Board of Selectmen, November 8, 2017
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
JOINT MEETING/// FIN COM// IIF// DPW BUILDING COMMITTEE
SENIOR CENTER
November 8, 2017
7:00PM Senior Center
BOS Present: Chairman Robert Lavigne, Geri Herlihy, Jeremy Kurtz, Anthony Renzoni, Tim Ethier (7:11PM)
Others Present: Peter Lukes, Town Manager, Karl Makela, Fin Com and IIF, Chris Lucchesi, Fin Com and DPWBC, Paul Challenger, Fin Com and IIF, Alan Berg, Fin Com and IIF, Marilyn Foley, Fin Com, John Lambert, Fin Com and IIF, Dave White, Fin Com, Daniel Nason, DPWBC, James Kempton. DPWBC, John Woodsmall, DPW Director
Chairman Lavigne called the BOS meeting to order at 7:06PM. Chairman White called the Fin Com Meeting to order at 7:06PM, John Lambert called the IIF Meeting to order, Dan Nason called the DPW Building Committee to order
The Boards stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Lavigne stated that the Boards were speaking about the cost associated with demo for 18 Industrial Drive and the funding sources. He asked Dan Nason, DPW Building Committee Chair to give a little background.
Mr. Nason stated that this has been two years of hard work. He stated that their first task was to identify a site in Holden that met lot size requirements. He stated they identified a few dozen sites and analyzed the best sites looking at the geography, wetland issues and numerous other things. He stated that 18 Industrial Drive was identified as the preferred site and since that time they had communicated with the owners and the owners indicated that they wanted to donate the property to the Town. He stated that brings them to Town Meeting floor in order for the Town to accept the property donation. He stated there was some remediation that needed to be done on the site but the Town had been working with Weston and Sampson and the question came up as to if they should use a portion of the building or demo the entire site and start from scratch. He stated that the Committee took a vote at their last meeting to move forward with a new building not a partial demo. He stated that brings everyone up to date on where the Committee is. He stated that they were asking the IIF to release the funds remaining in the account in order to get the site prepared and then use the remaining funds from the stabilization fund to do site remediation and get the site ready for the next phase.
Chairman Lavigne stated that the number presented would not be the total cost.
D. Nason replied that the purpose would be for demo and whatever money was left over to pay some of the soft costs, final design, and OPM costs. He stated that regardless of what happened for a DPW Building, the site needed to be cleaned up, hazmat needed to abated and they needed to have a clean site.
Sel. Ethier entered the meeting at 7:11PM.
D. White stated that everyone was emailed costs; he asked if there were any questions for the Chairman.
P. Challenger, Fin Com and IIF stated that the purpose of the meeting tonight was to appropriate money for hazmat cleanup and there was no information at all as for what the project plans were or the estimate of those costs.
Chairman Lavigne stated that he believes what Mr. Nason was speaking about was that Weston and Sampson came up with an original plan and two possible revisions on Octoer 26, 2017. He stated that the DPW Building Committee is looking at revision 2; a new build with 37,465 sq feet costing between $18.5 million and $18.6 million. He asked if that was what they were working towards.
P. Challenger asked who was doing the work and coming up with the numbers.
Mr. White replied that the OPM had worked with Haz Mat consultants in order to get real numbers and had additionally worked with some demo contractors to get some numbers as to what the demo costs would be. He stated that the OPM has a good handle on what the hazmat abatement and demo costs would be.
Mr. Lukes stated that by Town Meeting they will have serious numbers. He there was about $1.35 million in IIF and then he thinks it will be between $250,000 to $400,000 out of stabilization. He stated that the $1.7 million should cover all demo and hazmat and OPM and some design. He stated that this portion should bring them through to May Town Meeting for a full schematic on the building.
P. Challenger asked if they would do all the work over the winter in the spring.
Mr. Lukes replied that it should be a shovel ready site by the spring so that at Annual Town Meeting they could get bids for a clean site. He stated that by breaking up the project allowed them to break up the general contract and allowed the OPM to oversee the project at a cheaper cost.
P. Challenger asked how it was a cheaper price to break it up.
Mr. Lukes replied that demo could be broken up and there were things the Town could do to bring down the cost. He stated by remediating the site they could go into Town Meeting in May and have a very solid idea as to what all aspects of the project would cost.
D. Nason stated that he thought they would see savings on the OPM looking at different options as well. He stated they were also sitting on about $30,000-$35,000 for the LSP monitoring and by cleaning up the site this cost would be eliminated as well.
P. Challenger stated that if they take the site down to a green field it would reduce the risk and then the bidding could be more aggressive because it was less risky. He asked if the Town expects a better bid at that time and that was why they were moving so fast.
