Washington Planning Board
Washington Planning Board
Working Meeting
December 20, 2016
0.0 Assembly: 9:00 AM
0.1 Members and Alternates present: Crandall, Kluk, Schwartz, Dulac (by phone), Williams and Terani
0.2 Members and Alternates Absent: Russell, and Hatch
0.3 Visitors: Jed Schwartz
Crandall opened the meeting at 9AM and stated he had two things on the agenda, discussing the survey results and coming up with recommendations for the BoS.
Crandall said the survey results were not a surprise to him; there were 28 responses from the attendees at the Community Meeting. Kluk said there was a clear message; we nailed the Meetinghouse but for those at the meeting we didn’t hit well on the F/R building, on the Schoolhouse everyone thought we should look into what is going on with the building. Most thought that 2017 is a good year to move forward. Kluk said question 6 was hard to interpret, people who voted for a combined warrant article didn’t necessarily vote for separate warrant articles. J. Schwartz asked for the overall preference and Kluk said it was split 14 yes, 10 no and 4 no answer. Crandall said 28 people are not indicative of the town. Williams said that 28 aren’t representative of the town but the numbers were consistent with the MBAC survey and other votes, the message is consistent. Crandall said this was reflected in the Master Plan survey, Schwartz said it was not asking the same questions. Kluk said that in other comments, few people were willing to help promote a vote. Terani said that someone told him we shot ourselves in the foot with the survey. Crandall said we were trying to get peoples’ opinions. Williams said there were about 40 people there and only 28 responding. Dulac said 28 were returned and he counted about 50 people there. He got the impression that MH looked OK but F/R not ok. He talked to Ron Jager who spoke about the history of the MH project and he has a sense of loss, most people he worked with aren’t around anymore. He didn’t like the cut back version but he feels he is alone in that. Dulac said he heard the F/R has changed their focus and were influenced by the survey. Crandall said that Jager has a hard time accepting a scaled back version but others think it is the best way forward. Williams commented on two misnomers; in the past we spent money for a plan that doesn’t mean the town is willing to spend money on it. Some think cut one and the other needs to be cut. Equal savings isn’t possible; the need has to drive the cost of the project. J. Schwartz said he was here to explain for the F/R; Friday night they had their monthly meeting, the put the chains on the trucks and it took over an hour, climbing around in the cramped environment. They discussed the survey and they felt they weren’t going to get a positive vote for years to come. They desperately need room for the trucks so Schwartz, Atkins and Marvin stayed late and whittled down the programming for the existing station and hoped it would be enough. The idea was to go back to plan #1 and take all renovation off the table, keep the connector and the barn. He asked Kyle what was the minimum that could be done. Kyle came back with $250 per sqft and the only thing that would be required on the existing station was shoring up the trusses and a new roof. It would be $30K for the existing station and $8 to 12K to sprinkle it (bringing it up to code). He said the bottom line was $1.606. Terani asked if the connection would be solid. J. Schwartz said yes, we are making a commitment to use the existing building now and for the future. He said it was not as much savings as he hoped. Williams said there was a barn only for $1.3 last year, this is more expensive. Kluk said there are differences from barn to barn, there was no decon last year. Terani thinks not having the connection doesn’t make any sense. Crandall said it is twelve feet away; last year it was 100 feet away. Crandall said we can only recommend. Williams doesn’t think it will fly, he thinks the board has done its job. F/R needs to come in to see the BoS. Kluk wants to see a breakdown of the costs before she can support it, she wants to encourage the direction they are going and hope they get there. Crandall said we are out of time. Dulac asked if we can make a recommendation, what is our deadline from BoS? Crandall said we don’t have one, but the door closes at the end of the month. Dulac thinks the connector is the catalyst for more cost, we should recommend one that keeps the cost down. Kluk said we can’t pull a number out of the air. Dulac suggested a not-to-exceed number. Schwartz said we couldn’t name a number and expect them to meet it, that