Building Committee Meeting Minutes
6/9/2010
Hatfield Public Library
Present: Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green (Chair), Stephen Hale (architect), Bryan Nicholas, Emi Estelle (intern) and Eliza Langhans (Librarian and Recording Secretary).
1. Introductions: We introduce our new intern, Emi Estelle, and our architect, Stephen Hale, who has brought two models and a variety of renderings from other libraries.
2. Committee Membership Status Updates: Eliza has not received confirmation that Jim is a member so it was determined that the four voting members present constitute quorum.
3. Renderings or Model discussions: Stephen Hale shows us examples of renderings and models and we look at his examples. Stephen works with a man named Gary Irish (http://www.garyirishgraphics.com).
The Committee discusses the pros and cons of renderings and models. Harold states that a model is more clear and will give a better understanding of the building. Eliza agrees but argues that renderings inspire an emotional connection lacking in a model. She says that we want people to see the picture and think “I want this.” Bryan asks about the reaction to the design of the new elementary school (built several years ago) and whether there was a desire to go back to a more traditional plan. Harold says no.
Renderings are cheaper than models but not inexpensive, running from $1200 to $1600. This would include an electronic file. The Committee notes that we received several hundred dollars in memory of Rita Prew. This money is pegged for the Building Project and can be used anytime in addition to the remaining money from the Planning and Design Grant.
(note: at this point we jumped to our next agenda item, the Community Preservation Act (CPA) grant, since Bob from the Community Preservation Council (CPC) was waiting to talk to us. This section of the meeting is included in item four of the Minutes. We returned to vote on renderings and models after the conclusion of the CPA discussion. Note that, when asked, Bob expressed a preference for renderings, saying they are more accessible).
MOVED, SECONDED, VOTED: Commission three renderings from Gary Irish via Stephen Hale.
The Committee decided that the renderings should depict, in order of priority:
1) The circulation desk (ie the view when you first walk into the building)
2) An outside view of the library from the street (standing south slightly of the library)
3) A view of the Children’s area, with a possible view of the hallway to the meeting room.
4. CPA Funding: Bob Wagner from the CPC talks to us about the availability of CPA funding for the Library Building Project. He says that there is no doubt that Dickinson Memorial Hall qualifies, as it is a historic structure in a historic district. However, some of the work will qualify and some will not. Anything falling under the category of regular maintenance will not qualify, only what is associated with restoration, retrofitting and environmental controls. The historic restoration has to meet federal guidelines. This can be tricky in some cases.
Another issue is bonding. The CPC allows the community to use proceeds from a line item account in the town budget to pay off a bond on an eligible project. Though unlikely, there is a risk that the Town could make a commitment and then bring in less CPA money or eliminate the CPA. In this situation, they would still be responsible for the debt and would need to maintain a surcharge on property taxes without any state match. There is some hesitancy about this risk on the CPC and we may need to lobby them about the benefits of bonding.
Ten percent of the CPA money needs to go to community housing, ten percent to open space and ten percent to historic projects. The rest can go to any combination of those and recreation. Harold notes that community housing and open space do not apply to the Library Project, but historical renovation and recreation both do. The Committee discusses whether to propose the restoration as one big project or bit by bit. Harold asks about the timeframe and Bob says we should get the application in as soon as possible. We should have at least a draft before the next CPC meeting, which is the last Wednesday in August.
Our thanks to Bob for taking the time to come and speak with us and answer our questions.
5. Video Project Status: A number of people have been interviewed but the project is currently on hold due to the demands of the Summer Reading Program/Eliza’s upcoming vacation. Filming and editing will continue in the second half of July and August.
6. Timeline: The Committee looks at the timeline for the MBLC grant. Bryan suggest that we make a checklist for the different sections of the grant so it will be clearer to Committee members how they can help.
7. Minutes from the Last Meeting: MOVED, SECONDED, VOTED: Approve last month’s minutes.
The meeting adjourned at 8:11PM.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Minutes May 12th, 2010
Building Committee Meeting Minutes
May 12, 2010
Hatfield Public Library
The meeting commenced at 6:37PM. Present were Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Mary Williams, Ed Lesko, Bryan Nicholas, and Eliza Langhans (Library and Recording Secretary). Jim Phaneuf was present as a new member who has not yet been appointed and sworn in.
