LFNAC Minutes – December 6, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 10:06 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta and Mary Williams

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To accept the minutes of the previous meeting on November 8.

Harold reported on his trip to visit the Brewster and Dennis public libraries.

We need surveys of all of the properties that Stephen Hale will look at for a possible new library. There already are some that we can use.
Town Hall and surrounding area– needs updating
Smith Academy area
Dickinson Building and surrounding area
Center School - available
MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To hire Harold Eaton to conduct needed surveys.

We need to make a payment to Stephen Hale, but first need an invoice from him.
MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To pay Stephen Hale on receipt of an invoice.

There was discussion on the Historical Society materials in the attic. We do not want to needlessly cause problems for the Historical Society. It’s important that we maintain communications with officers and get their input. Martin suggested a “Statement of Principles” on how we intend to incorporate the historical museum (or not). There is a lot of support in town for the Historical Society and it would be unwise to leave them stranded. There would be some advantages to having the historical collection as part of the library, but it is important that library services are not hampered or disrupted by its presence.

The Historical Commission is meeting Tuesday, December 9. Lynn and Martin will raise the topic and invite the Historical Commission and Historical Society to meet with LFNAC at 9:00 on Saturday, December 20.

We received written acceptance from the MBLC for our Building Program. The consultant suggested adding a second, small conference room that could also be used as a study room.

Sheila reported on a conference she attended earlier in the week. Title: Going Green. She learned that it is not more expensive to build a green building. Technology is cheaper than it was just a few years ago. All of the presenters said it is worth the cost to become LEED certified. Doing so also sets a standard in the community.

Sheila researched prices for copying and binding the Building Program.
MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To spend approximately $100 for 20 copies of the Building Program to be copied and bound with a spiral binding.

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To pay Sheila for the extra hours she has worked on this project through October 31.

Next meeting: Saturday, December 20. We will meet with the Historical Commission and Historical Society officers at 9:00 and with Stephen Hale at 10:00.


Meeting adjourned at 11:09 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dodie Gaudet, Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE December 2008

We have a Building Program!
Written by Director Sheila McCormick with input from LFNAC members, the Building Program is a description of Hatfield including demographic information; a description of the current library, its assets and its deficiencies; and a description of the best library for Hatfield incorporating square footage for different service areas, types of furniture, shelving, and work space. The Building Program was approved by the Board of Trustees and by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Copies are available at Town Hall and the Library.

We have an Architect!
We have selected Stephen Hale of Hale Associates, Boston, Mass. to work with us on the feasibility study. He will look at our current building, the Center School, the space between Dickinson Memorial and the Elementary School, and space near Smith Academy. Together, we will assess the possibilities of all sites and hope to have a recommendation to bring to Town Meeting in May. Be assured that there will be plenty of opportunities for Hatfield residents to comment throughout the process.

LFNAC consists of eight members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Harold Green, Chair; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta, Vice-Chair; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet, Secretary; Martin Antonetti; Susan Gaughan; Milton Howard; and Mary Williams.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.
12/6/2008

LFNAC Minutes – November 8, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:08 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta and Mary Williams

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To accept the minutes of the previous three meetings, October 2, 15, and 25.

There was discussion about using the large (54 pages) contract used by the state versus an amended version of the AIA contract. Are there things in the state contract that do not apply to this situation (e.g. construction phase)? Are there things in left out of our amended contract that should be there? Sheila said that Rosemary Waltos (Ann Larson’s replacement at the MBLC) has a sample contract that is a revised and adjusted version of the AIA contract. Rosemary will send it to Sheila. The group reviewed the contract to date and made a few more changes.

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To have this latest revision of the contract signed by the Trustees subject to review by the MBLC.

Stephen Hale has invited us to tour the Brewster Library on Wednesday, November 19. Harold and Melissa Green will go. Is anyone else available? Dennis is the next town. Whoever goes to Brewster should also visit the Dennis Library.

The Building Program has been submitted to the MBLC. Committee members must read and re-read the Program and be very familiar with the content. LFNAC members must be able to answer questions of town officials and residents about the constraints of the current building and what a modern library needs.

TO DO: All committee members must read the Building Program again and become VERY familiar with it.

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To pay Sheila for the extra hours she has worked on this project through September 30.

A Committee meeting is scheduled for December 6 at 9:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library. We may also meet earlier, depending on when Stephen Hale can meet with us. Possible dates are Saturday morning, November 22 and Monday evening, November 24.

Meeting adjourned at 10:17 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dodie Gaudet, Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – October 15, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:10 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick and Mary Williams
Absent: Harold Green and Lynn Omasta

Harold had sent, via email, some revisions to the scope of service made by architect Stephen Hale. We reviewed them but agreed that we could not make an educated decision without seeing the entire document.

There was also some discussion of Joe Cook’s comments on the original contract. We felt they were sparse. Was he paid for his services? Should we pay an attorney to review the contract carefully and give us detailed feedback? Would Patience Jackson or Ann Larson’s replacement at the MBLC be able to look at this contract and suggest wording?

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: To pay Sheila $402.60 for the extra hours she has worked on this project.

The Building Program is complete except for a Table of Contents and some supplementary material. There are still some formatting problems. Harold had converted the Program from Word to PDF which helped, but it is not ideal. Martin volunteered to work on the formatting. The Trustees have already approved the Building Program because any changes will not be substantive. It now must be approved by the MBLC.

One the formatting issue has been resolved, Sheila will have several copies of the Program spiral bound with a heavier cover. They will be sturdier than simple photocopies. All LFNAC members, all Library Trustees and Selectboard members will receive one. There will be copies available in the Library and the Town Hall.

TO DO: All committee members must read the Building Program and become VERY familiar with it. Be prepared to discuss it at the next meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled for November 8 at 9:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library.

Meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m.


Respectfully submitted,

Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – October 15, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Town Hall at 7:10 p.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Harold Green, and Sheila McCormick
Absent: Lynn Omasta, Susan Gaughan, Milton Howard, and Mary Williams

The Committee looked at the contract sent by architect Stephen Hale. Joe Cook, attorney for the city of Northampton, had reviewed the contract at the recommendation of Hatfield town attorney Bill O’Neil. Joe made a few comments which he sent to Harold via email. One comment is that the contract, being a standard AIA contract, is favorable to the architect.

We have been told by the MBLC not to use the AIA contract for that reason. However, the MBLC does not provide a sample contract that we can use.

Via email, Lynn objected to the rate of reimbursement which is 1.15. UMass reimburses at 1.10. In her email, Lynn had also supplied a link to the sample contract from DCAM that UMass uses for designers.

Due to the length of the DCAM contract, we worked with the AIA contract and made many changes.

