The purpose of the Permanent Building Committee is to provide a resource for and advice to all building committees and proposed building projects. The Committee is chaired by Pat Brusch and the members of the Committee are Rob Jones, Bob McLaughlin, Joel Mooney, Karen Pressey and Bill Shea.
Permanent Building Committee has been involved in the following projects during 2003:
§ Joel Mooney chairs the Town Hall Complex Committee. They have completed the Town Hall renovations, prepared the relocation facilities for Town and school employees at the Electric Light Building and modular units at the high school. They have completed the exterior renovations and interior demolition required in the Annex and the School Administration buildings. The buildings are scheduled for completion in November of 2004.
§ Bob McLaughlin (Chairman) and Bill Shea serve on the Fire Stations Building Committee. The Committee has hired the architectural firm of Donham and Sweeney to prepare schematic designs for two fire stations – one to be located on the Alexander Avenue site and one to be located on Trapelo Road. They have held two public meetings to receive input from neighbors and concerned citizens. They are reviewing design options and are planning for a Debt Exclusion vote in April, 2004.
§ Karen Pressey (Chairman), Pat Brusch, and Rob Jones serve on the Senior Center Building Committee. The Committee received 44 Requests for Proposals, conducted 15 interviews of architectural firms who submitted proposals and narrowed the field to three finalists. Rob Jones prepared the RFP and is preparing the contract for negotiation with the final candidate. The architect for schematic design will be chosen early in 2004 and the committee plans to complete the design phase in May, 2004.
§ Karen Pressey will serve on the Cemetery Building Committee and she and Pat Brusch have worked with Nancy Fay to prepare contract documents for the construction project. The transfer of the cemetery property has been delayed by yet another legal objection raised by a few citizens of the Town, therefore, no work has yet begun on this long awaited project.
§ Pat Brusch worked with Kevin Looney on a review of the audit of all Town Buildings and they have coded each item by level of priority.
§ Bob McLaughlin continues to monitor any issues that arise relating to the high school track and field project.
§ The Permanent Building Committee supported a proposal by the School Department to develop a master plan for the phased renovation of Belmont High School to include funding, phasing, prioritization, and coordination of such a project. The high school is in need of major repairs and/or replacement of most major operating systems such as electrical and HVAC as well as upgrades regarding ADA compliance. Even though this project is not planned for the immediate future it is essential to develop a plan of how it might be accomplished since relocation of students is not feasible. The goal is to dove-tail this study with a comprehensive ESCo (energy services company)
study that is being planned for all Town and school buildings.
The Committee thanks Rick Kobus and Mark Szpak for their valuable service on the Permanent Building Committee.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Brusch, Chairman
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