Washington Planning Board
Washington Planning Board
Working Meeting Minutes - DRAFT
November 17, 2016
0.0 Assembly: 9:30 AM
0.1 Members present: Crandall, Kluk, Schwartz and Russell
0.2 Members and Alternates Absent: Hatch, Dulac, Terani and Williams
0.3 Visitors: Shawn Atkins and Jed Schwartz
Crandall asked Russell to sit in for Dulac.
1.0 Discuss the F/R offer: Crandall opened the meeting and updated Russell who hadn’t attended a meeting in a while. We had received a letter from F/R saying they wanted to stick with their original plan. They sent a subsequent letter saying they were willing to work with the PB towards a new concept that includes using the current station for administration and connected to the barn. Kluk went to the BoS and asked for funds to work on this alternate plan. Her notes of the meeting are as follows:
“I am sad to report that despite the agreement letter from the Fire and Rescue leadership, a majority of the Selectmen will not release $1,500 in order for the Planning Board and the Fire Department to pursue the latest building concept. This concept, as you know from the letter, included utilizing the current station for administration and connecting a new barn to the old station, which is a substantial compromise that aligns with our PB motion.
A majority of the Selectmen do not accept some of the conditions in the agreement - 1) that the connection would be functional space and 2) that the barn is the 2015 plan barn (which they had on the warrant last year). In addition to taking issue with these conditions, certain Selectmen stated that the letter does not say/suggest that the Fire Department is “willing to have an open conversation” with the Selectmen. Instead, the Selectmen have placed their own set of conditions, i.e. the connection must be an open breezeway and there needs to be further definition of layout/use of the old station beyond what was provided by me in the meeting.
The architect is the person who needs to determine how a connection can be designed and what the impact will be on snow loads/placement, building code upgrades and costs. Until we have that input, we do not know the viability of any solution or possible compromise. The Selectmen are still unwilling to release the money in order for the architect to make these determinations.
They prefer that there is a conference call with Kyle (architect) for him to provide his initial thoughts on the viability of a “free standing” connection and how this would affect snow loading/management, building codes, and placement of the new barn. Under their scenario, the architect would provide nothing in writing and have spent no time fleshing out connection options/costs that might yield a compromise between a “free standing breezeway connection” and a “connection that is functional space.””
She felt that the BoS minutes did not reflect what was said at the meeting. At the F/R meeting on Monday night they voted to spend their own building fund money to work with he architect and develop plans for using the existing building and a barn with a functional connector. Crandall looks on this as a cooperative effort between PB and F/R. J. Schwartz said their goal is to come up with a plan and the associated costs and go before the town. He said with a feasibility study and cost analysis they will compromise. They feel that if the original plan is better and less costly the PB should back it. He talked about the Town Hall plan and the F/R support for it.
Crandall would like to shoot for a community meeting on December 10th or 17th. J. Schwartz suggested at meeting at the Town Hall, he would expect 50 people or more. Kluk asked if we want to do a weeknight or a Saturday. We decided a weeknight (Wednesday) would be best Kluk said that for this meeting we need plans and cost estimates. We need to drum up support for both projects, maybe have a questionnaire and ask for volunteers. J. Schwartz said that in terms of volunteers, the F/R is willing to invest their time. Atkins said that it is easier to use volunteer labor on a new construction rather than a renovation.
Crandall said the F/R letter opened the door and the BoS thought it set too many conditions, the PB doesn’t see it that way. He said the next step is to meet with Kyle Barker. J. Schwartz said he contacted Kyle and told him they are a go, he will contact him today to set up a meeting. We will go to Concord to save money. Kluk said get him going and we will meet with him. J. Schwartz wants to keep the group small – Shawn, Jed, Jean, and Nan. Crandall said that Kluk will be in charge for the PB and maybe he or Dulac could be involved occasionally. Kluk said community outreach is important; we need the revisions and ballpark numbers to present. She shared a printed piece she had designed to hand out at the Christmas Craft Fair. Crandall said the Historical Society has a table and we can give them some to hand out too. Schwartz said we need to be there handing them out. We made decisions on the date, time and location and approved the wording for the piece. Kluk will send the draft to Schwartz and she will put it together for getting it printed.
Crandall said that he and Kluk are meeting with the BoS this afternoon about updated estimates on the TH. We discussed getting good clear plans before the public. We discussed a joint warrant article for the projects.
Kluk asked if we needed a vote. She made a motion for the PB to work collaborately with the F/R building committee on an alternate plan and get cost analysis for the alternative plan as compared to the original plan. Schwartz seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
Kluk made a motion to hold a community meeting to update the public on the revised plans for F/R and Town Hall and Schoolhouse to be held in December on a date and time we agree to, Crandall seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
Crandall said he wants to get numbers for the original TH plan.
Kluk, Crandall and Schwartz worked to come up with ideas for a questionnaire for the community meeting.
We decided we would print up a packet for people attending and not do a PowerPoint presentation.
2.0 Adjournment: Time: 10:40 am
Respectfully Submitted,
Nan Schwartz