 And I'm going to make you co host so you can see who's in attendance and the audience. All right, we should be all set. Fantastic. Welcome everyone to the Amherst Design Review Board meeting of August 28, 2023. My name is Eric and as chair of the Amherst Design Review Board I'm calling this meeting to order at 501 PM. This meeting is being recorded and will be made available via the town of Amherst YouTube channel minutes are being taken pursuant to chapter 20 of the acts of 2021 and extended again by chapter two of the acts of 2023. This meeting will be conducted via remote means members of the public who wish to access the meeting may do so via zoom or by telephone. No in person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time via technological means. A hyperlink of to the hearing will be posted on the town's online calendar. And as members, I will take roll call and when I call your name, please answer affirmatively and return to mute. Catherine quarter present. Lindsay snar. Here. Pat off present and welcome Pat is a representative of the historical commission we're happy to have you. Thank you. And Eric Zika sets me and also present tonight are Chris Brest and Rob which you left from the town. Board members, if technical issues arise we may need to pause temporarily to fix the problem and then continue the meeting. If the discussion needs to pause it will be noted in the minutes. Please use your raise hand function to ask a question or make a comment. I will see your request and call on you to speak. After speaking, remember to remute yourself. The general public comment item is reserved for public comment regarding items that are not on tonight's agenda. Please be aware, the board will not respond to comments during general public comment period. Public comment could also be heard at other times during the meeting when determined appropriate. Please indicate that you wish to make a comment by clicking the raise hand button when public comment is solicited. If you've joined the zoom meeting using a telephone please indicate that you wish to make a comment by pressing star nine on your phone. When called on please identify yourself by stating your full name and address and put yourself back into mute when finished speaking. Residents can express their views for up to three minutes or at the discretion of the designer before a chair. If the speaker does not comply with the guidelines or exceeds there are a lot of time their participation will be discontinued from the meeting. Tonight's agenda includes two items. DRB FY 2024 or two Jones library. And 2024 or three sun rays print printing to install a plastic sign for DP dough will then review approval of meeting minutes will have general public comment period is item three and then other business not anticipated. I'm going to make a call. The representatives for DP dough from sun rays printing are in attendance. I'm going to suggest that they present first to save them waiting through the Jones library presentation because I suspect that this one will go a little bit more quickly. So we do have Robert Salvini for the second agenda I am sun rays printing so do you want me to go ahead and make them a panelist. Yes please. Alrighty. I guess to accept the invitation and once he does he should be region the meeting as a panelist. Hi Mr Sylvia can you hear us. Can you hear me. Again hi welcome thank you for being here. Hi. So you're presenting tonight for DP dough is that right. Yes. Great. And can you do you have the ability to share your screen or should I do that on your behalf. You can share it yeah I don't know how you do that. All right I'll do it. Thank you. Can you see that work. Yeah, can you all see my. Oh wow. Yeah. Well, that should look familiar. Do you want to introduce the project to us. Yeah all we're really doing is making a sign. That's around 11 feet long. About a foot tall. About a quarter inch thick of plastic. That's going to slide into the frame that's already there at the location. We're not doing anything crazy. We're just sliding the sign in and going home. All right, and then that is going. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Right there. Yeah. All right. Board members. Any. Sorry, I'm looking for the screen again. Any questions or comments for Mr. Salini. Lindsay. Hello. I'm glad to see business going into that location. I love Calzone. So that's exciting. Yeah. My initial thought. Is to. Is the white next to the concrete is a little bit jarring to my eye. And in looking at the context that Erica just showed. I was wondering what would happen if the. If the background was black. If you had explored that. Versus white. I realized that. You know, D. P. Doe would need to be inverted to that. We need to be white. But given that a lot of those other signs. And I, I recognize that the high horses is not there anymore. And it's the Drake now and all of that, but. I don't know. I just, I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts on that. Just the white against the, that kind of. Off white concrete looks a little. Harsh. And what it might look like to have that be black instead. That's all. Thanks Lindsay Catherine. Yeah, I have. One question first. Is this a chain or, or. Okay. So we need. To follow your logo and the way in which you structured the sign. I assume. That's the only thing I was concerned about because it is their, their branded logo. So I don't know what we can do about that. I can check. And is it. Under the, the. Top floor. Is the sign. Okay. It's right there. Right. So. I would disagree with Lindsay, although, you know, it'd be nice to have a little discreet cute little. Black sign, but. Given where it is. I think that for the. Catching the notice of the public. Probably better to have. A white sign, although it's going to be a bit jarring. However, I think. If it's not. Standing out. People may not notice it. So. Can I say something? Please. I was there the other day. And if I'm not mistaken, there is a whole new sign on the right hand side. That's bright blue. If. I won't buy it or take photographs of measurements the other day. And I'm pretty sure there's a brand new sign or that's really big and bright blue. Yeah. The neighbor on that lower level is white lion. Yes. And I believe they're blue and white on black. Yeah. And I don't have their proposal, which we saw a couple, at least a month or two ago. I don't have that handy, but. My comment was going to be similar to, to Lindsay's. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I think the white sign there is going to. Pop and not integrate. Neatly with the other signs and the kind of middle work on the facade of the building. And I'd like to see. More black, if not a full black background. Perhaps a border or something. I skipped pad. I'm sorry. If you had a. Comment to share. I don't know. I don't know. I think that my initial reaction was that it's, it really is stands out. Whether jarring is the word or not. I don't know. But I also appreciate Mr. So many comments that this is the logo of the company. And so there needs to be some. Some. Middle ground, I would think to tone down the white. We're looking to have. Thriving businesses in Amherst. And so it needs to be visible. People will visit it and purchase calzones. But, but when I first saw it, I had that same reaction. And it. Most of the other signs have a black background. I haven't seen the white lion one. I don't know. The, the, the, the works of whatever that's, that is a big store has a, as a blue kind of a royal blue background. So, you know, there are mixes of color going on right now. And Mr. I don't know. You're working with a sign company, whether they could do something to. I am the sign company. Oh, okay. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I can show them a couple of different. Examples of more black, if not completely black, but I have to check with them before I. I. I can find out by tomorrow. I don't know how you guys work, but I can look, I can, I can contact them tomorrow. And see what we can work out if you want more black in it. We're all black. I don't know what they're going to say though. I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks. It seems that the logos are on either end. Right. And so it may be that I'm not a design person, but it may be that those could be squares with the white around them. And the rest could be modified. Yeah, that could work too. Yeah. It's a good idea. And Chris, did you want to. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I want to add some kind of light gray that would not. Jump out quite as much and might blend in with the. I noticed that there's a dark gray paint on the metal work. But if that were gray or maybe even a. Tan to match the door. It looks like the door below this might be. Off white. Just something that's not quite so stark. I wonder if that would work. Yeah. So we're hearing from everybody that. You know, we recognize that it's a logo. You know, that the circle is the, is the logo and that you have a. A font and there's a style there. For the text. But we would like to see some options explored that. I think that we as a committee could do a quick review. By email and not need to call you back to another meeting in a month. Okay. What I can do. I can come up with like. Three. About three different designs that have different color combinations. And then, uh, That would be a good idea. I think that would be a good idea. Yeah. I think that we as a committee could do a quick review by email and not need to call you back to another meeting in a month. Okay. What I can do. And then, uh, that way, if they approve all three of those, then I could show it to you and you can decide what you like. If they can approve those, would that make sense? It would. Okay. Yeah. And I think that this is just kind of consistency for an overall facade that. Um, is becoming more colorful. So I want to respect that. And I think. Um, but also just want to. Respect the consistency of the, of the whole facade here. