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