Town of Princeton, Mass. – July 14, 2016 – 7 PM
BOARD OF SELECTMEN – Bldg. Planning Mtg. Minutes
Chairman Stan Moss, Edith Morgan and Jon Fudeman present along with T.A. Nina Nazarian. Also, Bill Lawson from Adv. Com.; and resident Chris Conway. In the following actions, all BOS votes were preceded by a motion from Jon F. and seconded by Edith M. unless noted otherwise.
7:05 PM Stan opened meeting and Nina explained the goal of a long term building plan, as an “umbrella.” The group is leaning toward focusing on Bagg Hall first. The ATM already voted to spend $65,000 for architectural study & schematics for Bagg Hall and next step is Request For Qualifications (RFQ) to be issued. Stan noted that voters have asked for a long-term plan and said that uses planned for the building must be determined before a RFQ can go out. There is no date yet for an RFQ. Chris C. suggests approaching Bagg Hall as a stand-alone project. He has had experience with numerous historical buildings and said a comprehensive feasibility study can provide accurate current costs.
Group discussed facts around Bagg Hall. Historical preservation may be monitored by the state historical commission; windows could be replaced with R-factor aluminum frame versions that. A bump-out could be added for utilities or mechanicals or a vault. Town Hall Drive buildings all share well and septic. Concept of leaving 2nd floor unfinished with use TBD was not favored, as uncertainty at an ATM is to be avoided. Any long-term plan is difficult with uncertainty over Princeton Center’s future; question came up about bringing the PC up to code without a full renovation. This could be done in phases, as a minimal investment in PC to ensure life safety, and plan on using the building for another five years. The building needs
everything and has mineral-laden water that is caustic to pipes over time. A filter would be $4-5,000. With roof repairs and a new boiler in the first year, maybe $75,000, adding the additional needs might total up to $400,000 over a period of five years (~$75k per year). It was suggested that town users of the PC building (COA) could lease space from churches or the Worcester Road business complex for less cost than fixing PC.
Stan suggested getting price on a whole new town hall building, since residents have asked, also, cost of doing nothing (mothball) with Bagg Hall. Suggestion was made to use studies from both HKT Assoc. and the Facilities Study Committee as a backbone for a long-term plan, and provide multiple options in a draft report. Jon F. offered to create a memo to voters with a comment period to explain the focus on Bagg Hall and discussion points on the option to renovate the existing building or to build a new building. The group highly favored a renovation given multiple different factors.
The group set Thursday, July 28 at 7 PM for its next meeting and they thanked Chris C. for his expert advice.
8:40 PM During public comment, Phil Gransewicz made the distinction between preservation and functional renovation. He suggested that selectmen ‘get over” the objections of a handful of people. He felt that PC was sitting on a high value lot but the building itself is hazardous—beyond redemption. Even Bagg Hall should be treated as a preservation project as he thinks it’s not functional. It could be saved with private fundraising, as one option. He stressed that people want to know all options that are available and a long-term plan should include alternatives.
8:55 PM Selectmen discussed dates for a STM and special election that are needed for a debt exclusion and decided it was not feasible to piggyback onto the national election on Nov. 8, since state must receive the language by August 3rd and there’s not enough time, plus selectmen want the Spec. Election to occur soon after the STM in September.
9 PM All in favor to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, Admin. Assistant
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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