We took out all references to construction since this project is strictly a feasibility study. We also moved some of the “optional additional items” into the “basic” section since those items are what we want done by the architect. Harold will attach the original scope of service used with the RFQ, say we will reimburse at 1.10, and return the revised contract to Hale. The AIA contract asked for a budget. We do not have a budget at this time since the cost of the new facility will depend on the architect’s findings.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 25 at 9:00 am at the Library.


Respectfully submitted,

Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – October 2, 2008

The Library Program Subcommittee of the Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 3:40 p.m.

Present: Dodie Gaudet, Harold Green, and Sheila McCormick

The subcommittee reviewed the area descriptions of the Building Program, specifically the square footage, and made some revisions.

There are a few pieces of artwork currently on display in the Library. We want to ensure they have a place in the new facility.

The Subcommittee adjourned at 4:22 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes September 13, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:10 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Harold Green, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Susan Gaughan, Milton Howard, and Sheila McCormick,

The first item of business was to emend the minutes of September 2, 2008 to state the Committee MOVED, SECONDED AND VOTED on its choice of architects in the following order: Hale Associates, Durland Van Voorhis (DVV), and Drummy Rosane Anderson (DRA).

MOVED, SECONDED AND VOTED: Harold will contact Hatfield town attorney Bill O’Neil to begin negotiations with Stephen Hale so that we have a contract ready to sign when the Trustees approve the building program.

The Center School Municipal Use Working Group is conduction a survey of space needs for all departments. LFNAC recommends that the Library give this group a copy of the building program which details all of the space the Library needs. We will state that all space must be dedicated to the Library (e.g. elevator, rest rooms, etc.) in order to receive MBLC funding. The Town would have to finance any spaces that the Library shares with another town department.

Looking at the Center School will be part of the feasibility study. We need to consider all options.

The next meeting will be Saturday, September 27 at 8:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library.

Meeting adjourned at 9:52 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes September 2, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 6:39 p.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, and Mary Williams
Absent: Lynn Omasta

Sheila, Dodie and Harold reported on their calls to Library Directors, Trustees and Building Committee members respectively. After much discussion, the Committee ranked the three architectural firms in order of preference: Hale Associates, Durland Van Voorhis (DVV), and Drummy Rosane Anderson (DRA).

This list will be forwarded to the Trustees to make a final selection and to negotiate a contract. Either or both of those tasks can be delegated to LFNAC.

Sheila will notify Margo Jones and Michael Rosenfeld that they are not in the final 3.

Sheila had a lengthy telephone conversation with Ann Larson who is leaving her position at the MBLC as of Friday and moving to New York State. The next construction grant round is likely to be in the spring of 2010. The strength of the applications determines ranking and therefore a library’s place on the waiting list. It is best if LFNAC shows its design to the MBLC in the early stages to get feedback which will result in a stronger application. Ann recommended that the architect we hire look at the Center School and give a cost estimate for converting it to a library. Ann has reviewed our building program and made some suggestions. Sheila will send what she has completed so far to LFNAC members and the Trustees.

MOVED, SECONDED, VOTED: To pay Sheila for the extra hours she has put into this project through July 31.

The next meeting will be Saturday, Sept 13 at 9:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library.

Meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes August 7, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 6:30 p.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Mike Paszek

Mike has officially resigned from the Committee. We decided to continue with 8 members and not fill Mike’s position.

There was lots of discussion about the five architectural firms we interviewed. The top 3 are Durland Van Voorhis (DVV), Hale Associates and Drummy Rosane Anderson (DRA).

Our next step is to check references. Ann Larson from the MBLC suggested we talk peer-to-peer; i.e. Sheila will talk with directors, Dodie will talk with trustees and committee members will talk with other committee members.

We selected the following libraries:
Hale – Brewster, Wellfleet, Dennis and Newbury
DRA – No. Adams, Old Lyme CT, Norfolk MA, Millbrook NY
DVV – Chilmark, Mattapoiset, Middleton, No. Reading

ACTION ITEM: Lynn will check the DCAM site for reviews of these architects.

ACTION ITEM: Sheila will make the original contact and send names of people to call to other committee members.

ACTION ITEM: Committee members will call and talk with people before our next meeting.

MOVED, SECONDED, VOTED: To pay Sheila for the extra hours she has put into this project through June 30. From now on, she will be submitting her extra hours every two weeks.

The next meeting will be Saturday, Sept 6 at 9:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library.
NOTE: Meeting was changed to Tuesday, September 2, 6:30 p.m. at the Library.

Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE August 2008

We’ve finished the interviews! The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee interviewed 5 architectural firms who submitted proposals to complete a feasibility study of the new improved Hatfield Public Library. Now comes the hard part. The Committee will soon meet to discuss the interviews and choose the best firm for the job. All of the firms gave excellent presentations. Three were taped and have been airing on the local cable channel.

Before we sign a contract, however, the Library Board of Trustees must approve the Building Program which director Sheila McCormick has nearly completed. The Building Program consists of a detailed description of the town including history and demographics. It also lists the various areas of the library (e.g. circulation desk, reading area, children’s area, staff work area), each area’s function, size and what furnishings and other amenities that are required – such as good lighting. The Building Program will guide the architect as he or she studies the various options for the library. This is where we will seriously begin to look at a renovation and expansion of Dickinson Memorial Hall or other alternatives. Stay tuned!

LFNAC consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta, Vice-Chair; Martin Antonetti, Susan Gaughan; Harold Green, Chair; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.

LFNAC Minutes – August 2, 2008

The Library Program Subcommittee of the Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 8:00 a.m.

Present: Dodie Gaudet, Harold Green, Sheila McCormick, and Mary Williams.

The subcommittee reviewed the area descriptions that Sheila has been working on and made some revisions. There are a few details that Sheila needs to verify and then the Library Program will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval.

The subcommittee adjourned at 10:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – July 31, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Library at Smith Academy at 6:00 p.m.

Present: Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta and Mary Williams

Absent: Martin Antonetti and Mike Paszek

The Committee interviewed Stephen Hale and Chris Scovel of Steven Hale & Associates Architects; Landscape Architect Tim Heatwole; and Engineer Joel Goodmonson.

The presentations and the Committee’s questions were not taped for Community Access Television due to technical difficulties. We also learned that the previous interview (with Margo Jones) was also not taped.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – July 28, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Library at Smith Academy at 6:00 p.m.

Present: Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta and Mary Williams

Absent: Martin Antonetti and Mike Paszek

The Committee interviewed Margo Jones, John Carey and George Dole of Margo Jones Architects; Landscape Architect Brock Cutting; and Structural Engineer Ryan Hellwig.

