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The meeting opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Ms. Luck announced the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast at the Senior Center tomorrow morning from 8-10:30
a.m. All are welcome.
APPOINTMENTS
Vertex Companies Inc. Property Condition Assessments for Town Hall, Ritter Building, TC Passios, Old
Primary School, Brooks House, Turkey Hill Elementary School and Eagle House Senior/Community
Center
Eric Nelson, Vice President, Steve Kirby and Phillip Russo of Vertex presented a summary of the property
condition assessments (PCAs). The written assessments of Turkey Hill Elementary and Eagle House have yet to
be completed so there will only be general comments on those two facilities. The property condition assessment
looks at the current condition of the building. One of the goals for performing these assessments was to
incorporate facilties capital projects into the overall capital plan that will assist in development of the long term
facilties maintenance and repair program. Mr. Nelson stated a property condition assessment is commonly
performed by a single professional such as an architect. We utilized a team approach which included a
registered architect (generalist), mechanical engineer, structural engineer, architect (building envelope) and a
hazardous materials specialist. They provided independent opinions on the various materials, components and
systems of each building for their respective disciplines which were consolidated into a single report. It was
performed following a specific protocol (ASTM E2018-15 provisions); the standard is intended to provide a
framework for the review and make the assessment results repeatable and objective to the degree that it can be.
We categorize all this information into three categories: immediate needs, short term repairs and capital needs.
We agreed with the Town at the onset that we would go out to five years on the categories. We used a facility
condition index (FCI) to evaluate the condition of buildings. Issues identified were immediate, ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act) and capital needs. The dollar amount listed is the building replacement cost.
The following definitions were used for these ratings:
Good- aggregate of identified issues is less than 5% of total replacement costs estimated for the associated
system;
Fair- aggregate of identified issues is greater than 5% and less than 10% of total replacement costs estimated for
the associated system;
Poor- aggregate of identified issues is greater than 10% of total replacement costs estimated for the associated
system.
He presented a chart showing all the buildings were rated as poor. Lunenburg Primary School had a ranking of
70% poor. Total immediate repairs would amount to $1,027,280. Short term repairs came in at $775,000.
Ritter Memorial Building had a 28% poor ranking. Total immediate repairs would amount to $170,297 and
short term repairs would cost $190,496. There are potential costs for hazardous materials abatement. TC Passios
ranked in the 20 percentile range. Immediate repairs total $794,000. Short term repairs totalled $2,173,000. We
projected windows to be replaced over a period of time. If they were replaced all at once, the capital costs
would increase.
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and include that amount spent in the total cost.
NEXT STEPS:
• ASSESSMENT & NEEDS STUDY- TAPPE ASSOCIATES- COMPLETE
• BUILDING PROPERTY CONDITION ASSESSMENT- VERTEX -COMPLETE
• DEVELOP PRIORITIZED GENERAL STRATEGY FOR FUTURE USE OF 7 TOWN BUILDINGS-
to be done by Town
• FEASIBILITY STUDY-SCHEMATIC DESIGN - to be done as follows
• DEVELOP REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)
• ADVERTISE RFQ
• CONDUCT ONSITE BRIEFING FOR INTERESTED DEVELOPERS
• REVIEW PROPOSALS
• SELECT & HIRE DESIGNER
• DETERMINE THE DIRECTION THAT IS BEST FOR TOWN
Questions regarding the report about demolitions, abatement of hazardous materials and inspections of life
safety equipment were answered. Further discussion about the buildings data and how to proceed ensued.
The Board thanked Vertex for their work.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Facilities:
Property Condition Assessments:
Mr. Eric Nelson, Mr. Steve Kirby and Mr. Philip Russo are with us tonight from Vertex Companies to present
to the Board a summary of the property condition assessments performed at Town Hall, the Ritter Building, the
old Primary School, the Brooks House, TC Passios, Eagle House, and Turkey Hill Elementary by a team of
professional staff that included architects and engineers. Since the written assessments for Turkey Hill and
Eagle House are not complete, the lead architect on this project will be able to make general comments on these
two buildings. A property condition assessment looks at the current condition of the building. One of the goals
for performing these property condition assessments was to incorporate facilities capital projects into our
overall Capital Plan that will assist in the development of a long term facilities plan that addresses necessary
repairs and maintenance of our town buildings.
Summer Street Road Reconstruction Project Award:
The bid results for the Summer Street Project were received on February 6th and the low bid came in $1.2 M
under the office estimate. The apparent low bid was from Baltazar Contractors of Ludlow in the amount of
$7,105,195. It will take a few months for a contract to be signed between MassDOT and the contractor and time
to mobilize, but the project should commence late spring.
Business-Town Partnership Meeting:
The next scheduled meeting between the Business Community and town officials will be on February 26th at 10
a.m. at the Library. The notice is up on the Town Facebook page and everyone who attended one or more
meetings this fall was part of a distribution list notifying them of the meeting.
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CURRENT BUSINESS
1. WORKSHOP ON ACTION ITEMS
The Board reviewed the following items to determine if they should be a future agenda item or workshop.
