Members present were Perry Cornwall, Peter Kalousdian, Jr., Melvin McOmber, Brian O'Connor, Chief Building Official and Kathleen Bagley, Director, Recreation and Parks Department. Staff member, Salvatore Cucia, Assistant Director, Recreation and Parks Department and Jim McDonald, Assistant Director, Physical Services were also present. The meeting was opened at 7:00 p.m. by Recreation and Parks Director, Kathleen Bagley, in the Community Center.
Ms. Bagley welcomed all the members to the first meeting of the Moeller Home Building Committee meeting and asked each member to go around the table and introduce themselves.
Ms. Bagley then introduced Jim McDonald and asked him to provide a description on the condition of the existing roof at the Moeller Home. Mr. McDonald reported that the roof is in poor condition and is leaking in eight to ten places. He recommended to the Committee that as part of the renovation process the roof be replaced. Mr. McDonald explained that the slate roof is crumbling and has outlived its life expectancy of 40 to 50 years. He explained that the slate is now in a mode where it actually crumbles and needs to be removed and a new roof needs to be installed. He also recommended that the new roof include an ice shield. He gave Committee members samples of new roofing shingles that can be looked at as part of the process for the new roof. Ms. Bagley reported that included in the Committee notebooks is a report dated April, 2001, from an engineer who did an inspection of the Moeller Home roof. This report identifies that the roof is in poor condition and replacement would be the recommended fix for the problem. Ms. Bagley also gave Committee members two different company's quotes on replacing the roof at that time with either a slate roof or architectural singles. Committee members reviewed this information and discussed the condition of the roof with Mr. McDonald. Mr. McDonald mentioned that he can do some temporary repairs to the roof and hopefully get it through the winter months with a look for replacement in the spring of 2004. Committee members felt that this was the appropriate way to address the Moeller Home problem and will look to include this as part of the renovation of the building. Ms. Bagley thanked Mr. McDonald for attending the meeting and providing information on the Moeller Home roof.
Ms. Bagley gave Committee members an overview of the project for the renovation of the Moeller Home. The Town Council has authorized the Committee to develop plans to renovate the Moeller Home for the purpose of relocating the Nature Center to the main floor of this building. Ms. Bagley explained to Committee members that the town currently has a $250,000 state grant for use in this renovation. Perry Cornwall reported that the Friends of the Nature Center have a private donation of $100,000 towards this renovation project and the "Friends" themselves are contributing an additional $50,000. Currently, the available funds for this project are $400,000. Ms. Bagley reported that town staff have estimated the renovation budget at $656,000. She reported that this estimate is a bare bones budget to do the minimum work necessary to move the Nature Center into the Moeller Home. Perry Cornwall reported that the "Friends" have an opportunity to receive an additional $100,000 donation if they raise a matching $100,000 through their fundraising efforts. He reported that the Friends of the Nature Center are currently in the process of this fundraising campaign and are working to raise this matching money.
Ms. Bagley then distributed to Committee members a proposed timetable for Committee action over the next several months towards the renovation of the Moeller Home. The timetable identified dates to request architectural services, review architect submittals and interview firms for the purpose of hiring an architect for this project. She also explained to Committee members that Town Council approval will be needed for the architect and for the renovation plans. The renovation plans will also need approval from the Town Planning and Zoning Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection. Ms. Bagley has a call into the Department of Environmental Protection to discuss with them their timelines for this approval process and which costs are available for reimbursement.
Committee members discussed the format for selecting the architect. Ms. Bagley distributed a proposed Request for Qualifications to Committee members. She explained that a Request for Qualifications asked each firm to provide information on their background and expertise in handling this project. The Request for Qualifications would give the Committee members the opportunity to interview selected firms and to discuss their ability to handle the project, determine the scope of services and the fee for this work. Committee members asked how the architects would be selected for this project. Ms. Bagley reported that the town currently has an "on call" list for architects. This "on call" list was developed after the town completed a competitive interview process to identify "on call" architects for the Town of Wethersfield. This competitive process involved the town soliciting proposals from over forty firms interested in working with the town on an "on call" basis. Selected firms were interviewed and recommendations of three firms were made to the Town Council for them to be approved as the town's "on call" architects. Ms. Bagley distributed a list of the town's "on call" architects. Also included on this list is the firm of Moser Pilon Nelson. This firm had done the 2000 study on the Moeller Home for the Town of Wethersfield and Ms. Bagley suggested this firm also be included in the process of selecting an architect for the renovation of the Moeller Home. Moser Pilon Nelson was selected to complete this study through a competitive interview process. Committee members agreed that the three "on call" architectural firms DeCarlo & Doll, BL Companies and Friar Associates be used for soliciting proposals for the Moeller Home renovation. They also agreed with Ms. Bagley's suggestion to include the firm of Moser Pilon Nelson based on their prior work on this building.
Committee members reviewed the overall proposed timetable prepared by the Recreation and Parks Department. They felt it was appropriate as a guide for work on this project. They also decided that the work on the roof would be part of the process of the renovation of the building and would come under the same architect for the work at the Moeller Home. Committee members discussed the timetable to begin the process of selecting an architect for this project. They identified November 18, 2003, 10:00 a.m. as the site visit for architects interested in the project to visit the building. December 1, 2003, has been set for the deadline for the solicitation of RFQ proposals. December 4, 2003, at 1:30 p.m., the Committee set as the date to review the RFQ's from the architectural firms and they identified December 9, 2003, beginning at 1:00 p.m. to interview the selected architectural firms.
Ms. Bagley reported to Committee members that the presence of some hazardous material does exist in the Moeller Home. She reported that Town Engineer, Mike Turner, stated that in the past the town has hired a firm to conduct a survey of the building to determine the hazardous materials and develop a cost estimate for their review. This cost estimate has been identified as $4,000. Once, the survey is completed, the town would then do a competitive bid process to select a contractor to remove the hazardous materials. This removal has been estimated at approximately $13,000. Ms. Bagley asked Committee members if they would like town staff to proceed with the hazardous materials survey and determine the amount of material that needs to be removed from the building. Mr. McOmber asked if Ms. Bagley had an idea of the type of hazardous material in the building. Ms. Bagley reported that previous studies have shown asbestos in some insulation around pipes in the building. She reported that the selected firm would do a thorough investigation of the building to see if there was anything else of a hazardous nature in the Moeller Home. Committee members felt it was appropriate for town staff to go ahead and begin the process of hiring a consultant to investigate the hazardous material in the building.
Ms. Bagley went over the budget with Committee members. She explained that in their mailing they received a Construction Cost Summary dated May 7, 2003. This summary was the town's estimate of the entire project budget for the building. This budget was to do only the necessary items to get the Nature Center relocated to the Moeller Home. It is a bare bones minimum budget. She then explained that the additional worksheets handed out identify each division cost as presented in the Moser Pilon Nelson study dated November, 2000. Also, the reduction sheet identified items that were cut from the Moser Pilon Nelson proposed budget in order to present a bare bones minimum budget for the project. Committee members discussed this briefly and will keep this in mind as they begin the process for renovating the building.
Committee members adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.