The presentations and the Committee’s questions were taped for Community Access Television to be shown at a later date.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – July 17, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Library at Smith Academy at 6:00 p.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta and Mary Williams

Absent: Mike Paszek

The Committee interviewed Ken Best and Jim Barrett of the architectural firm Drummey Rosane Anderson (DRA).

The presentations and the Committee’s questions were taped for Community Access Television to be shown at a later date.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – July 14, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Library at Smith Academy at 6:00 p.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Sheila McCormick

Absent: Milton Howard, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek and Mary Williams

The Committee interviewed Michael Rosenfeld and Martin Kretsch of the Office of Michael Rosenfeld.

The presentations and the Committee’s questions were taped for Community Access Television to be shown at a later date.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes – July 10, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Library at Smith Academy at 6:00 p.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams

Absent: Mike Paszek

The Committee interviewed Charles Van Voorhis and Deborah Durland of the architectural firm Durland Van Voorhis.

The presentations and the Committee’s questions were taped for Community Access Television to be shown at a later date.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes June 21, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 8:12 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, and Mike Paszek

Committee members reviewed the questions we had developed at our last meeting. We combined a few and revised a few others.

ACTION ITEM: Martin will create a spreadsheet with space between the questions for committee members to take notes at the interviews.

ACTION ITEM: Lynn will contact Harold to confirm that he has reserved a room at Smith Academy and to find out exactly which room we will be in.

There was also some discussion as to what we might do if the weather is very hot. Can we turn on the air conditioning? Having fans running makes it too noisy to hear or record the session for broadcast.

We discussed the format of the interviews in more detail. Committee introductions should be about 30 seconds/person and include only name, whether or not we represent a particular group, and any specific skill or qualification we bring to the committee (e.g. librarian, engineer, construction background). As the architectural firm makes its introduction/presentation, many of our questions may be answered. Other questions may arise. We need to be flexible. It is a good idea to re-read each firm’s proposal shortly before the interview.

PLEASE NOTE: Committee members should arrive at 5:30. One committee member should wait at the door to escort the architect to the library or TV studio as Smith Academy can sometimes be confusing to negotiate.

The next meeting will be Thursday, July 10, 5:30 p.m. at Smith Academy. Specific room to be determined.

Meeting adjourned at 8:53 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes June 7, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 8:05 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Mike Paszek

Committee members had each developed questions to ask the architects. Other questions evolved during our discussion. Some of these questions need to be combined and/or refined

1. How do you effectively manage the project team and relay information to its consultants and personnel?
2. What is your ability to solve technical and design problems?
3. What do you do to pull the project back when it starts running over budget?
4. How will your firm’s size impact the time and attention given to this project compared to other larger/smaller firms?
5. What specific issues often develop when your firm has worked with small communities in the past? How do you fix them?
6. What two projects do you see as most typical of your firm’s work and how do they fit in Hatfield?
7. Elaborate on what you have done that is most suitable for Hatfield.
8. What does your PR/marketing campaign look like? What are your strategies for an effective campaign?
9. What percentage of your work is for Massachusetts public clients? (We want to know how familiar the firm is with state rules and regulations.)
10. What is your overall design philosophy?
11. Knowing what you know about Hatfield, do you prefer a new building or a renovation/addition?
12. What percentage of your design projects were built by you? Why? (If there are 2 different firms for design and building phase, we will pay for some of the work to be done twice.)
13. How do you plan to communicate with this committee?
14. What is your strategy for sticking to a timeline?
15. How often do we see the principal?
16. What exactly is the role of Design Director, Principal in Charge, Project Architect?
17. Explain roles and responsibilities of the Project Team and how often will we see each person?
18. What is your procedure for selecting equipment and systems?
19. What is the best way to handle the dichotomy of having a green building and also having simple maintenance?
20. Do you recommend LEED certification? How do you incorporate green aspects without certification?
21. How much help can you give us with securing grants? Green? Historical?

We also discussed the format of the interviews as well as length of interview and issues to be addressed.

Format:
Committee opening statement
Introduction of Committee members
Opening statement from the design firm: Why they are the best choice; general design principles; why they feel they are a good fit for Hatfield.
Questions from the Committee

Length:
Maximum 1 ½ hours
We’ll allow ½ hour for their presentation and ½ hour for our questions.

Issues:
The presentation/interview will likely be taped for broadcast at a later date.
These are open meetings, not public forums. Only Committee members ask questions.
Firms must bring their own audiovisual equipment.
We want the Project Team to be at the interviews. If not, why?
The final building must fit in with the Hatfield historic district.

Committee members should look at the website for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. It has a lot of information on renewable energy and available grants. http://www.mtpc.org/

The next meeting will be Saturday, June 21, 8:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library.

Meeting adjourned at 9:17 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE June 2008

LFNAC members have been meeting every two weeks and here’s what we’ve accomplished.

We reviewed again the proposals of the eight architectural firms that made the cut for semi-finalist and narrowed the field to five. We have scheduled interviews for the firms on the following dates:

July 10 Durland Van Voorhis
July 14 Michael Rosenfeld
July 17 DRA
July 28 Margo Jones
July 31 Hale

All interviews will be held at Smith Academy at 6:00 p.m. and will last approximately 1 ½ hours. All interviews will be taped for broadcast at a later date.

At its last meeting, the Committee developed a series of questions to ask all of the finalists.

LFNAC consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta, Vice-Chair; Martin Antonetti, Susan Gaughan; Harold Green, Chair; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.

LFNAC Minutes May 24, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:10 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mike Paszek
Absent: Mary Williams

We met outside on the lawn. Our usual meeting space, the adult non-fiction room in the basement, was too dark to use. The lights had overheated two days earlier and cannot be used until they are replaced. There is no other space available for 8 people to meet inside the library.

We began by making a tally of the top 4 choices of architects from each committee member. Durland Van Voorhis and DRA were the top two. Hale, Margo Jones, Michael Rosenfeld and Tappe were tied, and we began discussing these four in hopes of narrowing the choices to two.

MOVED and SECONDED: that Margo Jones be one of the architects interviewed. There are some committee members who know Margo, know her work, like her and know they can work with her. Her firm is small which means she is actively involved in all projects; she is also local. Other members voiced concerns that her firm may be too small and lack depth; her evaluations on DCAM are not as good as some other companies; she has not built many libraries, and her response to our RFQ was not as strong as some others.

The motion was TABLED until after discussing all of the remaining architects.

Do we want to interview all 6? Should we try to eliminate more companies? After more discussion, the five finalists are Durland Van Voorhis, DRA, Hale, Margo Jones, and Michael Rosenfeld.