1. Posting of town related business on social media- Workshop with affected departments
2. Plowing of the sidewalk on Massachusetts Avenue- Agenda item
3. Identify Crosswalks at Rotary at Whalom - Remove item (worked into Complete Streets Program)
4. Facilities /Maintenance Consolidation- Agenda item (invite School)
5. Town Interest in Lake Shirley property, Lake Shirley and Lake Shirley Dam- Workshop item
(Invite Conservation Commission, Lake Shirley Improvement Corp., Town Counsel)
6. 925 Massachusetts Avenue (gas station)- Agenda item
7. Municipal towing contract- Remove from list; Ms. Lemieux will consult with the public safety
departments
8. Review of abandoned/vacant properties-Agenda item- couple with Tax Title Property update
9. Memorial Day Committee formation- Agenda item with proposed charge for committee
10. Establish Flag Policy/Procedure-Agenda item with some sample policies
11. Liquor/BYOB regulations review-Agenda item with Police Chief
12. Revise Earth Removal permit closure/restoration standards/earth removal bylaw-Agenda item with
Building Commissioner and Land Use Director
13. Update tollbooth policy (specifically reasons for denial) - Agenda item
14. Update one day liquor license policy to add insurance requirement- Agenda item
15. Create policy/process on non-profit signage on town property - Agenda item
16. CORI requirements for Limousine Drivers- Agenda item
17. Posting of Selectmen meetings for attending Finance Committee meetings- Agenda item
18. Town Property Maintenance- Workshop
19. Succession Planning (for dept. heads) - Agenda item
20. ACO Facility Process- Agenda item
2. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues
The Board signed an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $392,313.08.
Action File Issues: Ms. Bertram stated she still is concerned about the repairs at the Middle/High school and
would not support signing the release for the final payment to the contractor. She had forwarded additional
questions to the Town Manager. She would like this as a future agenda item as the responses to the questions
were not satisfactory. She also requested any payments on the HVAC system and ceiling panels to be flagged
on the warrants. She wanted to know if we are assuming costs for repairs that we should not be. Ms. Lemieux
stated she forwarded those questions on to the School Superintendent and she will be looking into it.
3. Committee Reports:
Ms. Luck reported the Stormwater Task Force met on February 8th. Design Consultants Inc. presented maps
that identified 25 priority best management practices, including sites, priority ranking and approximate cost
estimates. Nine of the sites were identified as candidates for the 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Competitive
Grants due to their locations. The Community Compact grant final report will include glossy maps we can use
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Department is responsible for 75% of the future OPEB (Other Postemployment Benetits) lability and 1o%o of
the current OPEB liability, it is imperative that there be an understanding of how the School Department can
work with the Town to reduce future OPEB liability. Negotiations with town employees are really how you
have to address that reduction of liability.
Ms. Bertram reported Montachusett Planning Organization (MPO) had a meeting and there is an amendment
out for comment. They are starting the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) process. She is a little concerned
about the Summer Street project bid coming in under budget and what adjustments would be needed for that.
There was a MPO Subregion 3 meeting on January 30. Members from Devens and Ayer attended as well as
DPW Director Rodriquenz and Ms. Luck. It was informative as to how MPO works and the process to get a
project. For federal aid eligible roads, we should be looking at incorporating them into the Transportation
Improvement Plan (TIP) as we have many in Lunenburg. Incorporating Complete Street components into
roadways can be done through the TIP. At the end of the program there was a plug for projects under the
Unified Planning Work Program. Basically it is funds allocated for the planning agency to do various projects in
the communities that it serves. She encouraged the Town to take advantage of the services MRC can provide.
Ms. Lemieux is doing a fantastic job doing that but she thought we could expand on that.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Dave Rodgers, 82 Highland Street, stated OPEB, BMP, MPO; you all know what this is, but please clarify for
the home viewers. When Ms. Lemieux prepared the Five Year Forecast, we could not see it. We had to wait
until it was accessible on the town website. He asked the Board to take these comments into consideration.
He asked how much Vertex was paid for the property condition assessments. Ms. Lemieux stated the
appropriation at Town Meeting was $50,000. He asked when the public will get to see the report and ask
questions about it. Ms. Lemieux stated it will put on the website as soon as possible. Mr. Rodgers asked when
the Board would be discussing this again. Mr. Toale noted that the next steps were for the Board to evaluate the
data and come up with some recommendations for the Town to look at.
Mr. Rodgers asked what our bonding capacity is. Ms. Lemieux stated she would have to look that up. Ms.
Bertram stated MPO was the Montachusett Metropolitan Planning Association. We look at all the available
transportation funds and based on the projects that are submitted determine how the funding is going to be
distributed throughout the region. Ms. Luck clarified that OPEB stands for Other Postemployment Benefits. It
is generally insurance coverage and the Town pays 75% and the (retired) employee pays 25%.
Julia Callahan, 24 Beal Street, stated Article 1 was amended at town meeting to add Eagle House and Turkey
Hill Elementary School for the property condition assessment. Is there a timeline on when to expect those two
assessments? Ms. Lemieux stated she expected them within two to three weeks.
Ms. Bertram believed the Board should come up with a schedule on charrettes so people can be informed in
advance and requested this be a future agenda item.
Motion: R.Ebersole
2'°: P. Bertram
To enter Executive Session under M.G.L. c. 30 §21, Reason #2: To conduct contract negotiations with
non-union personnel if any open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining
position and the Chair declares so and to adjourn immediately. (Town Manager Contract)
Vote: Mr. McQuaid-aye, Ms. Luck- aye, Ms. Bertram -aye, Mr. Ebersole- aye, Mr. Toale-aye
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