isn’t based on anything real. Crandall said we aren’t decision makers, the PB is out of time and doesn’t want to shut out the F/R. Terani asked if the F/R comes back with their numbers how long does it take to write a warrant article. Crandall said a few days. Dulac said our responsibility to F/R is to make a strong recommendation to BoS. Don't do it or do it and this is what it is. J. Schwartz left at this point to make an appointment to meet with the BoS on Thursday. Kluk asked what Dulac envisions our role being at this point with F/R and BoS? Dulac said the bottom line is we should go to F/R and tell them to go to Kyle and get the numbers down. Crandall asked for a recommendation. Williams said we should have one recommendation and one message. Crandall said with the MH the survey showed we are right on with that plan. He recommends we recommend that plan with the possibility of some phasing or savings. Williams mentioned private donations; he asked about leaving the windows out, are we not recommending that? Dulac thinks we lost some donations with the new plan, we should add that there are possibilities for other savings. Crandall said he has some donations but can't guarantee he will go looking for more. Williams thinks this is where we are as a board in our recommendation; we should make our opinion clear, whether donations are part of the solution. He thinks BoS won't support without donations for upstairs. Kluk said the view at this point is we have a plan and Milestone cost figures, we vote to endorse that plan, you can only put $30K on the table for donations. You can look at $150K in the building fund that you can use to offset both projects. She asked what timeline do you set for getting the projects done? Williams said you get the projects started and do those pieces as donations come in. Kluk said you couldn’t separate out wiring and insulation; there are things you have to do because they are integrated. Williams said they need to have a conversation with Milestone. Williams said we can look at how a project is financed. Dulac said we should use the language of a warrant article- raise and appropriate and say you will offset with donations. Crandall said we aren't writing a warrant article. Crandall made a motion:
We recommend to the Selectmen the plan for the Meetinghouse as presented to the public on December 14th. We will consider reasonable phasing at a time and financial certainty if requested by the Selectmen.
There was discussion on the motion. Kluk mentioned reasonable phasing with a date and cost. Williams asked why we are recommending phasing. Kluk said we should have target dates and a financial plan for getting it done. Crandall said there is support for LCHIP; you can take the money out of the building fund for a match. Kluk said there is flexibility for the BoS. Terani asked if the numbers were for a GMP. Kluk said no. Williams added that the BoS would get a GMP from Milestone. Kluk asked to reword the motion, which we did. The new motion was made by Crandall:
We recommend to the Selectmen the plan for the Meetinghouse as presented to the public on December 14th be on the 2017 warrant, understanding that phasing and other cost considerations still need to be determined.
Kluk seconded the motion and 4 voted in favor with Williams abstaining.
Crandall made a motion in regards to the Schoolhouse:
We recommend to the Selectmen that a warrant article be written for 2017 for planning for the Schoolhouse for $8000 (non-lapsing).
Kluk seconded the motion, all voted in favor.
Kluk made a motion on the F/R project:
Although the PB recognizes the building needs of the F/R, we do not have a plan for the F/R building to recommend to the BoS at this time. We encourage F/R to continue seeking ways to reduce the cost of a new barn attached to the existing fire station.
Crandall seconded the motion; there were 2 ayes with 3 abstaining. Dulac said at this point by stating it we don't have a recommendation. Williams changed his vote to aye, motion passed.
Kluk said that this doesn't obsolete anything; if F/R comes back with more numbers we could recommend later, we aren't closing the door. Dulac feels we are closing a door. Crandall said the vote was taken, let's move on. Dulac thinks we need to make it clear we are willing to consider what they come up with. Crandall said this keeps flexibility and we are encouraging them.
Crandall asked if there were any other items, Kluk said she would type up the recommendations and bring them to the BoS on Thursday.
Kluk motioned to adjourn, Crandall seconded the motion.
2.0 Adjournment: Time: 10:15 AM
Respectfully Submitted,
Nan Schwartz