The committee set 5 dates for interviews. The dates are all Mondays and Thursdays: July 10, 14, 17, 28, and 31 all at 6:00 p.m. Architects are expected to give a presentation as part of the interview process. Interviews will be held at Smith Academy and will be televised for broadcast on the local cable station. Harold will make the arrangements. Sheila will notify the architects as to our choices for finalists and schedule interview dates

Sheila is still working on the building program, specifically the sections on functional space. The draft of what she has completed to date will be sent to the five finalists before the scheduled interviews.

Sheila submitted an invoice for payment for the hours she has worked beyond her regular schedule. MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED to pay the invoice from grant funds.

Next meeting will be Saturday, June 7, 9:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library. We will prepare questions that we want the architects to answer as part of the interview process.

The following meeting will be Saturday, June 21, 9:00 a.m. at the Hatfield Public Library.

Meeting adjourned at 10:33 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes May 10, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Town Hall 9:10 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Mike Paszek and Mary Williams
Absent: Lynn Omasta

The meeting was devoted to preparing for Town Meeting to be held on May 13. The Committee expects there will be resistance to selling the Center School and that some residents may suggest the Town keep the building and move the Library into it. Since we toured the building we believe the old Center School is not a good location for the library for the following reasons:

· It is too large and if we share the building with another organization we jeopardize our funding from the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners since they will not fund any shared spaces.
· The building was not built to house a library; it is not well configured for that purpose; there is a question about its load bearing capacity
· The building is in poor condition inside and would require a lot of money to renovate
· In order to be used as a public building it would need an elevator, ramps and other accessibility features adding to the cost
· The Committee is planning a community room that would hold 100 people. There is inadequate parking for even 50 cars
· The library planning process will take another year. After everything has been approved by the town and the MBLC, we will be placed on a waiting list for MBLC funding. It is likely that the library will not be in a new facility for another 6-8 years and in the meantime the Center School will continue to deteriorate.
Harold will write up these talking points to distribute to Committee Members. One or two members should be ready to speak at Town Meeting if necessary.

Next meeting: Saturday, May 24 at 9:00 a.m. at Town Hall (later changed to the Library)
At that meeting we will discuss the qualifications of the 8 architects who are semi-finalists and narrow the field to 3 or no more than 4.

Meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE May 2008

LFNAC members have been very busy during March and April. We’ve been meeting every two weeks and have accomplished the following things.

The Committee hosted a “pre-bid walk-through” for the architectural firms interested in responding to our RFQ or Request for Qualifications. Representatives from 19 firms toured the Dickinson building, the Town Hall and the areas surrounding both buildings. They looked at the Center School, too, and also viewed the area adjacent to Smith Academy.

Fifteen of those firms submitted information by the deadline on April 12. The committee has narrowed its choice to eight companies. We will discuss these in more detail and choose 3 or 4 semi-finalists to be interviewed. The finalist will help the Committee locate the best site for the new Hatfield Library.

LFNAC met with the Library Trustees, the Historical Commission, the Historical Society and the Selectboard at the end of March to let all of them know what progress has been made and to discuss the future of Dickinson Memorial should the library move. It’s still too early to know whether the building will be renovated and added to for the library or if a brand new building will be built. The above groups will meet again in the future when LFNAC’s plans are further along.

The Committee now has a blog! You can read the minutes from all meetings at http://hatfieldlfnac.blogspot.com/

LFNAC consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta; Martin Antonetti, Susan Gaughan; Harold Green, Chair; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

LFNAC Minutes April 26, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Center School at 58 Main St at 8:00 a.m.

Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick and Mike Paszek

The Committee toured the Center School to see if it might be a viable option for the new Hatfield Public Library. The Committee continued its meeting at the Town Hall and discussed what it had observed of the Center School. The building is in poor shape including the roof, there is water damage, the basement is damp, there is no wheelchair accessibility and there is minimal parking. The space is too large for what we need and would have to be shared with another organization complicating funding from the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners. The building is poorly configured for a library and would have to be gutted. An elevator plus other means of access would be required, making the project extremely costly. The Committee decided that the school is an unlikely possibility for a library. Also, since the town voted unanimously to sell the building at Town Meeting, that vote should stand.

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED The Committee will not to consider the Center School for the new Hatfield Public Library.

We discussed the 15 responses to our RFQ. Seven firms were eliminated based on the criteria we set. We discussed the pros and cons of the remaining eight. They are Caolo & Bieniek, DRA, Hale Associates, Durland Van Voorhis, J. Stewart Roberts, Margo Jones, and Tappe. We decided to re-read these eight responses based on our discussion and re-rank them for a future meeting. At that point, we plan to narrow our choices to 3-4 firms.

Mary reported on the recent meeting of the Historical Society. They voted to take over responsibility of the Dickinson Building if the Library moves out. However, they are not going to make firm plans until LFNAC is further along in its process.

At our next meeting, we will prepare for Town Meeting. Members will come to the LFNAC meeting with a written list all of the reasons for not using the Center School as a Library and we will compile them into one handout.

At our next meeting we will also discuss the date of the following meeting. It is tentatively scheduled for May 24, but since that is the Memorial Holiday weekend, our meeting may be rescheduled.

Next meeting: Saturday, May 10 at 9:00 a.m. at Town Hall.

Meeting adjourned at 9:20 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes April 12, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 8:00 a.m. Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Susan Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek and Mary Williams

Minutes of the meeting on March 29 were accepted.

The Select Board has decided not to make a decision on the Center School. Whether or not to sell will be brought to a vote at Town Meeting, May 13. How does that affect our work? There have been various studies done on the building during the last few years. We need copies of whatever we don’t already have. Should someone from the committee speak at Town Meeting regarding this issue? If so, exactly what should be said? It will be very expensive to renovate the Center School for a library. We expect town residents will support the idea of the library moving into the old Center School. We have a meeting scheduled before Town Meeting and will develop a strategy then. We will begin our next meeting at the Center School to review the situation.

At the pre-bid walk through with the architects, the Sophia Smith Park next to the Town Hall was suggested as a possible site for the library. If we want to consider that site, we need to write to the Smith Academy Trustees and ask if they are interested in selling or giving the parcel to the town for a library.
MOVED, SECONDED, VOTED: Harold will write to the Smith Academy Trustees.

The Building Program needs a summary description of all possible sites. Harold will draft the descriptions. What “Green” language do we want in the Building Program? What is in the Town Master Plan that relates to the Library? Sheila will submit an invoice to the Committee for the work she has done so far on the Program. She will also email what she has written to this point for the Committee to review.

The Selection Criteria for an architect is defined in the material sent to those who inquired in response to our RFQ: Prior Similar Library 2000-7000 Population in MA; Design Work New or Reno 5,000 to 15,000 sq feet; Financial Stability; Identity and Qualifications of Staff; Identity and Qualifications of Consultants; Prior Historic Building Experience. At 9:00, the Committee will open the packages and each take a copy home to read. We will each rank the qualifications based on the criteria and compare our rankings at our next meeting. We’ll pick the top 3 and ask for proposals.