1. Member status. We started the meeting by discussing Jim and Bryan's membership status. Bryan has been appointed by the Board of Selectman and sworn in at the Town Hall. Eliza has received confirmation of his status. Jim needs to be approved by the Selectman before he can be sworn in. Ed will propose his membership at the next Selectman meeting.
2. Historical Society Meeting. Dodie will attend the Historical Society Meeting on 5/20/2010 at 7PM to give the Society a brief update of the Building Committee's progress.
3. Video Project. Eliza updates the Committee about the video project. She has borrowed and been trained on the Town of Hatfield's video camera and editing equipment and she and other video project sub-committee members are just waiting for a sunny day to begin interviews. The sub-committee is looking for old pictures of the library and the town to include in the video. Dodie mentions Digital Treasures, an online digital repository funded by the regional systems. Dodie volunteers to put the photographs we find on Digital Treasures so townspeople will have access to them at any time.
4. Library Intern. Eliza has recruited a library intern, Emi Estelle, to help us with the library building project. Emi is a double-major in political science and English and is looking for grant-writing experience. She will be able to help us over the summer with both research and writing for our various grant applications. She may need to work with Committee members directly on some of the grants.
5. Library Visits. As part of her trip to Cape Cod for the Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference, Eliza visited four of Stephen Hale's libraries and was very impressed. Check out the photos she took and some of her comments.
6. Stephen Hale Architect. Ed asked if Stephen has completed all the project work previously asked about him. The Committee confirmed that he has, though we have additional money in the account if we are looking for additional services. The subject of a rendering or model was brought up and Eliza agreed to contact Stephen to see if he can give us a cost estimate. Eliza will also contact the architecture program at University of Massachusetts to see if any recent graduates might be interested in taking the job.
7. Timeline. Once we have more complete information from the MBLC we will be able to fill in a more definite timeline.
8. Open meeting law. We discussed the fact that once new regulations are passed we may not be able to use email between meetings. The use of a wiki was suggested and agreed upon as a possible alternative.
The Committee voted to adjourn at 7:34PM
May 12, 2010
Hatfield Public Library
The meeting commenced at 6:37PM. Present were Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Mary Williams, Ed Lesko, Bryan Nicholas, and Eliza Langhans (Library and Recording Secretary). Jim Phaneuf was present as a new member who has not yet been appointed and sworn in.
1. Member status. We started the meeting by discussing Jim and Bryan's membership status. Bryan has been appointed by the Board of Selectman and sworn in at the Town Hall. Eliza has received confirmation of his status. Jim needs to be approved by the Selectman before he can be sworn in. Ed will propose his membership at the next Selectman meeting.
2. Historical Society Meeting. Dodie will attend the Historical Society Meeting on 5/20/2010 at 7PM to give the Society a brief update of the Building Committee's progress.
3. Video Project. Eliza updates the Committee about the video project. She has borrowed and been trained on the Town of Hatfield's video camera and editing equipment and she and other video project sub-committee members are just waiting for a sunny day to begin interviews. The sub-committee is looking for old pictures of the library and the town to include in the video. Dodie mentions Digital Treasures, an online digital repository funded by the regional systems. Dodie volunteers to put the photographs we find on Digital Treasures so townspeople will have access to them at any time.
4. Library Intern. Eliza has recruited a library intern, Emi Estelle, to help us with the library building project. Emi is a double-major in political science and English and is looking for grant-writing experience. She will be able to help us over the summer with both research and writing for our various grant applications. She may need to work with Committee members directly on some of the grants.
5. Library Visits. As part of her trip to Cape Cod for the Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference, Eliza visited four of Stephen Hale's libraries and was very impressed. Check out the photos she took and some of her comments.
6. Stephen Hale Architect. Ed asked if Stephen has completed all the project work previously asked about him. The Committee confirmed that he has, though we have additional money in the account if we are looking for additional services. The subject of a rendering or model was brought up and Eliza agreed to contact Stephen to see if he can give us a cost estimate. Eliza will also contact the architecture program at University of Massachusetts to see if any recent graduates might be interested in taking the job.
7. Timeline. Once we have more complete information from the MBLC we will be able to fill in a more definite timeline.
8. Open meeting law. We discussed the fact that once new regulations are passed we may not be able to use email between meetings. The use of a wiki was suggested and agreed upon as a possible alternative.
The Committee voted to adjourn at 7:34PM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
