 Welcome, everyone. My name is Angela Mills. I work for the Town of Amherst. This meeting is being recorded. It will be posted to the Town of Amherst YouTube channel. And at this point, I am turning things over to the chair of the subcommittee meeting, Alex LaFave. Thank you, Angela. So, seeing the presence of the quorum, I'm going to call the meeting of the Jones Library Building Committee outreach subcommittee to order at 401. I'm going to perform a sound check to make sure that everyone can hear and be heard. Austin, sorry. Here. Alex Lopez. Here. And Alex LaFave is here and Anika Lopes will not be joining us today. And then with us we also have Craig DeCarlo and Will Fernandez from Colliers and of course the ever fabulous Angela Mills. So, pursuant to chapter 20 of the Act of 2021, this meeting will be conducted via remote means members of the public who wish to access the meeting can do so by clicking on the live link to this new meeting. That can be found on the public meetings calendar on the town of Amherst website or by dialing in by phone. Public is able to comment during the public comment segment of the post agenda by raising their hand. This meeting is being recorded and will be posted to the town of Amherst YouTube channel. So we have one attendee at present. So this should be, I think, a fairly quick meeting. So without further ado, I'm going to hop right in. The first order of business we have is approval of the meeting minutes from June 14 2022 if someone would like to make that motion. Approval. I have a second. I'll second it. I wasn't there, which makes it difficult. Okay, you're allowed. You're still allowed to vote on it remarkably. I don't really understand that but that's my understanding of things. So does anybody have any questions or comments about the meeting minutes. Okay, seeing none. Austin, how do you vote to approve. Alex. I'll approve it's very accurate that I was not there. I'll approve it. Next item on our agenda is keeping community informed on the project. So as everyone knows the newsletter took a pause for three weeks. Um, I will go ahead and I've started the next newsletter, which will get out. But I would love Austin, maybe if you could give me any update about the design subcommittee that just happened because as you know it had to be done in person, which means it couldn't be recorded which means I was unable to watch it so if I could just get that little piece if there's anything that needs to be included in terms of update in the public that would be great. So the committee met and reviewed comments provided by members of the public. And decided do which ones that the committee subcommittee agreed with which ones that it had questions about. And those comments will be discussed by forwarded to the Jones Library building committee. Perfect. All right, so good. And then in terms of, so I didn't create this agenda. And the person who did so someone helped me out which I appreciate. So I'm going to sort of loosely follow the agenda. Alex, you were spearheading or in the process of doing community outreach relative to temporary library services I'm not sure if there's anything that's really happened on that yet or if you have any updates or any information you want to provide on that. So it's come up in a number of different spaces. And the my understanding of where we're at with it is that we're more or less going to be told that there is a site. It is going to be in this section will be more about informing people than necessarily soliciting opinions upon it. So as that takes shape, it's going to be more of a community update versus community input. Okay, and then Craig, did you want to share I think there were some there was some conversation at the last full jail BC meeting which neither myself or Alex were present at around the temporary location so I don't know whether that's helpful for Alex to get a quick little update about that. Sure. So, as of the last meeting we, Sharon has been reaching out and finding locations potential locations. There will be all indications say that there will be multiple locations because the library needs a certain amount of those square footage in the temporary condition, and there aren't there isn't a single location that has that capacity. So it'll be different functions in different areas around town. And what we have now is we have a subset of locations that are look like they're good for the temporary use. And so we're going through those looking to see if there's any concerns or red flags or they seem generally generally appropriate and then kind of moving forward. I believe as of the last meeting, we are still in need of more space. Thanks. So I think one of the things I think one of the things I heard Sharon say to is, I think, Alex as you're talking to people or to the extent that you're talking to people. If people have ideas about spaces or some lovely business owner wants to offer up some space like the middle district did for the temporary North Amherst library that that would all be welcome was what when I had heard as well so my understanding is that we are now and again I've gone for three weeks with somebody correct me we're now in the cost estimate phase of the project and so in a sense we're in the three week period doing the reconciliation the cost estimate so from a community outreach perspective, there's probably not a lot we're doing right now other than just sort of keeping the public informed about where things are at this moment in time. That's not the case. Somebody feel free to get me up to speed on what I might have missed. If I may you're you've almost got it exactly right. So the schematic design set was finalized and issued to two cost estimate firms, one that is hired by the design team and one that is hired directly by the town. So they look at the drawings in parallel, and they have two weeks actually three weeks because of the holiday we gave them actually to do their work, and then we'll come together I think it's on July 26 well does that sound right to you. July 26 I think it's a Tuesday is when we're going to do that reconciliation effort so that'll be one day effort, where we go and put the two groups in a, you know virtual room and have them hash out how much each line item costs sort of and why, and then we will present colliers will present to the town that the results of