There are six possible sites for Hatfield Public Library: Addition/Renovation of Dickinson Memorial Hall; New building at/near current site; Renovation of a portion of the Center School; Renovation of a portion of Town Hall; New building at Sophia Smith Park; New building on Smith Academy grounds.

At 9:00 the Committee opened bids from 15 companies: Leon Pernice and Associates, Inc.; JCJ Architecture; Lerner Ladds & Bartles; Caolo & Bieniek Associates.; Margo Jones, Architect; Hale Associates; DRA; Tappe Associates; B. Goba and Associates; ARCADD; Childs Bertman Tseckares, Inc.; Cristian C. Carey Architect; Durland Van Voorhis; J. The Office of Michael Rosenfeld, Inc.; Steward Roberts Assoc, Inc.

Next meeting: Saturday, April 26 at 8:00 a.m. at the Center School.

Meeting adjourned at 9:20 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

Press Release

Submitted to Hampshire Gazette April 15, 2008:

Residents of Hatfield were likely wondering about the group of men in dark suits walking around the center of town one afternoon in late March. They were representatives of architectural firms interested in submitting a proposal for an RFQ – Request for Qualifications – to work on a feasibility study for a possible new public library in Hatfield.

The Trustees of Hatfield Public Library, with lots of help from Library Director Sheila McCormick, received a Planning and Design Grant of $40,000 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. This money was matched with $20,000 from other sources including $8,000 voted at Town Meeting in May 2007.

A committee of nine Hatfield residents was selected to comprise the Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee – or LFNAC for short. This group has been meeting every two weeks to gather together the raw materials for a feasibility study that will be conducted by an architectural firm yet to be chosen.

Fifteen proposals were submitted by the April 12 deadline. Those proposals will now be read and rated by members of LFNAC and narrowed to the top 3 or 4 semi-finalists.

The process is not a speedy one. LFNAC expects to present a recommendation for a new or renovated library at Town Meeting in May of 2009. In the meantime, Hatfield residents can keep up-to-date at the Hatfield LFNAC blog at http://hatfieldlfnac.blogspot.com/ where all committee minutes are posted.

Meetings are open to the pubic and interested residents are invited to attend. LFNAC meets every 2 weeks on Saturday mornings. Contact any of the following members for details on place and time: Chair, Harold Green; Vice-Chair and Historical Commission Representative Lynn Omasta; Secretary and Library Trustee Representative, Dodie Gaudet; Martin Antonetti; Milton Howard; Susan Gaughan; Mary Williams; Mike Paszek; or Library Director Sheila McCormick.

Meet the Committee

Back row: Martin Antonetti; Sheila McCormick, Library Director; Harold Green, LFNAC Chair; Milton Howard, Susan Gaughan. Front row: Mary Williams; Lynn Omasta, Vice-Chair and Historical Commission Representative; Mike Paszek; Dodie Gaudet, Secretary and Library Trustee Representative.

LFNAC Minutes March 29, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Town Hall at 9:00 a.m. Present: Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek.
Absent: Milton Howard and Mary Williams

Minutes of the meeting on March 15 were accepted.

Lynn Omasta was elected Vice-Chair.

Review of Pre-bid walkthrough: On March 27, 19 architectural firms sent representatives to tour the Library, Town Hall, and sites owned by the town which are possible locations for the Hatfield Public Library. Milton, Mary, Mike, Sue, Harold and Sheila attended. Architects were shown the Center School, but did not go inside. They took a lot of pictures and asked questions. Questions and answers were recorded and are being transcribed by Harold. There were questions regarding the possibility of building on the site of the old Smith Academy. A quick opinion is that it will be more expensive to renovate the Dickinson building than to build a new facility.

Sheila is still working on the building program. She is currently working on the portion having to do with Collection Assessment. She wrote a brief monthly report for the MBLC. The invoice for our ad in the Republican arrived and will be paid from the grant. Members agreed that while the Trustees are responsible for signing off on our expenses, we also want to keep track of them.

In keeping with our desire to keep the community informed of our progress, Dodie will draft an article for the Gazette. She will also create a blog to post LFNAC minutes and updates. We will stress that this committee is a needs assessment only. There is no building committee, although we hope there will be one in the future.

This committee’s mission is to assess all possibilities for a new and improved Hatfield Public Library and make a recommendation to the town. However, we realize that whatever recommendation we make will impact other organizations – especially the Historical Society which occupies the top floor of the Dickinson Building. If the library moves out, will they be able to maintain the building? If the library remains in Dickinson, where will the Historical Society go?

Our next meeting will be Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 at the Hatfield Public Library. We will open the bids at 9:00. There are no bids as yet. Sheila will keep a log of bids as they arrive, stamp them with date and note the time.

We will meet every 2 weeks on Saturday and schedule additional meetings as needed. The next several dates are April 26, May 10, and May 24.

LFNAC was joined by other organizations in town so that we could let them know the progress of the Committee and to discuss the implications of the library leaving the Dickinson Building.

Present: Jan Adamski, Jeff Boyle, and Darryl Williams of the Selectboard; Richard Phaneuf and James Labbee, Historical Society; Frederick Martin, Historical Society and Historical Commission; George Ashly, Historical Commission Chair; Melissa Green, Library Trustee.

Harold stressed the safety and access issues of the current library and the need for a new or renovated facility. There was some discussion of how much to consider the Historical Society collection in our building program. There is minimal access to that collection and it is subject to extremes of temperature in its present location. While a combined facility sounds good in theory, there are serious difficulties in creating a shared use building. One is that the MBLC will fund a library and nothing else – not even shared space such as restrooms. Having a separate library facility is much clearer in terms of responsibility.

We all agreed to meet in the near future (possibly in 6 weeks) to continue the discussion once LFNAC is further along in the process.

Meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes March 15, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Town Hall at 12:00 noon. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek and Mary Williams.

Minutes of the meeting on February 16 were accepted.

Sheila estimates that the building program will be completed sometime in May. There is very little of this task that she can delegate.

Harold has begun turning our “Wish List” into sentences. Sheila has added more items and reminded us about including that we want a “Green” building. There was some discussion as to the definition of “Green”. We want an energy efficient building, but do we also want to focus on local materials? We also need to remember cost effectiveness (e.g. utilities may cost less but maintenance of high tech machinery is much higher). Are we thinking about LEED Certification?