Sel. Herlihy stated she had been a part of the Committee for 18 months and watched how hard everyone worked. She stated they looked into every inch of the project from finding the site to this point. She stated from the Board of Selectmen perspective, they want it affordable and they want it to work for DPW.
Alan Berg, Fin Com and IIF stated that he likes the idea of cleaning the site. He stated speaking for Fin Com and the IIF he was looking for a commitment from the top down that they were looking for a $18.5 million project and wanted to hold it to that number with a contingency for the unknown. He stated that with that being said, he would be supportive of using the funds from IIF to support this project.
Chairman Lavigne stated that he agreed with Mr. Berg.
Sel. Renzoni stated that they were originally pitched this project at $12 million- $15 million and that it was not feasible. He stated that he thinks that the Board of Selectmen would not have a willingness to move forward with any project that started in the $20 million range.
Chairman Lavigne stated he would not mind taking a motion from the Board of Selectmen to endorse the DPW Building Committee to support revision 2 from the October 26, 2017 report.
Sel. Renzoni stated he would do that but there had been question regarding the Board of Selectmen’s authority. He stated that the Board is the gatekeeper to Town Meeting without which there would be a petition process but no way to set a Warrant Article. He stated there was a willingness to bring it to the people with an $18 million price tag but not the higher number ($27 million - $29 million) that scared them last time.
A motion was made by Sel. Renzoni and was seconded by Sel. Herlihy in order to endorse the Revision 2 rebuild which is the same program the DPW Building Committee approved.
Chairman Lavigne stated that they were not talking about the future, the purpose of the motion was so that the IIF and Fin Com can gain comfort and turn over the funds. He stated to revisit this, they were not taking future design, the purpose was for the demo and Hazmat cleanup of 18 Industrial Drive. He stated they were not really discussing future design or scope. He stated to support the DPW Building Committee and give the IIF and Fin Com comfort that if money is turned over this does not turn into a $30 million dollar project.
Sel. Ethier stated that he thinks that Chairman Lavigne is contradicting himself. He stated that he thinks the Town should go forward regardless. He stated that the IIF was created to fund Town Projects and that it funded every Town project except DPW. He stated that he thinks it is logical to do this and make the land buildable. He stated as far as putting a stipulation with the building regarding costs is where he is not sure, he asked Mr. Nason if he thought that amount was adequate.
Chairman Lavigne stated that the motion was not a stipulation, it was to show support and ensure that they are moving towards Revision 2.
Sel. Ethier stated that the motion indicates that they hope the final project is $18.5 million. He asked Mr. Nason if they felt that was something they could accept.
D. Nason replied that they were not talking budget numbers tonight.
Sel. Ethier stated that was what they were voting.
Chairman Lavigne disagreed. He stated that they were voting to support this and to encourage what DPW Building Committee had already taken a position on.
D. Nason stated that regardless of square footage or the cost the property would still seen the benefit of hazmat remediation and being a clean site.
Chairman Lavigne.
Sel. Renzoni stated that IIF would be a 2/3 vote and then a 2/3 vote at Town Meeting. He stated they needed to satisfy the IIF and use the funds wisely and bring forth a project that reflects Option 2 Rebuild.
Sel. Ethier stated that the 37K sq ft was not adequate.
Chairman Lavigne stated that they did not know that.
Sel. Ethier stated that it was not enough money for a building.
Chairman Lavigne stated they did not know that either.
Sel. Ethier stated that he would not support the motion because it was not adequate in size or amount.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Herlihy, it was VOTED TO ENDORSE THE DPW BUILDING COMMITTEE TO SUPPORT REVISION 2 FROM THE OCTOBER 26, 2017 BY A VOTE OF 4-0-1.
John Lambert, Fin Com and IIF stated he did not have any additional questions. He stated he agreed with Mr. Berg that the funds be used for work related to hazmat for the site.
A Motion was made by P. Challenger and seconded by K. Makela to contribute any remaining funds in the IIF to fund demo and hazmat abatement for 18 Industrial Drive.
P. Challenger stated that the IIF was a very quiet Board. He stated that they funded many capital projects in town such as the land for Davis Hill, underground work on Main Street and more. He stated that maybe the usefulness of this fund has come to an end and they needed to vote to let the Town Manager move towards disbanding this group. He stated that it would require Special Legislation and a Town Meeting and it was more efficient closure of the fund to just spend all the money in the fund. He stated that would result in the same goal and this was an appropriate use of the fund. He stated that he thinks this is an appropriate use of the fund and accomplishes several goals at once.
