INFORMATIONAL MEETING
BUILDING COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 23, 2009
7:30 PM @ TOWN HALL
Building Committee Chairman Dick Briere called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance.
The Building Committee has no cost numbers and no tax rate correlation to present at this time for any projects. Mr. Briere read aloud from Warrant Article 39 concerning the Committee’s adoption and its charge to “research and study in collaboration with town officials, boards and other committees, and recommend to the Selectmen plans for future buildings, improvements and additions to exiting buildings and maintenance of all town properties.” Mr. Briere stressed that the Building Committee could make no decisions. The committee was provided $2,500 to operate. Warrant Article 41 provided $5,000 for the Gould House and Warrant Article 42 provided $15,000 for Town Hall. $2,950 was spent on upgrading the Town Hall wiring by adding a sub panel in the kitchen and increasing service from 100 amps to 200 amps. Another $1,200 is committed to repairing the piers under the Town Hall. The handicap ramp was discussed with three firms and the committee learned that a qualified project manager is a necessity. The committee settled on Baybutt. Mr. Briere said he consulted with the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) and found that funding for Baybutt’s study and recommendations could come from the Town Hall article ($10,500) and the Building Committee article ($2,000). Baybutt brought in two structural engineers and one mechanical engineer along with Rod Parsons, the project manager and went through the Gould House and Town Hall. They will also assess the possibility of constructing a new town office building on the Cahill gift property. There is no report yet on the initial assessment. Mr. Briere indicated part of the remaining Town Hall funds would pay for an exterminator. Some numbers and recommendations are expected from Baybutt in January and should be available for another informational meeting tentatively scheduled for January 22, 2010. Additional items to be addressed on the Town Hall include moisture issues, clapboards needing to be replaced, and the bell tower structure. The project manager will determine a logical order to the steps that need to be taken to address those issues, as well as make recommendations and quote costs relative to the Gould House and new town offices.
Mr. Briere provided a hand-out to those in attendance, then opened the floor to questions.
Content of Handout:
It is not an option to not provide town offices.
· It is imperative that Town records be properly maintained and kept in proper locations.
- The situations we currently have with offices in people’s homes are not favored by the State.
- The Town Clerk’s office is allowable only by waiver.
- The Department of Revenue Administration has been critical of limitations the Tax Collector works under by having the records in her home.
· Mrs. Read intends to retire in 2010 and although she is amenable to renting the space to the Town for another year, she eventually hopes to sell her home and move to Florida.
· We currently have records stored on the Town Hall stage and in almost any spot that can hold a box.
The Goals:
· To develop town offices to be occupied as early as this time next year.
· To achieve sufficient storage space to properly maintain Town records.
· To ensure that the offices and space will serve the Town well for a minimum of 25 years.
· To achieve these goals in the most cost efficient manner possible.
While we must provide offices and records storage, we do have options for getting there:
· Raise the Town Hall and install offices and storage underneath.
· Build a new structure on the property donated by the Cahill’s.
· Renovate the Gould House to accommodate town offices and records storage.
Factors to be considered:
· Would we want the Town Hall to be more elevated than it currently is?
· What disadvantages are there to raising the building?
· We own the Gould House – and with it . . .
- a parking lot
- a functioning septic system
- a functioning well with good water
- some landscaping
· In an independent appraisal, the Gould House appraised for slightly more than the Town paid for it.
· Structural and mechanical inspections indicate the house is sound.
· Placing town offices in the Gould House provides an opportunity to create a Town Center with the Town Hall being the anchor.
· By the end of October, the Gould House will have received its historical building designation from the NH Historical Register.
· The biggest factor – cost. Cost of raising town hall vs. renovating Gould House vs. new construction.
Moving on the assumption that the majority want to see the Town Hall restored/preserved:
Repairs and Restorations to the Town Hall
· Roof
· Siding
· Heating System
· Exterior chimney removal
· Oil tank storage shed removal
· Handicapped access ramp removal and installation of new access
· Handicapped restrooms installation
· Windows re-glazed and some replaced
· Cupola and weather vane restored
· Moisture/vapor barrier/ventilation underneath
· Possible plumbing upgrades
· Possible floor replacement
Why Baybutt?
· The Building Committee interviewed three firms. Baybutt was determined to have provided the best presentation, a more comprehensive overview of the project and the potentials, and, best of all, the lowest price to get there. Also . . .
· No Town board or committee has the expertise to identify the work that needs to be done and to sequence it logically.
· No Town board or committee has the expertise to oversee and manage a project of this magnitude.
· Baybutt will put out to bid the individual pieces of the project to the appropriate trades, eliminating the need for a Town board or committee to write specifications and pursue the bidding process.
· Baybutt will assume the liability for the subcontractors they hire.
· Baybutt will be responsible for the success of the project.
JOAN READ, Town Clerk asked to make a correction to paragraph two of the handout. She stated she has no plan to sell her house and move. Also, she has no firm intent to retire in 2010.
ARLENE DICORCIA - asked what happened to the Keene State College students’ drawings. Dick Briere said he doesn’t have those drawings tonight, but hopes to have them in January for a follow-up informational meeting.
GEORGE DAVENPORT - asked if the KSC drawings have a professional engineer’s stamp. Dick Briere indicated that is unknown, but he does not remember seeing a stamp on them.
In response to a question from GEORGE DAVENPORT, SANDY HOLLAND, Selectman, stated that a building inspection on the Gould House declared it sound before the town purchased it.
LOU GRANDPRE’ commented on the student drawings, adding that Baybutt will do their own drawings.
ARLENE DICORCIA asked if a railing will be placed along the walkway from the parking lot. Dick Briere said the grade of the walkway needs to be changed and they hate to make a change to the grade not knowing what will ultimately be done. Ms. Dicorcia voiced concern that the path could get icy and a railing would help the Senior Meals group. Dick Briere suggested seniors could be dropped off by the handicap ramp. There was some question as to how that would work.
KEN HILL asked about storage of town records, whether they need to be kept in original or copy form. JOAN READ said her old records are in books. PAT MCMAHON said she has eight years worth of Trustees of Trust Funds records at her house.
BARBARA EWELS asked if a railing is donated, could it be placed, if only temporarily?
TERRY MCMAHON spoke about the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and how the committee went to the different town departments for input on projected capital expenses. Also, the original Building Committee had collected information from the departments. Dick Briere indicated he has copies of those materials and will get them to Rod Parsons. Mr. Briere added that whatever ends up being done, we want it to last 20-30-50 years. He invited the CIP committee to feel welcome at any Building Committee meeting.
GEORGE DAVENPORT asked if an appraisal was done on the Gould House before the town bought it. SANDY HOLLAND stated that an appraisal was done before the purchase was made, and that the house had appraised at slightly higher than the purchase price. Discussion determined that a more recent appraisal has not been done.
ARNOLD STYMEST, Selectman, said the CIP is not law, but a guideline. Terry McMahon agreed.
ADJOURNMENT: 8:17 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Evelyn Nadeau
Administrative Assistant