===PAGE 1=== Park Commission Minutes August 21, 2024 page of 51 Town of Lunenburg Park Commission Anita Scheipers, Chair 978.582.4146 Colleen Shapiro, Vice Chair 960 Mass Ave. Karin Menard, Clerk Lunenburg, MA 01462 Tim Lawless, Member Chris Sullivan, Member Members present: Anita Scheipers, Karin Menard, Tim Lawless, and Christopher Sullivan Absent: Colleen Shapiro Additional Attendees: Tom Doolittle, OPM firm Skanska, Chris Ruth Meeting to order at 6:30 PM and A. Scheipers read “This meeting is being broadcast live and digitally recorded.” First item on the agenda, Complete scoring of written proposals from the submitting Landscape Design firms for Marshall Park T. Doolittle stated they did receive two references for each of the firms. The references came back extremely positive. T. Lawless expressed concerns with Fuss & O’Neill not having experience with projects over 2 million dollars and no letters of recommendation from satisfied clients. A. Scheipers suggested finishing the evaluation scoring after the interviews. Next item on the agenda, Conduct interviews with the three Landscape Design firms: NESRA, Fuss & O’Neill, and RDLA Fuss & O’Neill Andrew Bohne, Landscape Architect, and A. Fairweather, Landscape Designer of Fuss & O’Neill gave a brief overview and discussed their presentation and design. Presentation attached. T. Doolittle asked if they can commit to the people identified in your chart will be the individuals assigned to this project for the duration and those people are available to start upon the execution of the contract. ===PAGE 2=== Park Commission Minutes August 21, 2024 page of 52 A. Bohne stated yes with the caveat being Emily being on maternity leave. T. Doolittle asked to describe your team’s quality assurance and quality control methodology and how you would approach and minimize construction changes. A. Bohne stated they have a very stringent quality assurance and quality control methodology. T. Doolittle indicated this project is funded with state and federal grants. T. Doolittle asked to describe the team’s experience and designing within these restrictions of multiple funding sources and how you work to comply with the reporting requirements of these grants. A. Bohne indicated they do a lot of work in the water and natural resources department in our community development and with our transportation group all have different grant funding. Each one has different reporting requirements. A. Bohne noted this is all about being organized and on top of things and ensuring the schedule is laid out and marks are being hit along the way. T. Doolittle stated the park has an aggressive schedule for phase 1 to comply with some of those grants. T. Doolittle asked how the team would work to meet the schedule. A. Bohne stated they are ready as soon as there is a contract in hand. A. Bohne indicated permitting is a key piece. T. Doolittle stated the schematic design has been completed. T. Doolittle asked, after reviewing the schematic design do you see areas that will need further evaluation before proceeding to the next stage? A. Bohne stated Geotech and understanding of the comfort station and how that sits in the ground and stays secure. T. Doolittle asked to describe your team’s experience with the Army Corps of Engineers water quality permitting. A. Bohne stated he has a lot of experience with the Army Corps of Engineers with things such as docks, boat ramps, launches, and boardwalks. The team has permitting experts. C. Sullivan noted there is a skate park which is a separate entity. C. Sullivan asked if they had experienced a project like that and how they dealt with it. A. Bohne noted communication is the big part of making it run smoothly. T. Lawless asked about their experience working with the Conservation Commission. A. Bohne indicated minimizing the impact, small penetration into the ground, and being as delicate as possible is really the key. A. Scheipers indicated they would need help with community engagement and educating the town on what this project is going to encompass. A. Scheipers asked how do we have the most accurate information in time to prepare for the Town Meeting. ===PAGE 3=== Park Commission Minutes August 21, 2024 page of 53 A. Scheipers asked what is envisioned for community engagement to help the public understand. A. Bohne noted there are many avenues, such as farmer’s markets or a website could all be tools. Put the information out there as many way as possible and avoid misinformation. A.Scheipers what is the best way to get a dollar number for additional funding for Town Meeting? A. Bohne stated initially they would look to sit down and springboard it out. Nesra Engineering Arsen Hambardzumian, Principal Engineer, and his Associate gave a brief overview and discussed their presentation and design. Presentation attached T. Doolittle asked if they can commit to the people identified in your chart will be the individuals assigned to this project for the duration and those people are available to start upon the execution of the contract. A. Hambardzumian stated yes. T. Doolittle asked to describe your team’s quality assurance and quality control methodology and how you would approach and minimize construction changes. A. Hambardzumian stated there is a review during each phase of the project, and the team meets with the Commission for discussion. T. Doolittle indicated this project is funded with state and federal grants. T. Doolittle asked to describe the team’s experience and designing within these restrictions of multiple funding sources and how you work to comply with the reporting requirements of these grants. A. Hambardzumian stated the majority of the documentation was through the construction phase where they would visit and inspect to ensure the employees were receiving a fair wage, meeting the required breaks, etc. At the design end, we have not asked to provide anything additional from what we normally do in the office. T. Doolittle stated the park has an aggressive schedule for phase 1 to comply with some of those grants. T. Doolittle asked how the team would work to meet the schedule. A. Hambardzumian states we only take on projects we are comfortable with and we can meet the timeline. T. Doolittle stated