Town of Tolland, MA - Public Safety & Municipal Complex Committee Minutes 3/25/2009

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Public Safety & Municipal Complex Committee Minutes 3/25/2009

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Minutes of the March 25, 2009 Public Safety and Municipal Complex Committee

Meeting -16

Members present: Robert Gery, Jim Richard, Nick Urbinati, Steve DellaGiustina

Members absent: Bob Maselek, Wayne Carr, Bob Littlefield, Mike Sullivan, Phil Grannan, Eric Munson III

Others present: Eric Munson, Jr.

Meeting called to order-- at 6:05 pm.

Agenda item #1--Minutes voted. The minutes of the January 26, 2009 PSMCC meeting were read but could not be approved due to lack of a voting quorum. Chair Gery indicated he would seek approval of these minutes at the next committee meeting but that he would put them in both the Tattler and on the town website now with a notation that they had not yet been voted .

Agenda item # 2-- Marketing plan activity. The purpose of completion of the marketing plan was to secure appropriate information for town voters to have so as to make the best decisions possible on the pending proposals of the Committee. A recap of the progress so far is as follows:

2 a), Frequently Asked Questions: Done –completed by Phil Grannan
2 b), Reasons We Outgrew the Present Town Hall – completed by Bob Maselek
2c), Identification of Key Townfolk Objections/Issues – completed by Phil Grannan and Bob Gery and included in 2a above.
2 d), Report on other Similar Buildings Visited - 8 visits have be completed and we are awaiting Bob Maselek’s reports on Granville and Granby, Ma. fire departments. Bob Gery to write the report with the help of members who visited the structures after the last two visit forms are completed.
2 e) Savings in maintenance expenses: Partially done as to the DPW building but more to be done on the Public Safety complex - Wayne Carr and Bob Maselek are responsible.
2 f), Brief History of the Tolland Public Safety and Municipal Complex Committee and its Objectives – completed by Bob Gery.
2g) Approximate Cost Estimates for both buildings and tax Implications for voters – completed by Steve DellaGiustina and Nick Urbinati [a form was created to identify the additional annual tax dollars spent per $1,000 of real estate value with a 2 million dollar cost estimate on both buildings].
2f) Diagrams of elevations and floor plans for both buildings – the Public Safety Complex diagrams are completed. Jim Richard is redoing the DPW building to exclude the extra bay as a cost savings measure.

Agenda item # 3—Fire Department By-Laws. Bob Maselek reported via phone to Bob Gery that the Fire Department has voted, signed and passed the by-laws.

Agenda item # 4—Fire Department tax exempt status and IRS approval of 501c3 Status. Bob Maselek reported via phone that he is has more work to do on this. He initially submitted a set of documents, but needs to redo certain parts and re-submit the documents as well as the completed by-laws again. Bob agreed to do this by the April 20, 2009 committee meeting.

Agenda item # 5—Update on selection of an Architectural Firm. The committee is just starting to secure information on both architectural firms and potential building contractors. Bob Gery recently shared a letter from the firm of Clark and Green, Inc. which documented the elaborate process for architect selection and the building bidding process. The Committee [Building Details Subcommittee] will investigate in much greater detail architectural assistance as it will be needed should the Town approve the DPW building repair and the construction of the Public Safety complex.

Agenda item # 6—Homeowner tax increase. Much discussion was had on the predicted tax increase due to the new buildings. It was agreed that we must get good figures to present soon to the Tolland Town voters. The best guess at this time, which must be verified at Town Hall, is that the both the renovation of the current garage into a safe DPW garage and a new Fire/Police Public Safety complex on Route 57 will cost approximately $2 million dollars total. Steve DellaGiustina presented the Committee with a table that documented over the next 20 years the principal and interest payments, the rate per $1,000 of assessed value and the tax effect over the 20 year life of the mortgage based on a real estate assessed value of $250,000. Bob Gery suggested that this document along with a brief further explanation be put into the marketing packet. The committee agreed to this. Bob Gery will draft the explanation.

Agenda item #7—Building cost estimates. The committee agreed that based on information on hand from visiting 8 fire department buildings as well as input from other committee members [Building Details subcommittee] who checked with building contractors and considering the elimination of an extra bay in the DPW building redesign to reduce costs that a combined cost of $2 million for both the rehabilitation of the DPW building and the construction of the proposed new Public Safety complex would suffice if building efforts were started in 2009. The selection of an architect licensed in Massachusetts as required by state law would allow for a more secure cost figure once all such design work and details were documented but the Committee felt that spending any monies on this was premature to a town vote for overall agreement to the proposal.

Agenda item #8—Explanation of 2 aid grant proposals submitted to the state of Massachusetts. Bob Gery explained that he and the 3 selectmen meet in early January to complete two proposals for funding for the two building efforts [ DPW and Public Safety complex]. The proposals were completed on January 7, 2009 and sent to the state. We have heard nothing yet. These are part of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan and as such the monies for the proposals have not yet been voted by Congress. It may take some time for a reply.

Agenda item # 9—Architect. Bob Gery asked Nick Urbinati and Jim Richard [both on the Building Details Subcommittee] to investigate getting an architect who might help with this project. Nick indicated he would, but wanted to see the Town vote the go ahead on moving forward.

Agenda item # 10—Meet Town residents. Bob Gery would like each Committee member to first meet with 5 residents to go over the current building plan details to gauge resident reaction to our plans and be able to reflect this initial input into later town informational meetings that will be held. The Committee felt that these one-on-one meetings should occur after the two town informational meetings and so voted although the Chair expressed disagreement with the order of this.

Agenda item #11—Preparation for Town-wide meetings. It was decided that a number of meetings would be set for April, May and June as follows:

April 20 at 6pm Monday at Tunxis Club –next regular Committee meeting.
May 27 at 7pm ~Wednesday - town informational meeting on committee efforts at town hall
May 30 Saturday 10am - another town informational meeting but at the DPW building
June 4 Thursday 6pm –regular Committee meeting ~at town hall to discuss what was said at the 2 town informational meetings.
June 15 Monday 7pm~ at town hall for a Public Hearing on the PSMCC proposal.
June 22 ~Monday 7pm at town hall for a Special Town Meeting ~to vote on the $2 million dollar request for the combined DPW building repairs/renovations so I’ll be sending a and the Public Safety building .

Agenda item # 12—FEMA grants. Bob Maselek indicated he is researching building and equipment grants via Google and that there might be some Obama administration funding in the future for our buildings.

New item—Visits to firehouses. Committee members have visited 8 firehouses. Granville and Granby will be visited by April 20 by Bob Maselek. When a Committee member visits they fill out a detailed form[taking pictures] with the purpose of learning as much as possible about building suggestions, pitfalls/problems to avoid, architects and builders used …etc.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05pm.

Next Meeting. The next meeting will be Monday April 20 at the Tunxis Club at 6:00 pm. The public is invited.

Respectfully submitted:

Bob Gery, substituting for Secretary Maselek