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Dan. Do you want me to email Rob? When I get their approval on different designs. Yes, please. What's that? Yes, please. Okay. Rob, I see you have your. Your hand is up. Yeah. So, um, Me, Rob. Well, Rob's here today. Um, so. I was just going to wonder, does the board have any recommendations? They wanted to vote upon. I'm not sure if they have any recommendations. But I'm going to go to the board and ask. The board of directors. I'm not sure. So I'm just wondering. I guess your South Vini has an idea of, of where I guess the changes should lie in terms of proposing the new sign to DP dough. Or how does the board want to proceed from here? It's totally up to you guys as a advisory committee. Because I know the next meeting is not for like a month from now. Um, I don't feel comfortable approving. What's here. Other members of the committee may feel differently about that, but I think I could encourage us to make some recommendations so we could. That's some ask one of you to. Move. To recommend. Seeing design alterations that. Reflect our comments about the. Whiteness of the sign. And there were a number of recommendations. So. Anybody willing to give that a go. I was going to say. I was going to offer them a full black background. A full gray background. And then. Like the. I can't remember her name, but the woman who said. The logo is in a, in a white square. And then more black in the background. I was going to show them all three of those. And then I see what they said. Lovely. That good. Yes. And so. That, I think we're, we're all on the same page. We just need, I guess. A motion. To approve. Recommendations. Lindsay. I move to approve. The recommendations. For DPD. To explore the options that were recommended. I second that. Motion. And could I call for a vote then? All those in favor. Say aye and raise your hand. Aye. Great. You need to miss. And. Mr. Selvini, we appreciate your continued work on this. And I think that we. Will not need to reconvene depending on your timeline. I mean, if it makes sense to get together in a month, you can do that, but we shouldn't need to reconvene. I think we can review by email considering that we've already had this conversation. I appreciate you guys's time. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. All right. And now representatives. From. The Jones. Should be. I have a list of people who are going to be speaking on that project. So I can promote them one by one. If you want me to. Yeah, that sounds lovely. I mean, they could all, I'll be, I'm sure they've got their presentation coordinated. So they could. Be let in all simultaneously. All right. So let me just go ahead. Have our conversation and then. Have a public comment period. Before we move on to our meeting minutes and whatnot. Okay. And please let me know if I'm missing anybody from. The list who I still have to promote as a panelist. Welcome everybody. My name is Erica Zika. So I'm chairing the design review board. Happy to have you here. I will open the floor to you all to present in whatever order you had. Anticipated. I see a couple of familiar faces. Hello and welcome. So I'm Austin. Sarah. Thank you so much for. The opportunity to present to the design review board. I'm the president of the Jones lab, reported trustees and the chair of our building committee. And we are joined tonight by representatives of our OPM from Collier's. Our architects. Find. Gold Alexander and Berkshire design. And we are very excited about what we have to show you and look forward to your, to your comments. I think Tony, are you going to take the lead from here? Yes, I can do that. And I think maybe Josephine, if we can have you bring up the presentation, then I can. Begin. And while she's doing that, my name is Tony. My principal. The director of design at Michael Alexander architects delighted me with you all folks tonight. Can everyone see my screen. Great. And while I'm doing this also, if I miss anything, which I definitely might, we do have my colleagues, Ellen. Jim and Josephine also on, on deck here. Just to make sure I'm covering everything. So I'm just going to launch right into it because I know it's a busy agenda. And I'm just going to, I'm just going to, I'm just going to, I'm just going to, I'm just going to, I'm just going to launch right into it. I'm just going to start right into it because I know it's a busy agenda. And we have a number of materials to go through. So the purpose of this meeting tonight is to show you what is being proposed in the Jones library. Design. And this includes not only the dealings with the historic building but the proposed addition. Then we are creating for the site. So I'm just going to have you move forward into the next image. So I'll start just very quickly with the existing conditions. Which I know you're very familiar with, I'm sure, but these are some of the images that we have some of the images that look in particular at the south facade, and these are, you know, some of the lovely historic aspects of the existing library, both in terms of material scale, proportion, and just the general nature of how it sits in this location. And we can come back to these and refer to these certainly as we go through the presentation. And then if you turn to the west, these series of images shows as you move around to the side, what you're looking at. Again, when we go to the design, you'll see where we're proposing, what we're keeping and what we're proposing to replace. And then as we go towards the north, most of this actually is going to be proposed to be replaced with a new addition, but these are the existing facades that you have currently facing north. And then finally towards the east, on the other side of the main front, these are some of the details that surround this particular view of the library, as it's looked at from this vantage point. And I'm going to actually let Rachel take over in terms of the site plans. And there's a number of details, I think, in particular, related to design and materials that she's going to share with you. Thank you, Tony. I'm Rachel Lepler, principal with Berkshire Design Group, and have been working with FAA and the Jones Library Building Committee on this project. To orient you for the site plans, we've broken the plans into two sections, what we're calling the south section and the north section. So to orient you to this plan, we have Amity Street to the south and to the bottom of the page. There's an existing sidewalk along Amity Street that will be will be replaced as part of this project. We also have a number of Amish public shade trees in the right away between the sidewalk and Amity Street, which will be protected as part of this project. There are existing historical society trees on the west side of the library that are on the historical society property that will be protected throughout the project. And then within the library project, there are a number of trees that are either slated to be protected or to be removed to allow for the work. So in the front of the library, we are going to retain two Chinese dogwoods, which flank the corner, so the front of the building. But the other trees out out front will be removed and we'll show you what that will look like in the new landscape. Also of note in the front is that there are currently angled parking spaces with a drive aisle separating the handicapped spaces from the entrance to the library. This will this configuration will be improved and then in the new design. Also today, there's a when you access that that drive, you would have to drive to the back of the building and turn around. So there's a major conflict with pedestrians and vehicles along the east side of the building. OK, next slide. The north side of the project, so back towards the CVS parking lot and the lower elevation of the library, we have on the east side that continuation of the service drive with with the turnaround area that people use and then the Kinsey Garden area, which has been slated for relocation to South Amherst at the Kestreland Trust. There are there are pathways that are that provide access to the back of the library and then the historical property line shown with a pretty solid line kind of angled towards the building and the existing library building actually actually is within a foot of the property line and it's northwest corner and within another foot of the property line on the west corner of the valley. Additionally, there's a quite a bit of grade change between the historical society property and this lower elevation of about six, six feet. In the back area, there are some significant trees in back. We'll be protecting the tree adjacent to the utility shed and the trees adjacent to the in the northeast corner. But we will have to remove two villager shade trees in the back due to one tree is doing quite well and actually has grown into a clay sewer line. So that sewer line has to be replaced for the library and also that so that tree has to go and then the other tree will need to be removed to support the stormwater demands of the increased footprint of the library. Next slide. So this is a similar view to what we're looking for, but this is what we call a demolition and erosion control plan. It's what we'll provide a contractor to show them our expectations for how they will manage the site and keep it safe during construction. So during construction, there'll be temporary erosion control barriers to prevent offsite sediment and then fencing to control the site and manage access for safety. We're going to incorporate some pretty significant protection measures for those historical society trees, the heritage tree, the oldest sycamore tree in town is right out front and then an old Norway spruce. So so we we will be having the contractor retain an arborist to install protections and monitor the site and advise throughout construction. This plan also shows you the protection