HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 07/08/2013Ames Public Library Board of Trustees
Minutes of the Special Meeting
July 8, 2013
The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in special session on Monday, July 8,
2013, in the Library conference room at 620 Lincoln Way, Suite 4, with Acker, Budd, Bradley,
Briese, Campbell, Eason, Meier, and Stow in attendance. Manus arrived a bit later. Interim
Director Carey and Construction Advisor Brad Heemstra were also present.
Call to Order: Board President Stow called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Window Restoration Project:
Moved by Acker, seconded by Eason, to adopt a resolution recommending that the City
Council approve preliminary plans and specifications for the Ames Public Library Wood
Window Restoration Project, issue a Notice to Bidders, and set July 31, 2013, as the bid
due date and August 13, 2013, as the date of public hearing and award of contract.
Heemstra said that Kate Michaud of MS&R prepared the specifications for the window restoration
after walking through the building with staff and himself to verify that the notes pertaining to each
window were correct. He said that, regardless of whether the bidder prefers to do the work on-site
or at his own location, the requested completion date of November 15 should allow enough time to
get the work done.
Heemstra explained that the specifications were written with the idea of getting the wood windows
and new storms to perform as closely as possible to new windows. The original windows will all be
reglazed and will also be made inoperable—the ropes will be cut and the cavity will be insulated—
to make them as energy-efficient as possible. Heemstra noted that it would still be possible for
someone to take them apart and make them operable again in the future, if they wanted to.
Acker asked where the trustees should be looking for potential “sticking places” or difficulties, given
the number of changes coming forward. Heemstra said the restoration project itself is clear cut and
not difficult; however, he indicated that the issues related to the Historic Register and tax credits
are unclear to him. Carey said the only concern she has heard about is that the timeline may be
too ambitious, but staff feels that a big-enough firm would just add more staff to the project.
Campbell expressed concerns about the monetary aspect and the possibility that costs for this
project would take funds away from computers or other features of the new building.
Manus arrived at 5:43 p.m.
Eason wondered if the Historic Preservation Commission would continue to interfere with the way
the library gets the work done. Heemstra said that the library has to go with the lowest responsive
bid by a responsible bidder, and they all have to have experience, references, and performance
bonds. Carey suggested that calling for reglazing of all windows might be a point of contention, but
MS&R recommended they do a complete job now so that repairs would not be needed in 5, 10, or
15 years.
Budd asked if three weeks were long enough for the bidding process. Heemstra said he felt that
that length of time was adequate. The documents can be issued electronically, the photos of the
windows will be available online, and three weeks allows for travel time to Ames, if needed.
Agenda Item 3
Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Change Order No. 1 with Multivista:
Moved by Manus, seconded by Bradley, to adopt a resolution approving Change Order
No. 1 with Multivista as follows:
• add photographic documentation of the interior and exterior conditions of the
existing wood windows and linking them to plans on a website that can be used
for bidding purposes ($660.00), and
• add photographic documentation of exact-built elevation waterproofing
($2,428.00), resulting in an addition of $3,088 to the contract.
Heemstra said the outside envelope of the building is important and waterproofing documentation
is becoming a common practice. Multivista will photograph the flashing detail of every window, the
seals, and the corners. Not only will the library have a record; the workers will be conscious about
doing their work correctly, knowing that there will be photographic evidence. Heemstra said the
online photos of the wood windows will be helpful to the bidders, and the library could possibly
save the cost of the photography or more by having provided good information up front.
Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Change Order No. 3 with Abatement Specialties:
Moved by Eason, seconded by Meier, to adopt a resolution approving Change Order No.
3 with Abatement Specialties as follows:
• Add $19,388 for removal of additional floor tile, mastic, ceiling plaster and wall
plaster, and repair of 50 locations and 3 doorways;
• Deduct $13,585 to remove abatement of lead-based paint on 55 wood windows,
resulting in an addition of $5,803 to the contract cost.
Heemstra spoke about additional abatement needed on the first floor, in areas where asbestos
floor tile was found and ceiling plaster had to be removed, and on the second floor, where
asbestos wall plaster must be removed. When asked if these were areas that had been overlooked
earlier, Heemstra it they were part of discovery. He said there was to have been spot abatement
on the first floor ceiling, but the extent of work being done now makes it more logical to take care of
the whole thing so there won’t be any problems in the future. The asbestos-containing floor tiles
were a surprise to everyone.
Heemstra explained that one initial alternative would have been to remove all the asbestos from
the entire building. Before abatement bids were solicited, the library obtained a wide range of
estimates—up to as much as $200,000. At that time, however, bids had not been received from
the prime contractors and the overall budget was a concern, so the decision was made for the
scope of work to include only what work the architects knew was necessary, knowing that some
additional things might be discovered once demolition began. He said there are still many walls
with asbestos-containing plaster that will not be touched, but where those walls need to be altered,
abatement is required.
Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Change Order No. 4 with A&P/Samuels Group:
Moved by Meier, seconded by Bradley, to adopt a resolution recommending that the City
Council approve Change Order No. 4 with A&P/Samuels Group, A Joint Venture, as
follows:
Agenda Item 3
• Add $1,500 to upgrade proposed interior elevator lighting;
• Add $2,832 to cut down existing piers in the Youth Services area on the south
end of the building;
• Add $15,128 to demolish and reconstruct the unsalvageable west wall;
• Deduct $65,663 by removing the replacement of wood windows;
• Add $8,211 to repair existing brick walls on the south end of the building; and
• Add $16,778 for structural work needed to replace existing brick walls in the
historic section to facilitate relocation of the kitchenette, resulting in a reduction
of $21,214 in the contract cost.
Campbell asked about the costs related to the kitchenette. Carey explained that the kitchenette
was originally planned to be adjacent to the men’s restroom, but it was found that the east wall of
the restroom is a load-bearing wall, so the kitchenette is being moved to another area of the
gallery. Heemstra said the exterior wall of the original 1904 building, where the 1907 addition was
put on, was quite compromised and more structure is needed in the south end to support the roof.
He mentioned that some additional orders or directives will be coming from the architect, but the
library has a comfortable change order budget of almost 10%.
Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Change Order Approval Process: Stow suggested that the Building Project Committee
become more active in the change order process so that the full board would not have to meet
to review them all. Campbell suggested that the Executive Committee could also be involved.
It was agreed that the Building Project Committee would meet on second and fourth
Wednesdays of the month to discuss information learned in the construction meetings and
decide on smaller issues, and that the Executive Committee would meet when changes
amounted to $50,000 or more. Depending on the timing and the date of the upcoming regular
meeting, some decisions might still go to the full board.
Trustee Comments: Stow announced that interviews with candidates for the Library Director
position will be held on July 17 and July 18 with public “meet and greet” opportunities in City
Hall at 4 p.m. on both days. He asked library staff to determine when the trustees could get
together the following week for a special meeting to discuss the hiring.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 6:19 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, July 18, 2013, at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council
Chambers, 515 Clark Avenue.
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Karen C. Thompson, Administrative Assistant Jane Acker, Board Secretary
Agenda Item 3