On March 27 at 3:00 p.m. there will be a Pre-bid walkthrough of the Dickinson building and other potential sites in town. There will not be a formal presentation. However, we should audiotape and transcribe any questions and answers so that they are available to all potential bidders. We need a map of the town with potential sites indicated as part of the Pre-bid walkthrough. What sort of questions might be asked? Dodie will post this meeting at Town Hall and also in the Central Register. Sheila will email a copy of the Long Range Plan and the Planning and Design Grant proposal to all those who have responded to the RFQ. Copies of the LRP and the proposal will be available on that day. Harold, Sheila, Lynn, Milton, Mary, Sue and possibly Mike will attend.

LFNAC needs to meet with other organizations in town to let them know the progress of the Committee and to discuss the possibility of the library leaving the Dickinson Building. Currently the library is responsible for the maintenance of the building and someone else will have to assume that responsibility if the library moves. It is important to clarify the roles of all building tenants as we examine options for improving library facilities. The Trustees had already discussed meeting with the board of the Historical Society. Our next meeting is Saturday, March 29 at 9:00 a.m. at the Town Hall. We will invite other organizations to meet with us at 10:00: Historical Society, Historical Commission, Library Trustees, Selectboard. Since this is an LFNAC meeting, Harold will chair. All groups (except the Historical Society) need to post the meeting. Dodie will post for all groups once invitations have been accepted.

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet,
Secretary

LFNAC meeting March 1, 2008

The meeting for March 1, 2008 was canceled due to snow.

LFNAC UPDATE March 2008

LFNAC members met three times during February and accomplished a lot!

We’re still working on the “Wish List” for the ideal Hatfield Public Library. We’re identifying all areas of a library (Children’s, Teen’s, Reference, Staff, etc.) and ideally what should be in each (low tables and chairs, computers, natural light, work counter, closet for storage, etc.). Once this list is complete, it will be combined with demographic information and your comments from the focus groups and surveys of last spring to form a written Building Program.

So far, 36 architectural and design firms have responded to our Request for Qualifications (RFQ) that was published in the Massachusetts Central Register and the Republican newspaper. After the closing date in April, we will review the materials and begin interviews. Once the Building Program is finished and approved by the Board of Trustees, it will be given to the Architect to “translate” into an actual design. The architect will also help us select the best site for the 21st century Hatfield Public Library.

Lots of work still remains to be done, but this is an exciting time for the Public Library and the entire town of Hatfield.

LFNAC consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta; Martin Antonetti, Sue Gaughan; Harold Green, Chair; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.
3/1/08

LFNAC Minutes February 16, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Town Hall at 10:00 a.m. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek and Mary Williams. Also present was Anne Larson of the MBLC.

Anne stated that her job is to help us build a good library. If we have a methodical plan, we are more likely to succeed, although success is not guaranteed regardless of how well the committee does its job.

Anne outlined our tasks, some of which have been completed: write a Long Range Plan, and create a Needs Assessment Committee. The next step is to write a Building Program which consists of looking at what we have and seeing what is possible based on what other libraries have done. The Building Program document will express what we want in a library. We have copies of the Building Programs from Boxford and Bolton to use as examples. For the Program, there has to be a Needs Analysis, a Collection Analysis and a Literal Area Description (which we have begun with our Wish List on the flip chart).

Other comments made by Anne:
Don’t base the Program on the existing building; the architect will help decide whether to use the existing building or build new.
MBLC does not make its decision on funding based on reno/add vs. new; review is based on town population.
LFNAC does not make the decision on location; that is the architect’s responsibility, although we should be thinking of all possible locations.
Private fundraising is a must. We need to begin now to think of people who can make up a good fundraising committee. There might be some other grants available, also.

There was some discussion of joining the library with another town building (e.g. town hall, school, senior center, historical society). This is very difficult to do. All of these organizations have somewhat different missions. MBLC would only fund the portion that is the public library.

Timeline: Anne does not know when the next construction grant round will happen. There are 29 libraries still on the list, waiting for money, that were approved from 2005. There cannot be another round until these libraries’ projects are funded. It’s a hard sell to go to the town for money without already having approval from MBLC. We can ask for approval in concept at Town Meeting although few Needs Assessment Committees pursue this course. Anne recommended that the Town Meeting vote and the ballot vote be as close together as possible.

Project Manager: Anne outlined the duties of the OPM: Helps hire the architect; Works with the architect at the level we want; Keeps project moving; Can save us money in the long run; Can help us make decisions, but should not make final decisions for us; the OPM is our voice. Anne does not recommend a project manager as long as the committee members can remain neutral and objective. A weak committee needs an OPM; OPM duties should not fall to the director.

Other comments: Anne stressed having accurate cost estimates and reminded us that costs will go up. We don’t want to have to go back to the town to ask for more money. Cost alters the exteriors of buildings more than interiors.
Once a site is chosen and that plan submitted to MBLC, the site cannot be changed unless it is totally unusable.
If the MBLC reviewers reject our application for a construction grant, we have 6 months to revise our plan.

Architect: We need to do research before selecting an architect. Anne recommends going peer-to-peer (director to director; trustee to trustee, etc.). An important factor is chemistry: how well does the committee get along with the architect. If we want to continue with the same firm through the building phase, we want to meet the entire team as it will likely be a different person for planning than for building. Anne recommended that we videotape the briefing sessions.

The Building Program must be written and approved by the Library Trustees before an architect can be hired. A Building Program takes about 100 hours to write. We can use our grant funds to pay Sheila outside of her regular work hours. If Sheila spends 10 hours/week she can have a very rough draft by April 1. We have a recent Long Rang Plan, and parts of that can be used. Other information needs to be gathered and organized. The biggest driver is the size of the collection.

TO DO: Sheila will make an outline of what she can delegate to committee members and what she must do herself.

TO DO: Harold will update the Wish List information from the flip chart.

TO DO: All committee members should
Read the Long Range Plan
Read the Grant Application
Read the Building Programs from Boxford and Bolton
(all of these were sent via email and are also available at the library)

MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED: For hours worked beyond her normal working hours, Sheila will be paid her base hourly rate through the grant until that allocation is exhausted.

The next meeting will be Saturday, March 1 9:00 at the Town Hall.

Meeting adjourned at 12:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dodie Gaudet,
Secretary

LFNAC Minutes February 7, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m. Present were Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mike Paszek. Absent: Martin Antonetti, Milton Howard and Mary Williams

Since our meeting on Feb. 2, Harold has had several conversations including one with Anne Larson at the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners. We need to make some modifications to the actions we have begun. The MBLC does not follow the construction procedures outlined by the Secretary of State’s Office. This has resulted in some confusion of exactly what steps need to be taken and in which order. We are required by the MBLC to write a building program before hiring an architect.