of those two Chinese elm in front and also the removal of the other vegetation on the side. Next slide. And then the back, the limit of work area. We're also taking care to make sure that no heavy equipment is loading the adjacent structures on the east side of the property. And and care will be taken while working adjacent to the historical society property. Next slide. So this is a view of the layout and materials. So this is hard scape materials, anything that you might be walking on or driving on, as well as any site furniture's clothes for the site. So you can see closest to Amity Street, we have the new the new sidewalk where we're evening out the grades with a gentle slope less than two percent. Where one of the one of the biggest improvements on the project is achieving the fully accessible entry into the main front door. So the front door and the main entry will be universally accessible for for all peoples. We are achieving that through a parallel walkway to the building that is less than five percent. So it is easy to navigate without the requirement for railings or ramps. That that sidewalk then is reusing some of the grant pavers from the existing library front Plaza and is introducing. We've introduced Goshen and seat walls from that we are also reclaiming from site. There are some steps to connect that upper area of the plaza to the sidewalk and those which are detailed later, show you have more of a historical character keeping with the front. We have a dedicated children's area outside of the young adult circulation area on the south corner of the building. And then moving towards the east, there is the former accessible entry is now for deliveries or for staff and would not be would not be used as a main entry during library hours. We've reconfigured this part of the site to make it safer and easier to navigate. So we widen out the widen out the parking lot and the access aisle to allow for head in spaces with two way turnaround. So cars can come in and park and back out and return to Amity Street without having to go to the rear of the site. We've also improved the waste management collection system for the library. So we're proposing a fully enclosed dumpster enclosure to the rear of this area also helps signal the end of a vehicular zone on the library. And so this area would be enclosed. We have more details that I'll show you about later. And then moving towards the north of the site, we've we've softened the slope of the driveway and made it accessible. So it's also less than five percent. So this this will become pedestrian access that's accessible around the whole side of the building. Also on the west side of the building off of the children's area, there is an emergency egress way that we were proposing with access out to the Amity Street. And the next slide. And then as you come to the north side of the building, we have a reading patio area with with working tables and chairs, ocean stone, seat benches, and then movable tables and chairs underneath catenary lighting, which separates kind of creates a new landing for the north entry, which we think will be used quite a bit with this new design connecting this to the CVS parking lot area or two five foot wide walkways with the pedestrian bridges over the rain garden area, which we said during the site, this is kind of like a stormwater sandwich. We have subsurface stormwater infiltration below and then a rain garden in top. So maximizing the area to process stormwater. OK, next slide. This is our planting plan on the south clarifying the planting design. So the area in the front, we have two areas that are about 40 to 50 feet wide by 20 feet deep of lawn. We're going to introduce two yellow magnolias out front. So they're they're mid height trees. They don't really get much bigger than 25 feet. So we'll still have use of the library building without the causing issues in the future. We're going to clean up the front and make it easier to maintain. We're going to remove the lilacs and the rose bushes and introduce Rhododendron rose. They we selected a variety that maxes out at four feet and has white flowers. So it'll be nice throughout the seasons, kind of giving up that that historical character. And then in the in the parking area, we have some shrubs that I'll show you in a later slide. And as we work around the building to the north, we have all incorporate rain garden planting. Next slide on the north side, we'll be introducing three new shade trees and introducing stepping stones and boulders for seating within the rain garden. Next slide. This is a enlargement of the atneria plaza lighting, just adjacent to that north entry area. The section below is looking back at the library at the new addition. So in that space between the retaining wall, so the yellow line is the actual property line of the historical society, which is higher than the elevation of the grades at the library. So at the corner where the pinch point between that property in the library building about five feet, there's about four feet of grade change. And then as we move to the north, that wall height differences reduces down to two feet. So that plaza area, we were taking inspiration of Paley Park in New York, had had like a small space that feels warm and inviting. So we're introducing overhead catenary lighting, which is string lighting, crushed stone, the binder, which is fully accessible as a different sound to your feet and then flowering vines into the wall. So it has a green aesthetic. Due to the height of the wall, we will need a railing along it, so we're choosing a railing that's more fitting with the historical character of Amherst, just that image on the right. And next slide. And then these are some site elevation sections showing how how we're making that front entry accessible and how it's a gentle slope and how that north addition fits in with the existing grade change along the north side. Next slide. And then section elevations to the west. Again, we're going to simplify that that elevation and reduce the amount, the amount of planting on the side for safety and visibility and then the east, how we're making those accessible connections along the east side. Next slide. When we think about planting, we often start with inspiration photos and precedents. So these are some of the images that we gathered as we thought about the front landscape planting, more of a refined palette of color and texture. The yellow flowering image at the top is the what the flowers of the Magnolia trees will be like and a mix of evergreens and small bulbs for perennials. Again, trying to find things that require very little maintenance, very little trimming, very little leading. Next slide. And then this is this is a planting plan for the back area. I think the slides are a little bit out of order, but this is a back area planting plan. I'll show you the inspiration photos for that in the next slide. But in the back area, we are going to be replacing some of those shade trees that have to come down with addition with some good, really good shade trees that will be able to withstand climate change. So these are plants that are adaptable to the southern USDA zone. So it will serve the library well long term with the proposed swamp with the swamp white oak and sassafrass, which has almost like mint like leaves and that changes has a really good color in the fall. Willow oak has these lovely thin needle like leaves and French tree, which is an understory tree with great, great flowers and great for pollinators and interspersed amongst us is a mix of moss and ferns and other ground covers that do well in the shady shaded environment as well as a more damp area. Next slide. These are some of the inspiration images that we had for that back area. So again, more of the what you would see at the woodland edge or in next to a screen with mosses and ferns and and sedges. Next slide. And then this is the planting strategy for the front. So we wear that those two better cut magnolia trees are proposed and then a sour wood tree, which sort of a mid fight tree. Again, it'll probably max around around 20 to 50 feet high, but it'd be a good shade tree without overwhelming the space and then the rose of the rhododendron and then the oak leaf hydrangea. We originally had a taller evergreen shrub in this area, but we heard good feedback from the community that they would like something lower. So the oak leaf hydrangea maxes out at four feet and it has a variety of seasonal color. Next slide. And then these are some images of the materials that we're thinking about for the site. So the dumpster enclosure. Not not, you know, not what you typically would see but something that's a little bit nicer and fitting with the character of the library. The railing again that we would have at the top of any site walls that require that and the types of railings that we'd have at those front stairs. The crossing for the ring garden area. And then the children's area we are currently working on stamped concrete that incorporates barred owls and other birds of amherst that their footprints are marked into the concrete that kids could trace with chalk. Next slide. And then out back, the bike rack area. A little bit more contemporary with some tops of color and raised tables and benches of various heights to meet ADA accommodate children and then also adults who want to stand in that back area again pops of color. And then the types of seating with the Goshenstone walls in the back. Next slide. Thank you. I'll return back to Tony. Thanks, Rachel. And that was great. I'm sure there will be questions later and a lot to show there. So now I'm going to launch into the building itself and we're going to look at a series of elevations. So what we're going to see here in the next series of elevations is taken around different sides and I'm going to describe what is represented. So this is the front or the existing south elevation here that you currently have. And what we're showing in this