be included as an add alternate on the gas furnace serving the bunk rooms. Ken indicated that it could. Brain Elias had questions regarding the windows in the Ambulance and Chief’s offices. They appear to have the potential for becoming hot rooms due to the direction in which they face. David indicated that variable diffusers and proper window treatments should
alleviate this.
Earlier in the meeting David Stein had stated that in order for SP&A to move forward with building design using the current floor plan they would need a formal vote from the Committee to proceed. Mark asked if the Committee was ready to take that vote. Brian Elias had reservations about continuing because the loss of the mezzanine eliminated a majority of the storage space for the Ambulance. If the Committee was comfortable relabeling the mechanical room as a storage room then Brian Elias would be agreeable. If the mechanical room were to become Ambulance storage electrical panels and hot water heater would be relocated, but to do so would not be a great inconvenience. There was question as to whether or not the Committee should wait to vote on this until after the Oct 9 hearing with P&Z. David
indicated that this would hold up the process for them. Peter Springsteel indicated that the Committee should allow SP&A to continue.
Radio equipment will be located with the computer equipment. Appropriate lightening protection must be incorporated into that space. The radio room designated on the plan was combined with the custodian closet and the hot water heater and possible electrical panels can be located in this space
Bob Shabunia had questions on a few items.
Could a sink be put in the office space? The run for the drain would be very long and expensive and would probably impact the budget too much.
The closet in the vestibule is very deep. Could 2’ of it be added instead to the storage behind it in the conference room? David indicated that could be done.
There are several (10) existing file cabinets that will quickly fill space in the new fire station. These files will eventually be scanned.
The patio will be installed at a later date.
Where is the space to showcase photos and trophies? Possible locations are rear of the meeting room or a gallery design similar to what was seen at the Bethany Fire Station.
Has Nick investigated grants through CL&P for a generator and contacted Yankee Gas? He has and is waiting to hear back. Also, relative to SCWA, Nick has to survey the residents to see how many want to tie into the new water line.
How much of the short term note needs to be rolled? The Committee has to layout the financial need throughout the project and determine when money will be needed and how much. This will determine when money will be borrowed (notes rolled) which will add to the soft cost of the project. Based on Dixworks estimates every time a note is rolled it will cost approx. $30k, plus the interest due
The question of the kitchen range hood was brought up. Could we go with an in-line blower? Because of discharge, and also aesthetics, a vertical hood would be the best option.
Paul Kowack has placed $900k on his Budget Analysis for site work, Don Smith’s figure is approximately $1.1m. There won’t be an actual figure until bids are in for site work. Paul continues to monitor the budget
Brian Elias and Marc Tate are still working on the costs associated with the technology necessary in the building. Paul will feed their estimates into his analysis
A motion was made by Charles Steinhart, V to give Silver Petrucelli & Assoc. approval to proceed with the next stage of design development, incorporating revisions of October 6, 2014 floor plan and changes presented at tonight’s meeting. Motion was seconded by Ryan Burdick. All in favor, the motion passed.
It was requested that Peter Springsteel prepare an updated proposal for his services for the duration of the project.
Motion to adjourn made by Ryan Burdick, second by Charles Steinhart. All in favor. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 9:15
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