Wording for the postings has been changed to “feasibility study” from “design study”. Deadline was moved to April 12 at 9:00 a.m. Time period for the completed project was moved to February 1, 2009 from January 1, 2009. We now need to revise the RFQ published in the Central Register. Dodie will see to the revision. Harold also drafted a posting that Sheila will submit to the Republican and post in the Library and Town Hall.

Sheila has received several inquiries due to our RFQ posting in the Central Register. They are requesting written detailed information. Harold had drafted an appropriate document which we reviewed.

MOVED and SECONDED: That we hire an OPM. We discussed the need for an OPM vs. members of the committee handling this task. Arguments against: An OPM will cost money; it will also cost money to negotiate a contract since no template exists; money would be better spent on a cost estimator than an OPM. Arguments for: an OPM would be an objective person, a professional whose job is to keep the project on track. The Library Trustees want an OPM involved. Harold and Lynn are willing to assume the responsibilities of an OPM. The MOTION WAS TABLED until after we talk with Anne Larson on Feb.16 and when all 9 members of the committee are present to vote.

We want to present our recommendation for approval at Town Meeting in May 2009. If we wait until later, the library will likely be competing with other capital projects.

We need to communicate with the Historical Society and/or Commission. Our recommendation will directly affect the Society and Commission and the historical collection on the second floor of Dickinson.

The next meeting will be Saturday, February 16 with Anne Larson at 10:00 at the Town Hall.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Dodie Gaudet, Secretary

LFNAC Minutes February 2, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Town Hall at 9:00 a.m. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek and Mary Williams. Absent: Milton Howard

Minutes from the meeting of January 19 were accepted as read.

Sheila announced that Anne Larson, Library Building Consultant/ Small Library Specialist at the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners is available to meet with us on February 16. We decided to begin the meeting at 10:00 and meet with Anne at 11:00 on the second floor of the Town Hall.

Sheila called two libraries about their use of an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM). Both interviewed several people and chose the same company. The duties of an OPM are expected to take about 5 hours/weed.

Our RFQ for an Architect/OPM did not appear in the Central Register on January 30 as the online confirmation had stated. Dodie will call someone at the Central Register to find out why not. [Even though the confirmation said January 30, the data was entered after 4:00 p.m. and therefore not scheduled to be published until the following week. The date on the website does not change until midnight. Programmers are trying to correct this. The RFQ did appear on February 6.]

The RFQ must also be posted in the Library, the Town Hall and a newspaper. Sheila will contact the Republican for posting.

The committee continued with the brainstorming session that began on January 5 listing features that should be in the ideal Hatfield Public Library. We again attempted to identify all possible locations. Additions/Renovations could be made to Dickinson Memorial, Center School, or Town Hall. New building sites might be behind Dickinson, or near Smith Academy. There may be others. There is a need for the library to be in a central location, near the schools and within walking distance for as many Hatfield residents as possible.

Martin distributed a photocopy of p. 52 from the December 2007 issue of Library Journal showing costs for recent additions and renovations to libraries in Massachusetts.

The committee has two Saturday meetings scheduled: February 16 with Anne Larson at 10:00 at the Town Hall and March 1 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting adjourned at 11:00.


Respectfully submitted

Dodie Gaudet, Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE – February 2008

LFNAC - The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee – is moving along! We met twice during January and here’s what we’ve done so far:

Developed a Mission Statement:
LFNAC’s mission is to
1. Assess the present facilities, resources and services offered by the Hatfield Public Library;
2. Study all of the available options for a new or renovated facility that will meet the identified needs of the town of Hatfield for at least the next 20 years; and
3. Present these proposals to the residents of Hatfield.

Submitted a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an architect and a project manager to help us with our mission and submitted the RFQ to the Massachusetts Central Register.

Began developing a wish list for the ideal library. We know we won’t be able to include everything on the list, but we’ll do the very best we can to ensure the residents of Hatfield have a library they can be proud of.

LFNAC consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta; Martin Antonetti, Sue Gaughan; Harold Green; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.

Watch this space for more updates on the LFNAC’s progress. 2/2/08

LFNAC Minutes January 19, 2008

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:00 a.m. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Mike Paszek

Minutes from the meeting of January 5 were accepted as read with two corrections of typographical errors. Also, 3 possible sites for a new facility were listed in the minutes, but there are more.

Sheila announced that $36,000 of our grant money has arrived from the state. We can now purchase supplies and Sheila will provide committee members with a large, expandable file folder.

We began by setting guidelines for attendance since we want to make sure there is a quorum for voting. MOVED and VOTED: If any member misses 5 meeting, he/she will be asked to resign. A letter will be sent after 4 missed meetings letting the person know he/she cannot miss any more meetings and still be a member of the Library Facility Needs Assessment Committee.

The discussion about the need for an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) continued. Lynn talked with her colleagues who said that one is not needed at this point. We need a designer or design house (aka architectural firm) to help us do a design study to present a project to the town. This design house may or may not be the same one that builds the facility. To Do: Sheila will talk with some directors of libraries constructed since the requirement of an OPM became law to find out the exact contribution to the project. She will also invite Anne Larson to visit with this Committee.

We reviewed a document form the Mass Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) “Your Library Construction Project: a checklist for success” which is a timeline for the project. A long-range plan has been developed; we’ve started to identify needs. Our next task is to write an RFQ for a study.

Sheila made some calculations on how much space we need for the current collection size and town population based on the Wisconsin Library Standards. Currently, there should be 5,254 sq. ft. of space and we have about 2300. She then recalculated based on the anticipated collection size and town population in 20 years. Gross area needed will be over 11,000 sq. ft. The Committee decided to use the working figure of 10,000 sq. ft.

We need to write a plan which the designer/architect will help us refine. We need to be clear on what we want so that we don’t get talked into a feature that is not appropriate for Hatfield. Qualifications for a designer: someone who has worked on a library project in Massachusetts in a town with a population size between 2,000 and 7,000 since 2004. Also, we want someone with at least 5 years of experience.

We looked at copies of the Central Register for examples of wording. It is very brief. We developed the criteria required for that publication. To Do: Dodie will forward this information to Marlene Michonski to post in the Central Register.

The committee scheduled three more Saturday meetings: February 2, February 16 and March 1, all at 9:00 a.m. at the Library. The meeting adjourned at 10:46.


Respectfully submitted

Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE – January 2008

LFNAC (pronounced “elfnack”) met on December 8 and continued its visits to area libraries. This time we visited the Meekins Library in Williamsburg and the Lilly Library in Florence. Both of these buildings were renovated with large additions added. Both of these libraries also now consist of two floors and have elevators, unlike the single story libraries we visited in November: Sunderland, Leverett and Wendell. Those buildings were all brand new construction.

