Selectboard -- Town of Princeton, Mass. – March 6, 2018 – 7:00 PM
– Meeting w/Adv. Cmte. & Facilities Steering Cmte.– Town Hall Annex
Present: Chair Jon Fudeman, Edith Morgan & Richard Bisk w/ TA Nina Nazarian. Adv. Cmte. members: Chair John Shipman, Wayne Adams, Judy Dino & Don Schoeny. FSC members: Chair Karen Cruise, Mary Jo Wojtusik, Larry Todd, Steve Mirick & Chris Conway
7:09 PM – Opened meeting and FSC suggested limiting comments to five minutes.
FSC presentation – Karen shared PowerPoint presentation from the architects. JWA concluded: Bagg Hall is valued as investment; Annex and Public Safety Bldg. not worth long-term investment; Princeton Center may be worth saving façade/original four rooms and re-purposing.
The architect crafted three potential options from which to choose one. The FSC is recommending Option B which deals with upgrades in minimal projects spread over time, starting with short-term repairs at Bagg Hall and Annex, then replace Public Safety Bldg., then design/construction on a Public Safety building, then start work/funding on Bagg Hall expansion (upstairs w/elevator) by 2029. Group discussed presenting one or more than one option at ATM. Steve noted that the group needed to identify which option they would support. Also, the “do nothing” cost should be considered. $400,000 for design (?)
Option A would address all design and start construction of all buildings within the next two years, at estimated total cost of about $12.4 million. Adv. Cmte. members suggested that Option A was best, based on total funds spent, as Option B was anticipated at about $15.3 million where the impact was initiated over 12 years (with debt to follow in years after as well). The Adv. Cmte. made comments that they were in favor of Option A, asking why Option A was not recommended. FSC responded that there was concern with the impact of Option A. Steve M. noted that other departments had large capital requests such as roads, culverts, fire trucks and water tanks, etc. The FSC asked the Adv. Cmte. asked if they would support Option A at ATM
but went unanswered as not all members were present. While Wayne A. asked about gathering more information, as from a community survey. Comments were made by members of the Selectboard that it would be important to list all the options, as we did not know what the voters want. Nina recommended that one track be chosen and placed on the warrant to avoid confusion, noting that the FSC has learned that they have 10 minutes to present at the ATM. Chris C. pointed out that town officials have already surveyed voters at the last ATM, where a unanimous vote called for options to be studied and a recommendation made.
Jon F. noted that a stand-alone community center should be considered, otherwise it may be crowded out by the other projects. Chris C. commented that Bagg Hall could survive for another 50 years, if some investments were made in the near future. Wayne warned about priorities when considering school budgets vs. a municipal budget which might get crowded out. Arguments were raised both for and against Option A.
Karen C. asked if the Adv. Cmte. would prepare a position on the proposals. Karen noted that the FSC was not given any financial guidelines. She asked John Shipman what the AC's thoughts were on~the articles the FSC was proposing. John S. said the AC could not comment because it was limited to commenting on actual warrant articles.
FSC made a motion to ask the Adv. Cmte. to review and make a recommendation and Richy B. made a motion that the Selectboard support the FSC request. Nina N. had suggested sharing the draft report with the fire and police chiefs along with the building maintenance supervisor. The group agreed to hold off public circulation while it was still in draft form. Nina asked if the FSC had asked the architect to identify the “do nothing cost” and suggested that they may want to have the architect review the estimated design fee of $400k, as it may be low, especially if the Owners Project Manager requirement must kick in before design.
Adjourned 9:29 PM
Respectfully submitted, Nina Nazarian, town administrator
Referenced Documents: draft suggestions for warrant articles
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
| 