instance in the pink color is that portion of the existing library that will be removed, which is ticking up to the far left and behind the existing front next. And as you see in the proposed new design that's again, representing pink. What you're seeing here is the extent of which the visibly amassing of the new addition relates to the historic front building. And in all cases, the dominant position of the front piece maintains its prominence in terms of its visibility. And then the new addition, in this case, the heights of the roofs elements are projecting below those particular elements that you can see in this view as we turn to existing east elevation here along the side. Again, the pink area represents that particular wing that is being removed. And here you see the proposed east elevation that masses behind. And we'll talk about that in the plans in a minute. But what is shown here is particularly on the far right, that show the addition that manifests as kind of a modern interpretation of a gambrel end that you're seeing that's projecting to the right. And then all the other massing is behind and beyond. On the north elevation again, this is the area that is being proposed to be removed. And then we have a new addition, of course, which expands outward towards the north or towards the rear. And this is the proposed design relating to that north elevation. We do have a couple of perspective views that will follow. But what we're showing here largely consists of several materials. One is brick cladding that basically holds the general massing of the new addition. We have proposed hardy plank element here in a projecting element in the left hand portion. And then a standing seam metal roof at the very top that extends and reinforces the modern reinterpretation of the gambrel ends. And then in the notch in between is a series of curtain wall at the corner. And the rest of the windows are punched openings again, which will be more legible in the perspectives to come. Next. And then as we move finally to the west elevation again, this portion of the existing addition of all of the pink elements really represents the 1990s addition to the historic 1928 original. This is again being proposed to be removed. And this is what's being proposed in places. The new addition again showing the relationship of the design as it relates to the historic fabric, but in a complementary way is it scales both terms of design and language, again, with the use of predominantly brick, shiplap, siding and portions of it and standing seam metal roof is a series of dormers that project off the roof in this particular elevation. In the plans that represents what this all means is here, we see on the ground floor, the lower level plan. This is the existing plan that you have now. And this is the proposed new plan. And basically there's this dashed line, this dark every dashed line. This represents to the south and to the east of it. That is the historic portion that is being retained. And the new addition is therefore everything else that is to the north and to the west that is in place of the 1990s addition. I'm not going to get into the plans. I think there's probably been quite a bit of presentation about that, but this at the heart shows where we're taking that fabric. And as we get into this, one of the things that may come up is that with respect to the existing historic fabric, particularly along that dashed line, essentially some of those elements are external outside spaces. Right now on the sear walls, they will become inside spaces within the library. We will attempt to retain as much of that historic fabric as we can as it relates to the new addition. Next, and here you see on your current first floor plan, of course, at the bottom of the page is where you come into the entrance of a Bammadie Street, as you currently have it right now. And here again, with the effect of the dashed line, this shows again the retention of the original 1928 portion of the library is outlined there as Josephine is clouding through. And then the proposed addition to the north and to the west that is beyond that existing historic fabric still retains. The primary entrance of a Bammadie Street is the main way into this library on this main level. And then on level two, essentially the floor plan has a series of, as you know, is a courtyard approach. It's kind of like in the middle. And here, again, we remove that 1990s addition with this new addition that's shown here. And you can see how again, the relation of the historic fabric is retained with respect to that original wing and then the new essentially builds around and to the rear. And then finally on level four, level three, which contains some meeting spaces and then some attic spaces. This represents what happens right now. And then the main thing that essentially changes here is because we're bringing a new elevator access to make the whole building accessible. A portion of the elevator does come up and connects to this upper level. So it allows the ability to create accessible way to come to this proposed third level plan. So in terms of what this does in terms of the view, so in this image from the front off of Amme Street, the image on the upper left represents the rendering that shows the proposed design in the historic existing photo on the lower right and the smaller insert. So what we're really seeing here in the new design is essentially a design that it tends to compliment of the historic fabric, but clearly also expresses that it is new. So the cladding of the new is going to be brick, which is shown in sort of the gray tone there. And then it basically in the gambrel element of the new design manifests as a standing seam metal roof with a series of dormer windows that basically breaks to the upper reading area. But here you can again see that the main dominance of the historic fabric retains and holds its prominence along how many street as one views it from this particular vantage point. This view taken from the other way, looking up again still Amme Street again, the proposed in the upper left and then the insert of the existing in the lower right. Here again, see to a large extent with all the elements that Rachel described with the landscape redesigned and elements of engaging the front really retains the historic fabric. And then it's a far right, just almost not visible. That is where the new addition becomes visible in this particular instance as one views it from this vantage point in the corner. But again, it still retains the very star fabric. I will point out, because I'm sure it will come up. So the elevator that I mentioned that connects to the top level, it just barely peaks up right there. The intention is to really make the colorway essentially to a less extent disappear as much as balls in terms of the colorway as it relates to the roof and the ceiling of the fabric. So it really tends to be suppressed. And then finally, as we come to the rear portion, here again, you can see in the design on the upper left image and then the existing, what the real heart of the proposal here is manifesting kind of the expression of two volumetric forms that sort of come together. It's, again, a modern interpretation of a gambrel shape that exists in the historic library. And the main thing about this is that, of course, this also represents the entrance from the north where the CBS lot approaches the building from the back. And there will be a lower level entrance here that also connects to the lower meeting space. At the large use materials, again, is predominantly brick. We're looking at two different tones of brick with a slightly darker tone on the base and then a lighter gray tone on the upper portion of the new wing. To the far left in the white-ish color projecting element that is represented as a party plank product that is being used to project this projecting bay piece. We have standing seam metal roof, again, on the roof elements on both wings and then the dormer windows that show on the far right. And then in the corner between the two volumes expressed is a curtain wall system that allows more transparency and glazing. And then, again, we're showing some of the elements that racial disguise from a landscape design standpoint. On the level of the details relating to this next, what we're looking at is a couple of things. So there was a question about exterior lighting. What we're really trying to do at the heart of this is that when there are certain, a few historic light fixtures or sconces, particularly around the front, are tough to retain those. If there's need of refurbishment or restoration, we will do that. And then if there are certain instances where we're proposing very discreet lighting elements on the exterior face of the building, primarily for safety and just security, we're proposing fixtures that will tend to, and we believe blend into the historic fabric and be complementary to what exists. And in all cases, the exterior lighting will be within every intention to minimize any light pollution and mitigate any necessary lighting that allows us to fulfill the requirements but without over-lamping the building. So this is what is being suggested in certain select instances around the building. As far as the lighting itself on the exterior lighting, again, we're looking at a very serious of pedestrian lighting elements which are tended to be both, in some instances, historic in nature and looking at the ones on the far left and then on the far right, where we have parking lighting. Again, the idea is to try to be complementary to that, to minimize the amount of lighting that we need but to fulfill what's required to provide lighting to the parking areas around the building that is shown in the image on the right. Just in terms of the details, the key thing that we just want to represent is that in the particulars on the historic building, the intention is that we will be replacing the windows but will retain the historic fabric. And