Town of Stoddard, NH

Building Committee Minutes

7:00 PM October 29, 2009

Stoddard Town Hall

PRELIMINARY

Members present: Penny Betz, Lou Grandpre, Sandy Holland, Harry Power, Amy Rokoszak, Alan Rumrill & David Vaillancourt

Absent: Dick Briere, P.J. Lamothe

Quorum:  Yes

Amy Rokoszak called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Rod Parsons from Baybutt is scheduled to present to the Committee the findings of the structural and mechanical engineers that visited the Town Hall and Gould House with him a week prior.  With Rod running just a few minutes late, the Committee took the opportunity to schedule meetings for November and December.  Tentative dates blocked out are November 5, 12 and 19, and December 3, 10 and 17. 

Congratulations and expressions of thanks were offered to Alan Rumrill and Dick and Penny Betz for their work in getting the Gould House placed on the NH Register of Historic Places.

Harry Power noted that he felt we should determine one Committee member who would be the primary contact to work with Rod Parsons, plus one backup.  Harry said he felt Dick Briere should be that primary contact, and Amy Rokoszak as his backup, and put that into the form of a motion.  Sandy Holland seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Harry also stated that we must remember our job as stated in the warrant article, that we are to obtain the information regarding various options for town buildings, study and distill that information, obtain numbers, and then make recommendations to the Selectboard as to the better options.  The voters will ultimately make the final decisions.  The Committee members indicated their understanding and agreement.

Rod Parsons arrived with Fred Mohr, a Baybutt estimator.  Rod explained that at this point we are exploring options, attempting to distill many details into more refined paths to pursue.  The Committee had requested Rod to provide an estimate for new construction to establish a reference point between that and renovation/restoration.  Rod gave each member a copy of materials that included conceptual drawings by Baybutt for new construction, priced out at $690K, as well as the now three-year old drawings created by Aho, which were priced out at $1.1M. The reports primarily consisted of the findings of mechanical and structural engineers brought in to assess the physical condition of the Town Hall and Gould House and their recommendations. 

Rod had a few questions/comments for the Committee, i.e. how thoroughly we wish to pursue historical preservation, noting that with new construction we don’t even know yet where a building could be sited as we know little about the conditions there.  He’s still asking questions of experts in various fields, i.e. whether we must have a sprinkler system or should have a sprinkler system.  It was noted that we are still early into an exploratory process but things are starting to come together.

The Gould House foundation is in excellent shape but there are structural and mechanical inadequacies that are of concern.  At a minimum, basement framing needs additional beams and some floor joists need to be sistered.  It was noted that renovating and repairing the Gould House would be more expensive than rebuilding it. 

The Town Hall structure, however, is in “remarkable” shape. The trussing system is good, true and solid.  The wiring resembles an “electrical museum” and needs to be completely redone, as does that in the Gould House.  Most of the walls have little or no insulation in them. 

The question with Town Hall is what to do with the underneath area.  It has been patched and will continue to need patchwork in the future until the real problems are addressed.  There is an uncontrolled moisture path from the dirt up through the floor, no moisture barrier, so the dampness creeps up through the building, popping paint off and ruining clapboards.  This will eventually cause the entire building to fail.  Solutions to eliminating these problems were discussed.  The building could be jacked up and a full basement could be installed, providing some 2000 square feet of usable space.  The building would sit higher than it currently does.  Other solutions involved jacking up the building, using compacted dirt and/or combinations of flowable concrete and concrete slab, putting in rigid insulation and a vapor barrier, installing radiant heat in the slab.

Amy asked to have an ADA access drawn up for the Town Hall. 

Rod asked the Committee to look into having an asbestos and lead paint inspection done for both properties and recommended we contact Catamount Environmental in Wilmington VT. 

Baybutt will meet with the Committee again on November 12^th.

Harry Power moved to adjourn, Sandy Holland seconded.  The meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

___________________________

Sandy Holland

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

Building Committee Minutes

7:00 PM October 15, 2009

Stoddard Town Hall

PRELIMINARY

Members present: Dick Briere, Lou Grandpre, Sandy Holland, Harry Power

Absent:  Penny Betz, P.J. Lamothe, Amy Rokoszak, Alan Rumrill & David Vaillancourt

Attendees: None

Quorum:  No

Dick Briere called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Mr. Briere reported that he’d had a conversation earlier today with Rod Parsons who stated that he is still working with his mechanical and structural engineers to set a date for visiting the Town Hall and Gould House.  He hopes to schedule that visit for one day next week and will let Dick know when it is firm.  (NOTE:  Should a quorum of Committee members be in attendance at such a meeting, the meeting must be posted 48 hours in advance.  If it is not possible to post the meeting 48 hours in advance due to short notification, members are respectfully requested to not attend.)

Mr. Parsons also suggested that, in the meantime, perhaps the Committee should pursue lead paint and asbestos testing.  Harry Power said we should assume there is lead paint present.  There are no funds to conduct the testing, however, so the issue was tabled for the near term. 