J. Lambert amended the motion to include consultant fees, managerial fees and architect fees as well.
P. Challenger accepted the amendment.
Motion by P. Challenger, seconded by K. Makela, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED BY IIF TO CONTRIBUTE ANY REMAINING FUNDS IN TRUST TO FUND DEMO, HAZMAT ABATEMENT, CONSULTANT FEES, MANAGERIAL FEES, AND ARCHITECT FEES OF 18 INDUSTRIAL DRIVE.
Sel. Kurtz stated that at the last Town Meeting they had bought insurance not to exceed some amount; he asked what the amount was and what provisions were in place to monitor it so that if additional hazmat was found the insurance policy would kick in and cover it.
Mr. Lukes stated the policy was $3 million for 4 years and they anticipated that the project would be done at that point and the policy is to cover the Town for anything that we don’t know exists.
Sel. Ethier stated that with regards to IIF he thinks it is a prudent move and he supports it. He stated disbanding the IIF could take years so that this made sense.
M. Foley, Fin Com stated that she did not have any questions but she thanked the DPW Building Committee for all their hard work.
D. White stated that for the people to know, he believes this is a very professional group in place, the Building Committee, the architects, the OPM, etc. He stated that he was looking for a motion from Fin Com to support the use of the IIF Funds and what sum of money in addition from the stabilization account.
Mr. Lukes replied the additional funds from General Stabilization would be $250,000 to $400,000 probably around the $350,000 range to do everything that needed to be done up to May Town Meeting.
D. White asked if they would have the numbers ahead of the Special Town Meeting on November 27, 2017 so that Fin Com could review the details.
Mr. Lukes replied the OPM was working on the costs and would provide them as soon as possible.
Motion by C. Lucchesi, seconded by A. Berg, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SUPPORT THE IIF DECISION TO RELEASE THE FUNDS WITHIN THE IIF FOR USE DETAILED WITHIN THE MOTION.
A Motion was made by C. Lucchesi for release of the additional funds from the General Stabilization amount not to exceed $375,000.
D. White stated that this motion was more advisory as he knows the Town Manager would be coming back before Fin Com with a more solid number with justification.
C. Lucchesi stated that he did expect to have a future discussion with specific numbers that they could get behind but he did want to have some parameters set for the release of funds.
D. White stated that the intent of the motion was to let the Town Manager know that Fin Com would support a number that is defendable up to roughly the number given. He stated it was advisory at this point and just stating that Fin Com would support something out of stabilization.
Motion by C. Lucchesi, seconded by M. Foley, it was UNANIMOSULY VOTED TO RELEASE THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS NEEDED FOR THE REMEDIATION AND CLEAN UP OF 18 INDUSTRIAL DRIVE FROM THE GENERAL STABILIZATION FUND IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $375,000.
Sel. Renzoni asked for a timeline if they were successful on November 27, 2017.
D. Nason replied that the OPM was working on that and working with design engineers at Weston and Sampson.
P. Challenger asked if the Special Town Meeting was set for November 27, 2017.
Chairman Lavigne replied it was.
D. White asked what else was on the schedule.
Mr. Lukes replied a Citizen Petition for a Zoning change and Street Acceptance and transfer of money for sewer pump station repairs that Fin Com and Town Meeting approved. He stated the original amount was around $350,000 and was approve however bids were coming in about $150,000 higher so they were asking for the transfer of funds to move forward with this.
J. Woodsmall, DPW Director stated that the transfer of funds was to come from the Water/ Sewer retained earnings.
D. White stated he was concerned that this had not come back before Fin Com for discussion. He reminded the Town Manager that any Town Meeting Warrant Article that was financial in nature was for the Fin Com to consider. He stated he was disappointed that Fin Com had not been asked for advise for this matter.
Mr. Lukes apologized and stated that it just came to light on Monday (November 6, 2017).
Chairman Lavigne stated the Board added it the day of the meeting and there was not a lot of lead time but they needed to set a Warrant Article.
Mr. White replied that had Fin Com been aware of this, they could have added it to their agenda tonight and had a meeting about it before Town Meeting.
Motion by P. Challenger, seconded by A. Berg, it was UNANIMSOULY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE NOVEMBER 8, 2017 MEETING OF THE IIF AT 7:47PM.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Herlihy, it was UNANIMOSULY VOTE TO ADJOURN THE NOVEMBER 8, 2017 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING AT 7:47PM.
Motion by P. Challenger seconded by A. Berg, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE NOVEMBER 8, 2017 FIN COM MEETING AT 7:47PM.
Motion by C. Lucchesi, seconded by J. Kempton, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE DPW BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING AT 7:47PM.
All Board were adjourned at 7:47PM.
APPROVED: February 12, 2018 as Amended