that reconciliation effort. So that and then concurrent with that. Select members of the town of the project have been asked to review certain aspects of the documents, but colliers is doing an in depth technical review of the documents which will also turn over to the client to the town as a report. You'll have the drawings, the reconcile cost estimate and our report about, you know, how things look and you know where things might be able to be tightened up a little bit going forward. So in terms of sort of the next phase of community outreach. I guess two things so I had one thought so as we've been receiving feedback from people around the exterior design. I noticed a couple of things one is we either get really generic comments like I love the building, or I hate the building. Which doesn't super help me because I don't know what they love or what they hate so in terms of being able to do anything with that feedback it's it's not super helpful. When we've had the opportunity to talk one on one with people and really drill down to what elements they either like or dislike. What I found to be interesting is that often people's impression of the building is not always accurate to what our current building looks like. So, it struck me that it might be a good idea. Like we did the library tours, early on in the process. I was thinking about taking the actual, you know, schematics but the exterior drawings and having us lead walks or offering people to actually walk the exterior of the building with plans in hand so that when someone for example someone made a comment that you know they disliked how we were losing like every every build it every window is a rectangular window. That's actually the case in the current building as well so that doesn't tell me a whole live and the only non rectangular window is the ripple window and that one has to come forward so I just I thought doing a walk might be a good way to get people a little more focused on comments around the exterior but also I just I found it illuminating for myself when I walked with people's comments around the building in hand and I started realizing things that they didn't necessarily consider or think about so I wanted to do that as a next step I don't know whether other people have thoughts about that. Or not. And if people thought that was a good idea I thought maybe we could get either you know the friends or other volunteers to help leave these because I think again they're less about. They're more about collecting feedback and when somebody points out something like, I can't believe we're gonna have a metal roof, we can actually the current edition has a metal roof or you know just like just being present to have sort of those conversations so put it out there. Do you guys have any thoughts on that. Alex. Yeah, I think that that makes a lot of sense it. One thing that I'm curious about is if we have any is if it would be worth reaching out to any local real estate companies who might want to donate their time and services specifically doing sort of like a 3D virtual tour for people so that's accessible online as I know that that's something that really helped my kids when we're moving from Chicago because Crocker farm had done it. And so I don't know if there's a connection there or if the town already has the capacity to do that in a way that people could walk through the current schematics online and also see it side by side with any proposed plans. Cool. Thank you. Alright, like that. Okay, anyone else. Awesome. So I like the idea is the idea to show what is, or to show what is, and what we are proposing, because we're, we're not yet at the place where we have something to show about what we're proposing. Yeah, it's it. Yes. So the thought was again, so for example, you know, I'm speaking for my own particular, like this is me personally. You know, there's one element of the dormers that I don't love right, and I found myself walking through the building and realizing we have the exact same dormers on the existing edition. And that is in the picture they're flat and in the current, you know, they're angled slightly. And I don't know that I would have been able to articulate what I didn't like about those two other. So it's, it's, and that to me seems like something we could potentially change and I'm not advocating for anything I'm just saying from my own experience of walking through with the current picture which is still being developed right. So it was helpful to have the current actual building not the building in my mind, so that I could really articulate what I liked or didn't like and so I thought for other people as we collect comments and as we get to really looking at exteriors and the final like, you know, how is this the monitors that daylight my because right there's still like little things that we still have to decide and I found it for me personally more helpful in front of me so I could really see what I liked or didn't like or something I thought I didn't like and was like oh it's already there. So, so that's clearly not the thing I thought I didn't like or that I did like or so I just want to help people really see sort of where we are in the process and help them more clearly articulate what's appealing or not appealing either in the current building addition, but also in what's proposed currently in the exterior schematic. That's very, very helpful and the question I would have Craig can help us answer it is how much of the exterior like the angles of the roof and the like are to be decided as opposed to at this point. They're pretty well set and again I'm just curious I don't have an answer to that question. I think angles of the roof angles of the dormers shape of the dormers those are all things that are still up for discussion that will be fine through the design development phase. Great, very helpful. And I know we have a couple of renderings from the design team I specifically sort of from the rear of the existing library, which, you know, perhaps you could print out somewhere kind of larger format, so that you could stick them on an easel or someone to hold them up and yeah you could stand in the rear. Look at the existing building and then hold that up and say, and that would, I think that would help people visualize. Thanks. And thank you Austin for that question because I, I was making assumptions