Lou GrandPré noted that after attending an ADA presentation in Keene a week ago, he had left with more questions than answers.  There seemed to be an exception or an alternative solution for every problem.  Dick Briere stated that some sort of access must be provided if using more than one floor of a building, but that access could be a platform lift or a chair lift in lieu of an elevator.

Mr. Briere stated that both he and John Halter have spoken with Sandra Rourke of the DRA about funding the selected Project Management team.  The Committee wants to let the people know where we are, what we’ve done to date and what we hope to do before Town Meeting 2010.  It hopes to answer questions and allay concerns.  No options have been decided upon and only the voters can do that.  The Committee’s work is to obtain the information to bring before the voters.  Friday; October 23^rd from 7:30 – 8:30 PM has been reserved to conduct the Public Informational Meeting at Town Hall.  The Committee will convene that date at 7:00 PM. 

There will be no Building Committee meeting on October 22^nd.  The next scheduled meeting is October 29^th. 

Harry Power moved to adjourn, Sandy Holland seconded.  The meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

___________________________

Sandy Holland

Building Committee Minutes

7:00 PM October 8, 2009

Stoddard Town Hall

PRELIMINARY

Members present: Penny Betz, Dick Briere, Lou Grandpre, Sandy Holland, Harry Power, Amy Rokoszak, Alan Rumrill & David Vaillancourt

Absent:  P.J. Lamothe

Attendees: Dick Betz

Dick Briere called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Harry Power presented information on municipal bonds obtained from Nancy Woods of the Municipal Bond Bank.  A 10-year $350,000 bond at 5% interest (a bond would likely have a lower interest rate than 5% - right now the interest would be about 3.55%) would create a 19 cent per thousand tax burden.  A $300,000 property would see a tax burden of $57 in the first year.  That rate would decrease from 19 cents in the first year to 13 cents in the tenth year. 

Rod Parsons from Baybutt Construction arrived at 7:15 to discuss the Committee’s vision of the work to be done.  He thanked the Committee for selecting him and Baybutt to do this work, stating that he will be the Steward of the Building Committee, not a driver, and the Committee will have input every step of the way.    

He has a number of questions and would like to bring structural and mechanical engineers to the site next Wednesday (October 14^th) if that can be arranged and the weather is conducive.  A number of Committee members expressed their desire to be present during such a meeting.  Mr. Parsons will be in contact with the Committee Chair, and the Chair will communicate the schedule with the Committee. 

Mr. Parsons asked if he could make arrangements to see everything the Town has on file in terms of plans, needs assessment, any significant work that has been done to the Town Hall, etc.   It was noted that some information, such as the historical assessment prepared by Eric Lewtas of Dan Scully Architects and photographs, is available on the Town’s website.  All other items will be made available. 

Mr. Parsons stated that the first priority is to develop the existing conditions assessment. The work he is undertaking now to analyze existing conditions and bring together all the plans will take 10 to 12 weeks (12 weeks would be New Year’s Eve).  A payment schedule of 25% of his total fee would be paid in three periods, with the final payment made when the Committee has determined his work is complete and satisfactory.  This Agreement will be provided for the Selectmen’s review and signature.

If agreed upon, a Design/Build Agreement between Baybutt and the Town of Stoddard, with Mr. Parsons acting as the Town’s agent, will be prepared for performance of the actual restorations and renovations.  A Statement of Work will be developed using Addenda, with Addenda I being the proposal.  This puts the Town in a position to further develop plans by Addenda, with each individual project (i.e. roofing the Town Hall, or siding the Town Hall) being a separate Addenda.  Any final contract will be written on a Not to Exceed (NTE) basis.

Mr. Parsons iterated his feeling that the Town Hall may be under-ventilated, that there may not be adequate space under the building to provide proper ventilation.  This and other factors will be looked into when he returns with engineers.  Harry Power noted that a contractual commitment to Glenn Webber has been made for repairs to the structural piers.  Mr. Parsons indicated that there is no reason to abandon that work.

Mr. Parsons also noted that he will provide the Committee with materials and assistance for conducting informational meetings with the Townspeople, and for Town Meeting.  Mr. Parsons left the meeting at 8:25 with tentative plans to return to a regular meeting on the 22^nd of October.    

Dick Briere informed the Committee that the plan made a week prior to use all the Gould House budget toward paying Baybutt was determined by the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) to be unacceptable.  The method available is to take $10,500 from the Town Hall appropriation and $2,000 from the Building Committee budget.  Dick Briere moved that the Committee pursue that plan, Harry Power seconded the motion.  Motion passed unanimously.

The meeting scheduled for October 15 may be unnecessary depending on whether Mr. Parsons can arrange a site visit with his engineers next week.  Meetings are scheduled for October 15, 22, and 29. 

Harry Power moved to adjourn, Sandy Holland seconded, motion carried.  The meeting adjourned at 8:35 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

___________________________

Sandy Holland