what simply changes is that we are going to go to a proposed window section on the far right, which essentially has a sash to match existing fabric and style that it will be an insulated glazing unit because right now your existing library has single glazing unit which of course from an energy standpoint and sustainability standpoint, we need to revise. So that is the intent but it's really to try to retain to the extent that it manifests a historic fabric, it will in appearance very much resemble what exists there now. And then on the far left, what we would have in the new windows and they will be a new aluminum window systems in terms of the design for the addition. And then there are some areas as I said in the corner where we will have a curtain wall window system but in all cases, all of these windows are intended to be as energy efficient as possible to retain the sustainability of the project to the extent that we can absolutely fulfill those requirements. And finally with respect to these slides, these are just about the materiality of it. So identified in the upper left image, that's the image we showed before in the circle one, circle two, this shows the intent of the two tones of the brick with a slightly darker suggesting here it's a cold-colored brick and then the sort of slate gray brick and the predominant body of the library wing. And then the sighting for that projecting element of the left, which is sort of an off-white is a hardy board panel sighting system that is shown in the image on the bottom right. In terms of the roof, again, we're proposing a standing seam, a metal roofing system, it will be matte finish, the intent is to really be complimentary to the slate roof, but it is a metal roof and it shows various ways that the details will develop these again, are just some precedent examples of the standing roof seam system that we are proposing for the new addition. And then with respect to the slate, because the nature of many of the slate elements that are in the roof are at the end of their useful life in some cases beyond, we are proposing to replace all the slate with a synthetic slate. And with respect to the coloration details, variation and size, there's many things that we can do to adapt to make an appropriate scale to the slate roof elements. So these are the level of details that we are getting into, but the intent is to replace the existing slate roof on the historic portion of the library with the synthetic slate, as you see here. So I think that concludes our presentation of the design. I wanted to leave sufficient time for questions and comments. Thank you. It's a lot of information to take in, but I think we've all had a chance to look at the documents on our own and really appreciate the time that Sharon and Rachel and Kent took to walk us through kind of an information session on site visit last week. It was great. So thank you. Tony, could you just speak before we jump in to the sustainability measures that we should be looking for? I know you've talked about the windows being double glazing that that's in the aluminum and that's a big upgrade. I understand that the building is photovoltaic ready. Like where would that go? And what else should we be paying attention to from a sustainability perspective? I think, and I'll sort of let others weigh in who've all been doing a lot of it. As you know, we are proposing both the inside accommodation of steel and CLT construction for using wood to the greatest extent we can. We believe that's a very strong statement. Of course, the energy system with respect to fulfilling the new codes as well as mechanical systems, all of those things will be pushing to the greatest extent that we're able to do on the sustainability front. On the exterior cladding, all of those things again with the intent to try to maximize the energy efficiency, reduce the amount of a heat loss, heat gain, and the windows do play a big part of that. But I don't know, Ellen or Joseph and others, do you want to weigh in to respect any of these comments, questions? I think I would just add, those are all good points, Tony. I would just add that we have a lot of square footage on the roof where the PV panels would be able to be placed both on the north addition and sort of the northeast addition portion as well. So there's definitely space for PV panels. And as far as being PV ready, we are incorporating that into the documents. So that way the library will be ready to go. All right, thank you. All right, so this is a big project. And as you all know, the design review board has some standards and guidelines. And because of the significance of this project, I'd like to move through the discussion as framed by those standards. So for those of you at home, they can be found on pages 12 and 13 of the design review board's handbook, which is on the town's website, but we'll describe them as we go. And there's a fair amount of redundancy in these standards. I will kind of make a brief description of the standard and then ask design review board members to ask questions or make comments. Nope, we don't need to comment on all of them if you don't feel compelled to, but if you do have something to say, this would be the time. And I would ask Rob, as we're making suggestions, if there are any, would you mind noting them down while we're talking? Is that something that you could do for us? And that way that'll help with recommendations at the end of the wrap up. Yeah, sure, I could do that. I appreciate that, thank you. So the first of the DRB standards is height. This is the height of any proposed alteration should be compatible with the style and character of the building structure or the site being altered in that of its surroundings. So my feeling is that the height of these volumes is very appropriate, but I'm opening that up to members of the DRB. Do you want to indicate that you'd like to make a comment by either raising your hand or just simply unmuting and chiming in, that would be welcome? I have no problem. I think I'm pleased actually that the whole design is keeping within the fairly similar standards of height. So I don't have any objection. I would weigh in to say that I agree with you, Erika and with Catherine, that there's been a very careful attention so that the historic building is not overshadowed by the new construction. Yeah. Thank you. And the next of the standards is about proportions. Proportions and relationships of height to width between windows, doors, signs and other architectural elements should be compatible with the architectural style and character of the building or the structure in that of the surroundings. Pat, your hand is up and I may have missed that from before but would you like to start us off on this one? Actually it was up from before. And so let me just pause and think about this for a minute. Thank you. Sure. Sure. I think that the proportions are very respectful of the existing volumes and their composition but while also negotiating the needs of the program on the interior of the building so where we need a big space for the nonfiction and the fiction collections, for example that's done well, this kind of collected of accumulated volumes if you will so I feel that proportionally it's very respectful. Go ahead, Catherine. I agree with you. The proportions are fine. And I would weigh in to say that I agree as well. It seems that a great deal of thought and sensitivity has gone into this new plan. Thank you. Lindsay, do you want to say anything on this one? Well, I would agree with everything that's been said. It was a great presentation and everything feels like it's respecting the existing historic massing and working well. Thank you, bye. Super. We'll move on to number three which is the relation of structures and spaces. The relation of a structure to the open space between it and adjoining structures should be compatible with such relations in the surrounding space. It's kind of a mouthful but I'm thinking about the limitations of the site, the incredibly tight site boundaries between the Jones and its neighbors to all sides. I think that that's been negotiated really well and well I am disappointed to see so many of the shade trees removed. I also appreciate that we'll actually see the historic Amity Street facade of the building once again and that's a good thing. Outdoor spaces become fully accessible which I think is really critical and functional and sustainable. I love the children's play area. Those are my thoughts on this particular standard. I would agree. Yeah, I also agree and I just have to weigh in to say that I think that the tightness of the space has been well executed and I'm really pleased to see the outdoor spaces to give opportunity for the patrons of the library to be outdoors as they use the library as well as indoors and to have a sense of community in those spaces. I also really appreciate the use of landscape elements for the outdoor spaces and the character that was shown in the images. This may be my comment may be more relevant to item five so I'll just preface with that but as far as outdoor spaces go I love the connection on the north end that creates that rain garden and the slats that are part of the walkway that opens up and the meandering stone and did feel like it was a question in my mind about the angularity and the straightness of the proposed walkways along the back or north side. I noticed some of the precedent images were more of a meandering pathway and felt that that may be more in character with the existing landscape. So like I said, this is more related to the existing landscape and how it relates to that but as far as how it defines some of the exterior spaces and I'm thinking about the connection between that kind of triangle with the meandering stone pathway. If someone could just kind of step off of the path and onto the stones if it wants to kind of like weave and I'm sure that this has been explored but that's really the only thing that stood out to