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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 05/09/2013Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Special Meeting May 9, 2013 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in special session on Thursday, May 9, 2013, in the City Council Chambers, 515 Clark Avenue, with Acker, Campbell, Eason, Manus, Meier, and Stow in attendance. Trustees Bradley, Budd, and Rawlins were excused. Interim Director Carey, Construction Advisor Brad Heemstra, and Library Building Maintenance Supervisor Bo Duckett were also present. Call to Order: Board President Stow called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. He stated that the City Council had approved removing the requirement for a Historic Treatment Specialist from the library’s construction contract and confirmed that it had not directed that it be a preservation project, but directed the Library Board to get more information about the windows, skylight, and knee walls on the north entrance. The purpose of this meeting is to consider that information. Public Forum: Gloria Betcher, 531 Hayward Ave, Ames, Interim Executive Director of Preservation Iowa, and former chair of the Ames Historic Preservation Commission, stated that several graduate students in the ISU architectural department have been working on the library’s National Historic Register listing for the last two years. Betcher said she believes six of the windows facing Douglas Avenue are most likely 110 years old—original to the Carnegie Library. The rest of the 55 windows are from 1940. They are in good condition, but need to be rehabbed and retrofitted. Betcher said she believes it would be a good, sensible investment to keep the historic windows: the City of Ames would have access to a good source of income through tax credits to repair them; future owners who might purchase the building when library outgrows the space would have access to historic preservation funding; and the City could possibly even receive a 25% tax credit on this portion of the current project. She felt it seemed worth taking that chance if it would not delay the project, and it would be better than having good windows end up in scrap heap somewhere. She hoped the trustees would consider their stewardship of something that continues to be culturally significant. She noted that the library in Dubuque recently achieved LEED certification and Historic Register listing. The only windows that had to be replaced were from 1984. She cautioned that the Library Board was considering replacing 73- and 110-year- old windows with some that would only last 20 years. Holly Fuchs, 806 Brookridge Ave., said that her house was built around 1917. Some years ago, she replaced her porch windows with triple-paned, casement windows that are now foggy, but her old, original windows are still good. They are also relatively energy efficient. She supports reusing the original library windows and offered the library a gift of $10,000 if the Board is willing to take the risk of saving the windows instead of purchasing new ones. Zak Dunne, 11672 W. Norris Lane, Galena, IL, said he is a renaissance restoration contractor. His firm has been restoring National Registry and historic properties for the over 50 years. He has done 60 or 70 large commercial projects, such as court houses and train stations. Dunne said that he was poorly informed on this project, but has data to show that the building will be more energy efficient by restoring the historic windows and they will last longer than the replacements. Once the historic fabric is destroyed, it is gone forever. Dunne said some of these windows have lasted over 100 years. With proper restoration and maintenance, the Board could do its civic duty for future generations. Dunne said replacement windows are likely to have seal failures in the insulated glass in ten years and will have to be completely redone. Aluminum-clad windows will have moisture infiltration that will rot them out from the inside. He recommended that the library put a little more money into the building up front and restore the Agenda Item 2 historic fabric, rather than taking the cheaper alternative. He would be happy to run some numbers and lend his expertise. Catherine Scott, 1510 Roosevelt, Ames, said she was pleased when Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle were hired because the firm has a reputation for being able to work in historic preservation, and she felt Jeff Scherer came up with very creative solutions for blending the old with the new. She recalled that in earlier discussions it was stated that APL had been a good steward of the historic portions of the building, and there was some concern that if they were not kept in public hands, no one knew what would become of them. She thinks the Library Board now has an obligation to save them for the public—that was the intent of the discussions. Scott said the downtown is working on becoming a registered Historic District, so this would also be in keeping with being part of downtown and of that process. She stated that architect Jeff Scherer had said that he finds younger people are actually more interested in historic preservation than older people; she urged the trustees to consider historic preservation something they do for their children. Scott said she felt preservation of the windows could be a win-win. The City Council wants the Library Board and the Historic Preservation Commission to work together to reach some compromise. It does not seem as if there would be any harm in working with people who have expertise. Finally, Scott also stated that LEED certification would not be compromised— energy efficiency is pretty similar and the library could get points for reusing material. At least, keeping the old windows might allow the library to not lose points for throwing away something that is useful. She urged the board to preserve the windows. Dan Divine, 2812 Torrey Pines Road, said he has lived in Ames since 1965 and has used the library since 1970. He has memories of the old bookmobile and the old steps on the north side; he’s also a fan of Andrew Carnegie and models historic railroads. Divine said he loves the aspect that the library has and believes that its character and the historic nature of it will not be lost with what the Library Board is doing. He said Andrew Carnegie’s dream of what a library could do for people was not built on a window, it was built on location. He added that Library Board had been working on this project for the last two years, and the time to have done this planning was two years ago; at this stage, the Library needs to move forward. Library Building Project Update: Report from the Building Project Committee – Stow stated that some of the committee members, Construction Advisor Heemstra, Interim Director Carey, and Building Maintenance Supervisor Duckett, were present. Heemstra said that if the Board considered making a change, he’d recommend removing the windows from the architect’s and the contractor’s contracts. A separate window restoration contract would then have to go through a competitive bidding process, which would include writing the plans and specifications after determining the scope of the work. Heemstra said that Dan W adsworth estimated the costs anywhere from $50,000 to $160,000, depending on the extent of the work actually required to restore them. Wadsworth has not been on site, but will be in