One of the issues this Committee will tackle is whether to keep the Hatfield Library in the current Dickinson Memorial building and build an addition; build a brand new facility; or use an existing facility in town. Obviously, there are pros and cons for each approach. Regardless of the final recommendation, the Hatfield Public Library will be a larger, more up-to-date building and will meet the information, education and recreational needs of Hatfield’s residents for many years to come.

LFNAC stands for the Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee. The group consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta; Martin Antonetti, Sue Gaughan; Harold Green; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.

Watch this space for more updates on the LFNAC’s progress.

1/5/08

LFNAC Minutes January 5, 2008

he Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:00 a.m. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, and Mary Williams
Absent: Mike Paszek

Minutes from the meeting of December 8 were accepted as read with one correction: The minutes say November 17 at the top due to the File/Save As function of MS Word, but the content is from the December 8 meeting.

We agreed that the work of this committee will likely be finished by the end of 2008 and that we will have a recommendation to present at the Town Meeting in May of 2009

There was discussion about the need for an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM). The grant proposal written by Sheila and the Board of Trustees to the Mass Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) allowed $5000 for an OPM. MBLC strongly recommends an OPM, but it is not required. The person must be an architect or engineer. S/he works for the committee, attends committee meetings and is usually self-employed. We began drawing up a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) but decided to put that task on hold until we do more research on the value of an OPM to this process. Lynn Omasta works with several people who work as OPMs. She will talk with them and report back to this committee.

We discussed the various steps we need to take and the order in which to tackle them. We need to have a plan before hiring an architect (also called designer). We also need to keep in mind how much it will cost to build a library that will last the town of Hatfield until at least 2030.

Possible sites available in town: around Smith Academy, around Town Hall, between current Library and the Elementary School.

We spent the rest of the time brainstorming ideas for what we feel should be in the ideal Hatfield Public Library. [Later, Harold transcribed the list and emailed it to committee members.]

The committee scheduled another meeting for Saturday, January 19 at 9:00 a.m. at the Library. The meeting adjourned at 11:00.

Respectfully submitted

Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

LFNAC UPDATE – December 2007

LFNAC (pronounced “elfnack”) stands for the Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee. A long name for a group with an important assignment: To study all of the available options for a new or renovated public library in Hatfield and to make a recommendation to the town.

The group consists of nine members: Library Director Sheila McCormick; Library Trustee Dodie Gaudet; Historical Commission Liaison Lynn Omasta; Martin Antonetti, Sue Gaughan; Harold Green; Milton Howard; Mike Paszek; and Mary Williams.

LFNAC met on November 17 and after a brief session to learn about the shortcomings with the current library building and features to note in new library buildings, committee members set out to visit the public libraries in Sunderland, Wendell and Levertt. These are all new buildings built within the last 4 years.

Since what works in theory doesn’t always translate when put into practice, members of LFNAC talked with the staff of these libraries and asked their opinions as to the best features of their new libraries and what might have been done differently. We looked at their designs and layout, their furniture and lighting.

There are two more libraries to visit: Meekins in Williamsburg and Lilly in Florence. Both of these are old library buildings which were renovated and added to. This is another option for Hatfield.

Armed with this information, LFNAC will look at what sort of library will best serve the residents of Hatfield.

The work of this Committee is funded through a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $8,000 from the Friends of Hatfield Library, $4,000 from Hatfield Library Funds and $8,000 from the town of Hatfield, approved at the May 2007 Town meeting.

Watch this space for more updates on the LFNAC’s progress.

12/8/07

Minutes December 8, 2007

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:00 a.m. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Sheila McCormick, Mike Paszek, and Mary Williams
Absent: Milton Howard, Lynn Omasta

Group members elected Harold Green as President and Dodie Gaudet as secretary.

We discussed the three libraries that we visited after our last meeting: Sunderland, Wendell and Leverett. There are a lot of good reasons for erecting a new building, but there is also a lot of sentiment for renovating and adding on to the Dickinson Memorial building. We need to keep in mind that HPL’s delivery will increase a lot when the Library becomes a circulating member of C/W MARS. The libraries we visited last month didn’t seem to have enough work area behind the circulation desks.

We developed a mission statement to help us keep on track as we proceed with our work. LFNAC’s mission is to

Assess the present facilities, resources and services offered by the Hatfield Public Library;
Study all of the available options for a new or renovated facility that will meet the identified needs of the town of Hatfield for at least the next 20 years; and
Present these proposals to the residents of Hatfield.

This committee reports to the Library Trustees, which was given authority by the Selectboard.

Part of our process will be to consider other buildings in town such as the Center School and Town Hall (if it moves). Studies have been conducted on renovating the Center School, which would be helpful for us to see as part of our deliberations.

There was some discussion on the merits of hiring a Project Manager. The fees for a Project Manager will use up a substantial part of our budget, but is there anyone on the Committee who has the time and expertise to take on these duties? Some see a Project Manager as an unnecessary layer between the Committee and the Architect who will be hired. Others see the Project Manager as a liaison between the entities. The law that governs this aspect of the grant has not changed, but its interpretation has. We are no longer obligated to hire a Project Manager, but it is strongly recommended. This is an issue that needs to be resolved soon.

Several Committee members intended to visit the Meekins Library in Williamsburg and Lilly Library in Florence at the conclusion of the meeting.

Committee members were reminded to be sworn in as soon as possible by Town Clerk Louise Slysz.

The committee scheduled another meeting for Saturday, January 5 at 9:00 a.m. at the Library.


Respectfully submitted

Dodie Gaudet
Secretary

Minutes November 17, 2007

The Library Facilities Needs Assessment Committee met at the Hatfield Public Library at 9:00 a.m. Present were Martin Antonetti, Dodie Gaudet, Sue Gaughan, Harold Green, Milton Howard, Sheila McCormick, Lynn Omasta, Mike Paszek, and Mary Williams

Group members introduced themselves and gave a brief description of their background relative to this project.

Sheila passed out information about the three libraries that we planned to visit that day: Sunderland, Wendell and Leverett. All are new facilities built within the last few years. Sheila relayed more detailed information supplied by the library director in Sunderland who was not on duty that day and would not be available to give us a tour. Sheila also passed out some sample check lists of things to note on our visits.

Sheila talked about the problems of our current building: most notably the size and the lack of accessibility for people with limited mobility. The small size translates to multiple other problems such as overcrowding of materials, inadequate work space, and lack of a place to hold programs.

In the near future, we will visit two more libraries, Meekins Library in Williamsburg and Lilly Library in Florence. Both are old library buildings which were recently renovated and additional space was added.

The committee scheduled another meeting for Saturday, December 8 at 9:00 a.m. at the Library. We need to select a Chair of the group. We agreed that it is important to keep the Selectboard and Hatfield town residents informed of our progress.


Respectfully submitted

Dodie Gaudet