me that wasn't necessarily in keeping with the organic nature of that landscape as it exists currently. Otherwise I think it's lovely. Thanks. And I would say that we could treat this as a bit of a dialogue. So Rachel, if you wanted to pipe in your welcome to here like if there's something that you're eager to respond to. Great, yeah, thank you and thanks for those comments. We did have a couple of options early on that had more curved walkways. One of the things that we were trying to really emphasize is kind of safety and security and sight lines. So right now it's really hard to see the north entry. The north entry is actually gonna be moving a little bit further to the east so it'll be more visible by that nature and then we're also really sculpting out almost a bull in that backyard area so that these straight lines and pathways we imagine to be desire lines for people moving and then also really just to have a really good sight line for visibility to that back door after hours. And the hope is that those stepping stones and pathways and meandering plantings kind of bring that softness to the area. But that was our thinking. Thank you. All right, let's move on to four and I think Lindsay spoke a little bit to five but let's pause a minute on four which is shape. Again, some redundancy here but the shape of the roofs, windows and doors and other design elements should be compatible with the architectural style and character of a building or site and that of its surroundings. And I think clearly, yes, the kind of contemporary take on the mansard roof contemporary shapes and materials is very respectful but feels also very now, very 2023 and also provides for affordable takes in the future by having some clear roof lines up above the window plane and I feel that the shapes are appropriate to the building. Oh, just second that. I really appreciate the interpretation of the roof and the spark roof forms especially like the way that the dormers are interpreted and the way they kind of pop from the metal roof. So I thought that was pretty well done. Okay, great. Well, let's move on to landscape. Any proposed landscape development or alteration should be compatible with the character and appearance of the surrounding area. Landscape and streetscape elements including topography, plantings and paving patterns should provide continuity and definition to the street, pedestrian areas and surrounding landscape. So Lindsay kind of kicked off this conversation by talking about the pathways in the back. And I think if I have, well, I'd like to begin by saying I think that it's very respectful. I really appreciate the accessibility and the kind of math that's been done to make that work like a fully accessible front entrance to the Jones. That's amazing. They're using and also really thoughtful about color of the plantings, height of the plantings, native adaptable, climate adaptable plantings, the rain gardens. It's really thoughtful and respectful. For the north entry in the way that we do have that pinch point, I'm wondering about whether the gravel with the binder is going to be actually problematic there. Anything we can do to make that entrance feel wider and perhaps by extending the paving to the retaining rod? And I'm thinking also things like snow removal and just kind of convenience for maintenance sake. I wonder if that would be, would kind of signal the importance of that entry because that will be the primary entrance for the community after hours, right? So that's one thought that I have. And I will share the floor here with my colleagues. I did have a sort of a question and first of all, kudos to Berkshire Design for this amazing landscape and sort of rescaping of everything. It's just worth some lucky to have a group like this that could present that kind of a plan. I brought this up before, Rachel, and I'm just sort of mourning the demise of that very large tree in the back of the Jones that is somehow roots are getting into the drainage. So just as a wild thought here, was there, did you all consider re, not removing, but moving the drainage so the tree could remain? Or is the just too many roots? Cause it is, it looks to me to be a very magnificent tree and we can't afford to lose many trees in town. So just one more time, for my sake, could you elaborate a bit on that tree? Yeah, it is magnificent. There are two factors that are making it a little at risk, even though it looks very healthy. One is the roots growing into the sewer lines, as I mentioned, but also the new addition is actually within half of its root ball. So that tree has pressure both underneath and on the side. So we talked with Alan Snow at length when we first walked the site with him to see if there was a way that we could possibly save the tree. And he said it would be extremely cost prohibitive and that the reality of that tree living, even doing all sorts of aerospating and cutting, it would not be, that could be guaranteed. And then in terms of the stormwater, that piece, so there's a second tree next to that tree that's impacted by the stormwater. We're, the regulations have changed and I think it's good. We're seeing more intense rainfall, we're seeing more rainfall throughout the year. And when we deal with stormwater, we're required to calculate balancing the rainfall events and the amount of water leaving the site as it is before the project happens. So our engineers create a model of the site and anything in its watershed upslope that might be contributing and models out what those flows are and they can simulate different amounts of rainfall. So like a four inch rain event, they can model that out. The standard used to be around six or seven inches would be the equivalent of a hundred year storms that would be major flooding and areas prone to flooding. And we balance pre and post flows for that as a standard as a good best management practice. The standard has changed. The climate has changed so much, the regulations changed in the last year and that we're held now to 11 inch rainfall events. So we're balancing pre and post flows for 11 inch rainfalls that's the new hundred year standard. Given the increase of impervious surface onsite with the increased roof area and then that increased volume amount, we need some place to store water before it leaves the site, otherwise it will cause downstream impacts to the municipal system. So that area where the tree is being removed is gonna be really beneficial for not only the Jones Library but also areas down slope of the library. That water goes through the fire department alley and on down Mark Pleasant Street, which is already having some issues with drainage. Also, I would say that the Jones Library back area was interesting in that exercise. We are receiving stormwater from the historical society property. So it's not just stormwater from the Jones Library property that we're managing, we're managing existing flows coming from the historical society property on the library property. Okay, thank you. Thanks a lot. Erica, you're muted. Sorry, my dog was barking. Would you like to hear any thoughts on the landscape design elements? I think the thoughts that have already been shared are important. I like the idea of the possibility even just the illusion of it with landscaping of having the straight lines less so. I understand that to the north entrance that it's security issue as well so that it's well-lighted and visibility is there. But I'm wondering if landscaping can give the illusion that they're not so straight. Yeah, I think that'll help soften them. We could also look at introducing slight curves as long as the desire lines which are lying is still held. So we can play with that a little bit. Thank you, Rachel. Sharon. Yeah, I just wanted to say staff, we were recommending the straight lines not only to have less sidewalk, to have to plow, snowblow, that kind of a thing but also we know that just because we see it, a lot of people are just walking from the CVS parking lot to the center of town and they're looking for a straight path. And we just wanted to make sure that they called goat paths is that what I've learned? We didn't want people walking through where we didn't want them to be. So that's why we were going with the straight line. Thank you. All right, thank you. And I think a number of the precedent images suggested some kind of like stones in the landscape and maybe the kind of primary and secondary pathways are closely related so that one could easily step off the straight line and kind of do the meander if they so wished. I had another landscape thought and this one is about the front. I know that there's a strategy of kind of like these monolithic plantings. That's the wrong word, like kind of single varietal plantings in the the hedgerow of hydrangea between the parking and the library lawn, front lawn. I wonder if four feet is actually too high. And one of the things I'd like to invite you to study is standing on the sidewalk. Because it slopes down, I worry that the kind of optics of accessibility might be blocked by a four foot hedge. And so maybe there's an opportunity to mix in something that's a little bit lower as you come closer to the street edge. It's a thought and it's one that I haven't tested by standing on the site, but I did wonder about that. And I'm also very interested in making sure that there's adequate pedestrian lighting for people to feel safe. And I know that we're negotiating with, you know, lighting levels and dark sky wishes and things like that. But again, accessibility is a challenge and accessibility, especially like in the dark winter months for that north entrance, I think it's gonna be a popular place to be coming and going to community events. And I think that people with their parking in the back wanna ensure that they feel extremely safe. Yeah, we can look at the planting and then the lighting, we're definitely working through photometrics right now to make sure that we have safe visible levels and on