the schematic design has been completed. T. Doolittle asked, after reviewing the schematic design do you see areas that will need further evaluation before proceeding to the next stage? A. Hambardzumian stated it seemed adequate with some areas of wetland delineation noted to be done by others, ===PAGE 4=== Park Commission Minutes August 21, 2024 page of 54 we would like to look into that. A. Hambardzumian suggested designing the softball field foul zone to the NCAA standards. T. Doolittle asked to describe your team’s experience with the Army Corps of Engineers water quality permitting. A. Hambardzumian stated they have worked with them for lakes and ponds but not water quality. A. Hambardzumian stated they would rely on their experts for permitting. C. Sullivan noted there is a skate park which is a separate entity. C. Sullivan asked if they had experienced a project like that and how they dealt with it. A. Hambardzumian stated they have dealt with building contractors and site contractors doing the concession buildings and the athletic facilities. A. Hambardzumian indicated they would provide a fenced-in construction zone to keep disputes at a minimum. A. Scheipers what is the best way to get a dollar number for additional funding for Town Meeting? A. Hambardzumian stated they would put all bids into Excel and look back at 14 years of projects then take individual components and build an estimate. A. Scheipers indicated they would need help with community engagement and educating the town on what this project is going to encompass. A. Hambardzumian gave some examples of outreach they have done in other cities and towns. T. Doolittle asked if they are doing cost estimating internally. A. Hambardzumian stated that is correct. T. Doolittle asked about Susan Moore, Moore Landscape Architect's role in the project. A. Hambardzumian stated S. Moore designs the plantings. RDLA Ray Dunetz and David Nardone gave a brief overview and discussed their presentation and design. Presentation attached T. Doolittle asked if they can commit to the people identified in your chart will be the individuals assigned to this project for the duration and those people are available to start upon the execution of the contract. R. Dunetz stated yes. T. Doolittle asked to describe your team’s quality assurance and quality control methodology and how you would approach and minimize construction changes. R. Dunetz stated they have a process of control in the office and rarely have change orders. ===PAGE 5=== Park Commission Minutes August 21, 2024 page of 55 Nick Betts indicated there will be three dedicated engineers on the project doing quality assurance and quality control. T. Doolittle indicated this project is funded with state and federal grants. T. Doolittle asked to describe the team’s experience and designing within these restrictions of multiple funding sources and how you work to comply with the reporting requirements of these grants. R. Dunetz stated they have never had to report with a grant, generally the municipality handles that. R. Dunetz stated they would provide drawings and estimates. T. Doolittle stated the park has an aggressive schedule for phase 1 to comply with some of those grants. T. Doolittle asked how the team would work to meet the schedule. R. Dunetz indicated it is dependent on the permitting but they are flexible. T. Doolittle stated the schematic design has been completed. T. Doolittle asked, after reviewing the schematic design do you see areas that will need further evaluation before proceeding to the next stage? Nick ----- noted the Mass Ave. area, the stormwater needs to be advanced, and the sewer connection. T. Doolittle asked to describe your team’s experience with the Army Corps of Engineers water quality permitting. R. Dunetz indicated they would sub out for water quality. C. Sullivan noted there is a skate park which is a separate entity. C. Sullivan asked if they had experienced a project like that and how they dealt with it. D. Nardone indicated they have had experience with these situations. A. Scheipers indicated they would need help with community engagement and educating the town on what this project is going to encompass. R. Dunetz gave examples of outreach for past projects and indicated a QR Code is quite effective. A. Scheipers what is the best way to get a dollar number for additional funding for Town Meeting? R. Dunetz stated they would use an estimator company to get the number. Next item on the agenda, Finalize rankings of design firms and vote for top choice firm for contracting with the Town A. Scheipers indicated the scores before this meeting were NESRA 91, Fuss & O’Neill 90 and RDLA 87. The Commission discussed their preferences of applicants. ===PAGE 6=== Park Commission Minutes August 21, 2024 page of 56 As a result of the commission discussion and scoring of the written proposals and interviews with the proposing landscape design firms for Marshall Park, the following vote was taken: C. Sullivan moved that the committee vote to move forward with RDLA (Ray Dunetz Landscape Architect). The motion was seconded by K. Menard. The Chair called for a vote. The motion was approved unanimously. Next item on the agenda, Consider the approval of the Parks Commission revolving fund as submitted to the Chair by the Town Manager’s office A. Scheipers indicated A. Clement suggested raising the revolving fund to $40,000. C. Sullivan made a motion the Parks Commission revolving fund as submitted to the Chair by the Town Manager’s office. K. Menard seconded. All in favor, motion carried (4-0). Next item on the agenda, Consider November Special Town Meeting articles A. Scheipers discussed the Article to change the revolving fund from a 53d to a 53 and a half. A. Scheipers discussed the Article to increase the Recreation Director’s hours from 19 to 28. C. Ruth suggested increasing it to a maximum of 32 hours. A. Scheipers discussed the Article for funding of Marshall Park. Next item on the agenda, Chair Updates None. Next item on the agenda, Next Meeting September 18, 2024 Board comment: A. Scheipers read A. Clement’s comment noting the beach closes Sunday, August 25, 2024. Public comment: None Adjourned: 9:58 pm Submitted by: Andrea Mastrototoro