Ames on Monday and offered to take a look. Asked if he could suggest a timeline for that scenario, Heemstra estimated it to be a two- to four-month process. He and Duckett could assist with documentation of the condition of the windows, but they would still have to write up bid documents and post notice of bidding. Manus asked if that would delay the project and Heemstra said it would possibly take until next year. He would only be comfortable with taking the windows out of the Samuels Group contract so there could be no potential delay claim from them. Removal would require a formal proposal request, review, and agreement on deduct pricing. Then the windows would be considered a stand-alone project, although it would be easier to do that work while the library is still a job site, rather than once the building is occupied. Heemstra said another task would be to determine Agenda Item 2 what to do with the inside trim. All 55 windows are not necessarily the same, and in some places, there is blue (lead-based) paint on the inside. Eason asked what would become of the windows if they were removed. Heemstra said the abatement contractor would abate the lead by removing the entire product and dispose of it with the other lead-containing materials. Rather than throw them away, Heemstra said the windows could potentially be removed in their entirety and donated to someone; or they could abate and remove the glass—but they would have to make sure nothing was contaminated. He felt some possibilities could be considered. Heemstra called attention to the matter of glazing. He said the library might want to have all the windows re-glazed and glazing has to cure, so that impacts the time. He said that Wadsworth had suggested taking windows to his shop in batches, leaving the storms in place for protection. The purchasing department advised him that a public bidding process would be required to obtain a restoration contractor. Acker asked about the anticipated level of performance of the replacement windows that have been approved as part of the contract. Heemstra said he was not an expert, but feels they should be similar to commercial windows on the market today. It’s true that seals can fail and there is a reason that most of them have 20-year warranties; however, many things do last longer than their warranties. When asked if he could comment on LEED certification, Heemstra said he did not know exactly where the LEED points were, but he has been told the project is doing well enough that it may be possible to go from LEED Silver to LEED Gold, in part because hardly anything going off the site is not being recycled. Heemstra said it was the designer’s recommendation to replace the 1940 skylight. It is not viewable. The three glass panes in the ceiling will be remain—they allow light in from the skylight, but cannot be seen through. The existing skylight is not thermally broken, so the metal frame gets cold in the winter and there’s warm, moist air below it that creates condensation. As for the suggestion of constructing an additional skylight over the older one, Heemstra said he would have to do some research to evaluate how practical it would be. The concern he would have is about creating another cavity where there would be improper air movement and condensation. He supports the recommendation to replace the skylight and flashing it with new materials in the new roof. Stow agreed; he said if money is going to be spent on a new roof, they want to make sure it works properly. Eason said nothing could convince him that the skylight should not be replaced. Meier said she did not like the suggestion of building around the skylight, either; she wants a roof that doesn’t leak. Stow said the preservationists proposed keeping the knee walls of the north stairs, but the architect designed the new stairway so that it will not be a focal point. The existing stairway has no handrails and is not ADA compliant. The new design sets the stairs back from the street to lessen confusion for the public, especially newcomers. Heemstra stated that MS&R was given direction to make the stairway functional for staff. Carey added that they also wanted to visually direct traffic to the street crossing, and other design elements were included with that in mind. Heemstra said there would be plants in the middle and handrails would be installed, whether or not the limestone wing walls were retained. Building Maintenance Supervisor Duckett said that the stairs have to be pushed back toward the building; otherwise, a handrail would have to extend into the sidewalk area to meet code. Manus stated that that would also require a change order. Agenda Item 2 Campbell asked if it would be possible to do something different with the six windows in the Carnegie portion of the building. Heemstra said the Board would still have to pursue a scenario where those were taken out of the Samuels contract. Once the design criteria were thought through, the contract would have to be redone and new storms windows would be needed to protect them. The same contract change process would be followed whether it pertained to 6 or 55 windows. Recommendation to City Council – Stow asked for a motion pertaining to the skylights only, windows only, the north entrance only, or any combination of those three, or a motion to stay the course with the original architectural plans and contracts. Moved by Acker, seconded by Campbell, to proceed with the original contract as was approved by City Council and is currently under contract to Samuels and Abatement Specialists. Trustee Eason displayed some hesitancy and stated that he did not have a problem with removing the windows, but was uncomfortable with the idea of having them end up in a landfill. He would prefer it if they could be reused or to “live on" elsewhere. He does feel the project should move forward. Trustee Manus asked if those windows could used somewhere else in the building, or possibly showcased as part of the historical elements that are to be displayed in the lobby. Manus agreed with the idea of looking at other options, but said the project is already on a path and she would hate to have it stalled because of this. Stow asked Heemstra if other disposal options for the windows could be considered, or if the architect could be consulted about moving them from the exterior to some interior wall. Meier said that this project has not been a secret. It was in the works when the bond issue was passed, people knew that it was coming up, nothing was brought forward when the Board made those decisions, and she thinks it’s time to move on. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. (Voting aye: Acker, Campbell, Eason, Manus, Meier.) Motion approved unanimously. Trustee Comments: None. Stow reiterated that this had been a very thoughtful process. The City Council never directed that it be a preservation project, but the Board remains committed one hundred percent to preserving the library’s historic character, is concerned about the ultimate resting place of the windows, and will continue to look at those options with staff. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 7:11p.m. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, May 16, 2013, at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, 515 Clark Avenue. ____________________________________ ___________________________________ Karen C. Thompson, Administrative Assistant Jane Acker, Board Secretary Agenda Item 2