that walkway, yeah. Great. I have one more question. I think that Melinda's hand is up, but as a member of the public and not a panelist, we should probably wait on that unless Melinda's part of the design team. Okay. So she's. I have just one more comment on that. On the south end, I was curious, Rachel, maybe you can, I don't remember us talking about this, but on plan right where the book drop, relocated book drop is, there's the walkway that goes straight back to the staff entrance. And then there's the curved block that goes toward the rent main entrance. And then there's the pavers that has the signage in that triangle. I'm curious why create such kind of an expanse of paving there versus mirroring what's on the left side that's a little more subtle that also has kind of the curved entrance toward that kind of perpendicular ramp or slope walk. And I don't necessarily mind that there's kind of this triangular space of pavers with a sign there, but it does feel like there's a really wide area of sidewalk that feels a little bit maybe redundant in a sense. And I don't have a real problem with it. I just, I'm just curious if there was a way to maybe merge those two and make it feel more in proportion to the left side and left side, while still kind of like giving a presence to that signage or where we think came out to some extent. So it's a subtle thing and not super critical, but just a thought. Yeah, I think we can definitely look at that. I think we were accommodating two different pathways in different routes across trying to get to the main entry or coming from the parking lot or going up to the access area. But we can rethink that intersecting triangle and maybe apply something more like on the left also, if we have a place for that other stuff. So we can definitely look at that. We might give a little more space to the, we'll give a little more space to the green area, which I know gets really active. So. Yep. My last question on this one is I'm referring to the first of the renderings that's in the package where we're looking at the, kind of looking at the what's Southwest corner of the building and the historical society's Norway spruce has been trimmed, just wondering and hoping that that is for the sake of the drawing. So that we can see the building behind it is an artistic license to clear the visibility to the drawing. You actually makes the new addition even less visible when the tree is fully limbed up the way it really is. Now that was artistic license. Okay, thank you. Glad for that. I think a number of people will be pleased to hear that. Any other thoughts on landscape Catherine or Pat or Lindsay? No, I'm good with the presentation. Thank you. And with our questions. Great. So where are we? The last statement that it was just beautiful the way that everything that you put in your presentation. So it's very exciting to see. All right. So moving on to item six, which is scale. The scale of a structure or landscape alteration should be compatible with architectural or landscape design style and character in that of the surroundings that goes on a little bit. But I think that this has been largely covered in other comments. I have little to say here. I think you've done a nice job. Really like the way that the entrance is marked with the glass box. I don't know that it's scale per se, but I think that there is something about the way that the entrance is marked on the back and thinking about it being somewhat eclipsed by the property lines being pinched there. And I don't know that I heard anyone speak to that space being lit, but I think that that has a lot of potential to be showcased and really pull people in visually. So I think that in terms of the massing in a way that those two more traditional forms come together at that glass box is gonna be really striking. I think that leads us really nicely into number seven, which is directional expression. Building facades and other architectural and landscape design elements shall be compatible with those of others in the surrounding area with regard to the dominant vertical or horizontal expression or direction related to use and historical or cultural character as appropriate. I personally love the big house, little house, back house, barn references here. Again, they kind of accumulated over time typology. And I think you've done a really nice job of maximizing daylight and views without it looking like a glass box, except where that back entrance is a kind of a connecting glass volume. And I think that feels really appropriate. The horizontality of the brick, I think is really referential to neighboring buildings in their clobbered or brick facades. And the proportion of solid and void seems consistent with the neighboring buildings as well. Erica, I would agree with your comments. I think it's been, the plans have been very well thought out and the presentation beautifully organized for our benefit and the benefit of the town. Catherine, any thoughts on this one for Lindsay, of course? No, I agree with you. Great. All right, we're making progress. There's two more points that we're gonna move through and then we'll obviously have time for things that didn't get included. Number eight is architectural and site details, including signs, lighting, pedestrian furniture, planting, paving, materials, colors, textures, grade shall be treated so as to be compatible with the original architectural landscape design style with the structure or site and preserving character, et cetera, et cetera. So, this covers a lot of ground. You haven't presented signage tonight. I suspect that you'll be back on a future date for us to address those elements, but we talked a little bit about lighting and I think that that's consistent with the existing historical lighting features of the building and in the kind of surrounding area. Not historical typology. I think that the proposed railings are a huge improvement over the 1990s rails that are there. We'll write a little bit about the kind of, the neutrality, if you will, of the lighter colored brick especially. We saw such a tiny sample of it in the image and the stone is, there's so much variety and texture there that I think we have this massive, not massive, these large expanses of the lighter brick. And I'm wondering if one of the architects could speak to the character of the material. Sure, I can start and I'll just convey. So, it's a great question, Erica. I mean, we are in the process of fine tuning and tweaking the samples. We hope to get out there soon on site so everyone can look together. I think we felt that the lighter brick, we were trying to be complimentary but not to compete and you're actually right, the historical building is so rich in the variation of the stone that we thought anything we attempted to get too much could water that down. So, we're purposely creating a more, in some ways, neutral feel. We want to pick up the warm tones that we think are going to complement but because there's so many sub variations in the existing stone between pages and grounds and dance and cream, there's all sorts of that you could literally pick. Well, that sample on that piece of stone looks like this. So, it becomes almost an endless choice. So, rather than trying to overemphasize those choices, we were trying to create background. But I don't know, Alan or Josephine, you and others went away and I don't know that. No, I think, Tony, you're right. And that's what I would say the same thing. It's just we're trying to keep the addition quiet because the historic building is so lively with the stone color. I really respect that challenge of finding that with the perfect material but I do think it was the tiniest bit of variation in the color would be. Yeah. We will obviously study that in America and we're still studying that. Yeah. And I do appreciate the base course, right? Because like striking that date, I'm having a darker color below and a lighter color above. Thank you. Lindsay, please. Was Catherine saying that? Okay. Go ahead, Lindsay. Okay. I think my only question, and I apologize if it was stated, but it's around the canopy over the north entrance. Did you talk about materials for that? I see it on the proposed north elevation. It looks maybe there's not a canopy. There's a wider band that looks like I would. Thank you. We can talk about it. Josie, do you want to weigh in on what the materials are on the canopy that's in the north entrance? Sure, yeah. You're correct, Lindsay. We didn't actually touch base on that but it is going to be a solid material. We will have downlights in the canopy and I don't think you could quite tell from the plans but it extends the whole length of that width of glass at the entry point. So it won't be a glass canopy as initially, I think there were some renderings that were out there but it will be solid. Okay. It would be helpful to see an elevation of that because it is really a very important moment in terms of the entrance on the north side and the way that it integrates into that corner because it is kind of notched. So maybe at some point it would be helpful to see how that develops and I'm sure it's still in the works but just in terms of how the canopy is supported, how it's expressed, where it meets all those components. That's one question. The other is at the pinch point, I see on the plan that there's some seating that's really well reflected in the precedent images of the landscape and there's the retaining wall and then it looks like there's a change in material which I think is noted from the pavers to perhaps some kind of piece down or something Rachel, I'm not sure but it feels like maybe there's an opportunity there in terms of details of that retaining wall to create some kind of, I love the steps that you've created that go around the corner toward the historic side, property side. And I'm wondering if there's an opportunity at that pinch point to create something that isn't just a corner, that's something that integrates the