ORDER-2017-58 : An Appropriation in the amount of $75,000 from Available Free Cash to Public Works Professional Building Services for a Public Safety Buildings Feasibility Study and Building Envelope Study for Memorial Hall.

Transcript (~9 min @ 16:40)

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▶ 16:22 Peter D. Mortimer: correct okay thank you mr chairman thank you alderman forbes any other alderman wishing to be heard uh seeing none a motion has been made to recommend this order for passage by alderman boyce l duly seconded by alderman forbes all in favor please say aye aye any opposed hearing none This order will be recommended for passage at our next full board meeting on December 19th The next order we have before us is an appropriation in the amount of $75,000 from available free cash to public works professional building services for a public safety buildings feasibility study and building envelope study for Memorial Hall

▶ 17:01 Speaker 7: Hall. Please proceed, Mr. Shana.

▶ 17:03 Speaker 5: So this funding, this request for appropriation will fund a feasibility study to explore possible upgrades, repairs, renovations that are required at the Melrose Police Station, Central Station, Engine 1, sorry, Engine 2, which is at Tremont Street, and Engine 3, which is at the Common. additionally the funding will allow for building envelope study of memorial hall to assess some possible repairs that are going to be required at that facility this past summer if i can backtrack a little bit mayor dolan established a public safety building committee to begin exploring options and advise his office on some ideas and some possibilities on how best to uh to address these aging facilities the committee's chaired by former Melrose fire chief John O'Brien and myself alderman president Khan is serves as the alderman Representatives on that board we have chief Larry chief Lyle representatives of the police and fire department in the series of residents and volunteers that have experience in either architecture or public construction or even public safety operations so it's a really good group we met over the tail end of the summer we visited the facilities we met and had some brainstorm sessions what this funding will do is allow us to move forward in the procurement of an architect to do a feasibility study there's three main parts to the feasibility study an assessment of existing conditions a discussion and an exploration with both fire and police staff on their operations so this way we can have a professional opinion on what kind of space those operations will will dictate and then the last part is possibilities to for upgrades within each site or the option of a combat a combined facility next door to City Hall at the central station that's what we're looking to do once we have procurement in place we can go out and and follow that procedure and hope to have an architect on board by late January early February to begin his work in parallel with that we're going to work with Kathy Piggott Broder and the Memorial Hall trustees to do to follow a similar process at a smaller scale to look at that building when you walk into the main hall and you look up and you look around you there are obviously defects but are those are those the priority are there other issues that we should address so we're going to try to hire a professional come in and help us help us with that as well the end goal of both of these processes is to come up with a recommendation on how to address these municipal buildings that haven't really really had the attention that they deserve in the last few years. That's what this funding and that's what this order is for.

▶ 20:13 Peter D. Mortimer: Thank you Mr. Shenna. President Kahn please.

▶ 20:15 Speaker 3: Yeah, condition of the central fire station and the police station, I believe to be significant infrastructure needs to the city. Committee can't really go forward until we get some expert analysis as to what our options are. So I would hope the board, realizing the importance of upgrading these facilities, their age, and the problems that exist relative, then we'll pass this order so that we can engage an expert and we can hope to come up with some solutions to buildings which sorely need to be either upgraded or replaced.

▶ 20:54 Peter D. Mortimer: Thank you, President Kahn. Is there a motion?

▶ 20:57 Speaker 8: Motion to recommend.

▶ 20:58 Peter D. Mortimer: We have a motion to recommend from Alderman Boisselle. Second. Duly seconded by Alderman Boisselle. Forbes on discussion alderman Medeiros please thank you we were just talking in

▶ 21:11 Monica C. Medeiros: the order prior about the friends of the friends of the the aging and at the

▶ 21:19 Monica C. Medeiros: Senior Center I know Memorial Hall has a fund where people can make donations and in fact some of the the ticket sales go into that fund do we know how much money is available there or is there any as far as you are aware any any friends

▶ 21:39 Monica C. Medeiros: group that's kind of active along with the Board of Trustees to well I don't

▶ 21:41 Speaker 5: know the details of that Kathy Pickett broader manages that but what I can do is have her provide you with that information before the next full board meeting and we can attach it to this order that would be helpful and I don't

▶ 21:56 Monica C. Medeiros: are there I know you said I don't recall us receiving maybe we had an update on

▶ 22:04 Monica C. Medeiros: the on the Public Safety Building Committee's meeting over the summer are there any meeting minutes or anything that you might be able to share with us

▶ 22:13 Speaker 5: for the next week we met officially once and I have those minutes I can send

▶ 22:19 Monica C. Medeiros: those along as well I think that would be helpful just to kind of idea get an idea of where the scope of this experts time will be directed we can we can do

▶ 22:32 Peter D. Mortimer: that thanks okay thank you very much Thank You alderman Medeiros alderman

▶ 22:35 Scott M. Forbes: Forbes please Thank You mr. chairman just in a point of clarification too I know for everybody watching at home $75,000 sounds like a lot of a lot of money but we are looking at three buildings here correct Memorial Hall police department police building and fire station those public safety buildings I assumed the cost of the $75,000 is inspections engineering and any type of funding for plans and specifications recommendations just for the people at home so they understand where the $75,000 yeah the study will

▶ 23:06 Speaker 5: take us basically to conceptual and then from that point the committee can make a decision a recommendation of the mayor the may can decide and then it's up to the board to fund design on how to proceed so this is just to basically study the buildings their existing condition what we can do what we can't do to them at the same time look at the programming needs of both police and fire operations and then come up with some options on on what we can do based on phase one phase two results that that can that can conclude in a project but that project has to come back before this board for full design full design

▶ 23:55 Scott M. Forbes: funding Thank You mr. Jenna in order for us to move forward this is a necessary first step so I will fully support this order Thank You mr. chairman Thank You

▶ 24:01 Peter D. Mortimer: Alderman Forbes, Alderman Boycelle, please.

▶ 24:05 Robert A. Boisselle: John, is this part of the feasibility study for a consolidation of the fire and police department into one building or one public safety building?

▶ 24:16 Speaker 5: That's an option we'd like the architect to consider.

▶ 24:21 Speaker 8: Okay. That would be an option. All right, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

▶ 24:24 Peter D. Mortimer: Thank you, Alderman Boycelle. We have a motion to recommend this order for passage from Alderman Boycelle, duly seconded by Alderman Forbes. before we call for the vote. For the second time, Alderman Medeiros, please.

▶ 24:33 Monica C. Medeiros: Thank you, just one quick question. Will this also incorporate taking a look at parking needs of any facility

▶ 24:44 Speaker 9: and how that will affect those surrounding?

▶ 24:45 Speaker 5: If we were to consolidate, there's the option of what do we do with the old buildings, what do we do with the old land, and it could spill over into a situation where maybe some of these other buildings are no longer going to be used can be converted into parking could be sold not sure what that

▶ 25:09 Monica C. Medeiros: end solution is going to be will recommendations be included in yes out of this yes thank you

▶ 25:15 Peter D. Mortimer: thank you alderman Medeiros uh alderman boycella has made a motion to recommend this for passage duly seconded by alderman forbes seeing no further discussion all in favor please say aye aye any opposed hearing none this order will be recommended for passage at our next full board meeting