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
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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.
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