and it's good to hear that my assumptions are not wrong. Okay. So, in terms of, we don't have any next outreach events other than scheduling these walks. And so it sounds like until we get to the next phase of design development, that's probably just these walks and keeping the public informed. And Alex continuing to get feedback, you know, about services around temporary locations is sort of what makes the most sense at this point. I think. Okay. Yeah, I don't think I have anybody have anything that they want to ask talk about relative to. I did take down today all of the charts and signs and things that we had up at the library because I wanted it to be clear that public feedback on schematics is over. And I would like to get something up next I don't know people have thoughts about. I don't know whether we take all the public comments and sort of show the chart of the results I don't know whether people want to put up the latest set of schematics or whether we wait till we get the design package. I don't know if people have thoughts about sort of next things I mean the library has been a nice place visually for people to see things so I don't know if anybody has thoughts about. What can or should go up next. Alex. Just given that we're in the budget time, or the, the bugger that it's hot out, given that we're in the budget reconciliation time. So one thing I could imagine doing is maybe, you know, announcing that, explaining the process and why there are two different groups currently going through what they're going through. And then also maybe making space for friends of the library. If they're still doing a fundraising push around that might be a really good side by side of like, this is, this is where the money is going and how responsible people are being with it. Thank you. Anyone else and it is. Cool. All right, well I'm not going to belabor a meeting that doesn't need to be long so the next item we have is our next meeting, which, and you know this but it's a we were off the week, we flipped because of the jail BC meetings. So two weeks for us I think is when the next jail BC meeting would be. Is that right. So I'm looking at the bottom of the agenda for today and it shows jail BC on Tuesday the 26th at 430 and design Friday the 29th and outreach on the 9th of August. Yeah, okay, cool. So does that work for everybody then. And just so we're clear that we can meet via zoom through March of 2023. Yeah, which is great I think. Yeah, I personally am happy with that. Any reasons. Okay, awesome with that date did that work for you. Okay, good. So I do see that we have two members of the public. And if either of them would like to make public comment. Now would be the time for that so. Angela Bob Pam has his hand raised. I want to. Hey Bob, Bob you're in the room if you want to go ahead and make your public comment. Okay. Three items. One is, I've looked at the comments there are 400 of them it is very hard to make any sense of that so some way of summarizing it might actually be helpful. So that rather than trying to go through 400 comments you are looking at a set of comments relating to the teen room or the outside or whatever. Make it a little easier to get some idea of where people are thinking about it so that and those things that are being considered and those things that are being rejected that is first comment. Second has to do with. I guess the response to Alex. You've said that you had some discomfort with at least some aspects of the windows. I've had continuing difficulties with the shape of the windows the size of the windows the way in which they are developed. There's no way for me to know whether any of those are being considered or whether they've been rejected so it is useful when you have somebody who is clearly interested in an aspect for there to be some way to get feedback as to whether or not these comments make any sense to you. Second is about the general shape of the the Northeast segment which has been added to the building, which has the basic shape of a barn. The concern that that rose in my mind as I thought about it is that on the inside portion of it which is shaped as if the roof line we're coming in I just I'm hoping that you are not creating a new valley, which would be similar to the one that we have around the the atrium anything which creates a space where you cannot clean it when you cannot clear it and where snow and these etc will will be accumulated it is a concern. Just looking at the drawings, all that I see is that that may be part of this design and I just I'm hoping someone has thought about that. That's it. Thanks Bob. So, I know in most public meetings, people don't respond to public comments but this is a public outreach meeting so I'm going to respond. So Bob the comments are actually available online publicly they can be sorted they can be sorted by what phase they are in the project they can be sorted by what room they're in. They can be sorted by whether they've been approved or not and anything that's not been approved. You can see the reason that it's not been approved. So, we did have a public outreach meeting where we went through, you know, how that all looks, but I would be happy to also walk that through for you if you'd like so that is all available. So that's the way to get feedback. So actually to the extent that people have used tools that provide their email they do get a response if they use something anonymous, we can't respond. But yeah, so sort of the route people choose sort of impacts, whether or not they get a response back. Otherwise, we've in all of our outreach sessions have talked about the fact that, you know, people can see where their comment is what day it's going to be reviewed by which committee and whether or not there were questions about it so that's all in the spreadsheet. And as to your last comment about the shape actually somebody did make a comment about that I believe it was reviewed in the design subcommittee and is something that is being put over to the architects to look at. So, great. Any other public comment. Anyone have anything else any topics unanticipated by the chair, which there are none for me. With that, I'm going to call this meeting to a close thank you everybody for coming and we'll see you next week in the building committee meeting. Thanks, thank you Angela. Thanks everyone.