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Minutes 11/18/2016
November 18th, 2016
Town of Carroll Building Committee Meeting Minutes
November 18, 2016 @ 9:00 a.m.
Carroll Town Hall
Members present: Brad Houston, Ed Martin, Bonnie Moroney, Jeremy Oleson and Imre Szauter
The meeting was recorded.
A draft agenda was distributed and a sign-in sheet was routed around.
Attendees stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendees introduced themselves and provided a brief background regarding their participation in past efforts of the Building Committee.
Attendees reviewed the draft minutes from the November 4, 2016 meeting. A motion was made by Bonnie, seconded by Jeremy, to accept the minutes as written. Vote was unanimous.
Attendees discussed their November 4 visit to the Town of Franconia Public Safety Building. An information sheet about the facility, provided by Jeremy at the November 4 meeting, was distributed. Bonnie stated that if administrative offices were added to a facility such as Franconia’s, a meeting room for other town functions such as Select Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board meetings and record storage should be considered. She also stated that an area for the food pantry should be established, as the Town’s pantry has become quite active. These considerations become necessary if the current Town Hall is to be closed or used for other (non-governmental) functions.
Bonnie discussed her November 11, 2016 letter (copies distributed) to Ricci Construction Company, Inc., the contractor responsible for the Franconia Public Safety Building, outlining the Building Committee’s interest in discussing with them our intent to propose a new facility for the Town of Carroll. She stated she had not heard back from them yet. Bonnie offered to contact C.N. Carley Associates, Architects and Planners, the designer of the Franconia Public Safety Building, to determine if a representative would be willing to meet with the Building Committee to discuss how the Franconia facility plan might be modified to meet the needs of the town and review anticipated costs for planning such an option.
Attendees discussed uses of the Town Hall and what (if any) of those functions should be planned for inclusion in a new facility. The town library and the Historical Society are housed in the Town Hall; the Building Committee should reach out to both operations to discuss their needs and whether they desire to stay or vacate their currently-occupied spaces.
Bonnie suggested two warrant articles for voters to consider. One should be written to cover the cost of modifying the Franconia Public Safety Building plans to include the administrative offices and additional space for public meetings, and other functions such as the library and Historical Society if they decide to vacate their space in the current Town Hall. This approach could save the taxpayers money rather than proceeding with a completely new plan.
The second warrant article should be written to cover the expenses associated with the current Town Hall and Fire Department building. Because the Police Department is currently housed in a leased facility, it would not be a consideration in this warrant article. The warrant article would be contingent on what the Building Committee believes the voters want to do with these structures if the police and fire departments and the administrative offices were combined in a single, newly-constructed facility. Options range from completely closing both buildings and/or selling them to repurposing portions of them for other uses.
Bonnie stated that a public meeting should be held to determine what town residents want. She also stated that the Building Committee should meet with both the library and Historical Society boards to seek their input on moving ahead with a new facility and how that would impact the services they provide.
Jeremy stated that housing the Fire Department in a new facility would allow the current Fire Department building to be repurposed for other functions, such as housing the library and/or Historical Society. Such a move would allow portions of the current Town Hall to be closed down, reducing the expenses associated with keeping other portions open (such as the gym).
Bonnie prepared a spreadsheet (copies distributed) of energy expenses for the Police and Fire Departments buildings and the Town Hall, plus the rental and tax expenses associated with the leased Police Department building. Over the past seven years, rent, taxes and energy expenses have averaged about $40,107 per year for these facilities.
Attendees discussed how the Franconia Public Safety Building plan could be modified to include the town administrative offices and space for a (large) meeting room. Town records storage in a fireproof area should be included. Additional storage for the Police and Fire Departments, plus a bunkhouse area for the Fire Department, should be added. Moving the Fire Department decontamination area would prevent “clean” areas from becoming contaminated.
Jeremy suggested that breaking down the costs for planning and constructing a new facility in terms easily understood by voters during any public meetings would help win support, especially when contrasting those costs with what the town currently spends on the three existing facilities.
An additional savings to the town would be the retirement of the bond on the transfer station.
A copy of warrant articles from 2013 through 2016 related to energy audits, planning for new facilities, street lighting, and planning for renovation of the Fire Department facility was distributed. The passage or failure of these items provided a measure of the voters’ support for issues related to public services. Ed observed that voters tend to approve expenditures related to savings (such as maintaining existing facilities) while turning down expenditures related future concepts (such as planning and engineering for new facilities).
Attendees reviewed previous plans for separate Police and Fire Department facilities. Alternative plans were also discussed, all turned down by the voters or determined to be not cost effective.
Reviewing the warrant articles issue, Bonnie suggested that a meeting with the designers of the Franconia Public Safety Building would provide the Building Committee with an estimate for a 2017 warrant article related to planning and engineering costs for a new facility based on modifications to the Franconia design. If that warrant article were approved, placing an article on the 2018 warrant for construction of the new facility should be considered.
Jeremy suggested that an article on the 2017 warrant to cover the cost of upgrading the existing Town Hall to make it compliant with current fire and safety code would gage the voters’ support for keeping or closing the Town Hall. Once voters realize the cost of just bringing the Town Hall up to minimum standards, they may decide it is not worth the expense and throw their support toward constructing a new facility.
Attendees discussed whether the Historical Society might have any interest in taking over responsibility for the Town Hall if voters approved construction of a new facility and the administrative offices (and possibly the library) moved out of Town Hall.
Ed asked about bringing Bretton Woods residents into the planning process. Imre suggested the Bretton Woods homeowners association board might be a party to approach for involvement with the Building Committee. Ed agreed to look for someone from that community to join with the Building Committee to promote the value of current and future public and safety services out there.
Attendees agreed to make Building Committee meetings periodic (every two weeks on Friday), with the next meeting tentatively set for Friday, December 2 at 9:00 a.m. Draft meeting minutes from the previous meeting will be distributed to the Building Committee via email for review and comments.
Bonnie stated the next meeting of the Historical Society is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall.
Meeting adjourned at 10:04 a.m.
Minutes prepared by Imre Szauter.