wall into whatever happens at the ground plane, whether it's stopping or just something that kind of makes it feel more object-like and less corner-like. So that's just a thought. And then also along that wall, I wasn't sure if there's intended to be a bench where the wall moves to the west, kind of the dog leg out to the west where there's tables that go up, go toward the stairs. Is that intended to be essentially a bench to see a bench area for people to sit along the wall? Or is that just a change in floor material? Yeah, so the north side of that, the north side of that small triangular, trapezoidal closet area, that's actually the planting bed for the climbing vines, the flowering vines. And in that area we have, we're showing five of those cafe tables and chairs that'd be ruleable underneath the tannery lights. And then Catherine, some thoughts on the details? Yes, well, first I have to admit, as many times as I've come in from the CVS parking lot into the Jones Library, I never noticed that red brick. And when I saw that red brick on the back, I said, how did they get away with that to begin with? It's so inappropriate in my thinking to the nature of the, in the historic aspect of the Jones, but nevermind that's going. I'm not reacting positively to the brick that is currently being considered. And I know this is still under a negotiation, but I'm particularly wondering about the east side in the new addition, hard by the older side with the stone. And I wonder, maybe it's color. I wonder if something pure white would somehow, I don't know, give the feeling of the age and the style of the building or whether it could be hardboard siding on that side to avoid the conflict with the stone. Because I think everybody is sort of thinking, do we really have the right color? And so I'm wondering instead of trying to do a variation of color if it could be, if white would be considered, and maybe that would, I don't know, it would please me, but obviously I'm not the person making those decisions. So that's my thought about the material. But then one of the last slides you showed was the parking, the drive and the parking. That perked me up because there is no way in that there is that much space with the driveway and parking. I just feel like it's inaccurate and that somebody should go back and adjust it because I mean, what a miracle that all of a sudden we have this wide driveway with all some places to park. I don't believe it. And if it's accurate, that's wonderful, but I don't know how we got there. Again, it could be my impression, but those are my thoughts. Thank you very much for your comments. I think we can take, we'll take it for the study. With respect to the rendering views, I think the render is using from photographs directly when that's why we're showing the before and afters with respect to the photography. I mean, it is literally based on an actual photograph. So that's all I can say at this point, but thank you for your comments. Your renders don't show gutters or downspouts. This is part of the design where you have some other way to channel water off the roof to your collection areas. No, the intention will be to retain the downspouts and gutters, especially the software ones. I think in the rendering, sometimes some of those small details may have been left off in the nature but what exists in, especially on the historic portion, yes, there still has to be a need for downspouts and gutters. I know that they're not always the nicest things to look at, but kind of thoughtful placement and I'm not suggesting you're not being thoughtful about them, of course, but it does sometimes change as how we look at a corner, right? Yes. And Pat, any thoughts from you on the details aspect of things? I think the questions you've all raised are ones that I would, I appreciate. And I think that we're waiting to have some answers back about some of those things. So I don't know that we're gonna resolve that this evening. There, there. So shall I move on then? The last one is on signs. And since the signage proposal is not included in this package, I think we can probably put it on hold in thinking about wayfinding onsite, marking entrances and general Jones. And I know there's some conversation about a book drop at the front of the building. Seems like that's not part of tonight's conversation and we could revisit that in a second, in a second meeting. Does anybody on the DRB, do any of the committee members have some comments that you weren't, you couldn't incorporate into those design review board standards that you'd like to raise up for the design team now, right? Thank you all for such a comprehensive view into the new design for the Jones Library. It was really wonderful to spend some time with the drawings and I know how long this project has been in the works. So it's exciting to see it move forward. We had a number of comments and I'm wondering if Rob you're able to kind of report back to us. And what my hope is, is that we can have a motion to approve what the outcome of this conversation should be a motion to approve with some recommendations. So did you want me to, I guess read over my lists that are down, okay. And then we'll try to wrestle that list into some clear recommendations. Yeah, sure. So I noticed there were comments that were given that were also answered by the applicants. So I kind of focused on the comments that didn't have specific answers given to the design review board. Their items that I guess should be addressed. So the first one I noticed was the point that Lindsay brought up regarding the pathway in the back of the library. I believe it was too straight and she suggested maybe exploring the idea of making it more meandering and then also working with the landscaping to accommodate that as well. And that was kind of like the first point I noticed. The second one dealt with the pinch point around the back. Somebody had mentioned that there's like a gravel with binder course on the ground there. And I think it was you, Erica who had mentioned that might be too constraining. So maybe exploring ways to make that entry feel wider than it's being proposed in the plans. And that was my second point. The third point I had dealt with the hydrangea hedgerow being too high at four feet and how there might be blocking optics of accessibility and whether it might be wise to shorten that slightly. Next point is, it might have been difficult for me to understand this one Lindsay because you brought this one up in case you wanted to clarify but this intersecting triangle, I believe it was at the front entryway, the south side of the library, whether it makes sense to merge those two pathways to give more space to the green area. And I'm not sure if it was like a specific side. If you're looking at like the front of the building, was it like the part to the left where those two paths kind of intersects? The parking side. Parking side. Okay. So I guess, combine those pathways, the intersecting part to give more area for green space. And that's kind of the way I interpreted your comment. I don't know if I'm capturing that correctly. Yeah, and it's just something to explore. There may be, it's not anything critical, but just something to look at. Okay. And then next I have in the external features category. So Erica, I believe you had talked about the neutrality of the lighter color brick being concerning to you. And you suggested maybe slightly altering the color and experimenting with that might be a good choice to consider. I believe Lindsay brought up, I don't know if this is a suggestion or recommendation that DRB wants to make, but it pertains to the canopy at the North entrance of the library. Whether seeing like a final reddition of that would be helpful. I don't know if the board wants to make that an official recommendation or if that's more just of a suggestion for the applicant moving forward, but I took note of that just in case. Lindsay had mentioned eliminating, I don't know if it was a retaining wall or if it was just the actual wall of the building, but it creates like a corner at the pinch point and whether they can integrate that better so it's less of a corner, but I guess fits in better with the flow of the site. Am I understanding that correctly? Yeah, I wouldn't, I mean, I think it's necessary for the wall to be there, but just if there's a way to work with the design of that corner to make it integrate to the landscape. Okay. And then the last that I wrote down, and I think Catherine brought this point up was maybe exploring on the East side a different material or brick color scheme to make it blend better with the historic stone of the original building. And I don't know if that link could be related to one of the earlier points that I talked about, but that was kind of like the last major recommendation that I noticed. So that was kind of like my list from that discussion. Was there anything that I might have missed from members of the board that you wanted to include? The only thing, only recommendation of mine that I feel was missed was just, and it sounds like it's already being done, obviously really studying closely the lighting levels on the North path to make sure that people feel really safe at night. And then Catherine's in my comments we kind of have different opinions, but I think they both fall under the looking at options for the color of the brick. So are you talking about lighting levels on the North path? Are you suggesting that they should be, are you suggesting they might be too bright or do you think it's not bright enough for the site? I'm worried that it's not bright enough. Okay, noted. So just a quick conversation, I'd just like to feel really comfortable that members of the board feel that their comments have been integrated. If Rob's list becomes our reference list of recommendations for design items, features for Beingeld Alexander and Berkshire Design to continue to explore, do you feel that your ideas are represented in that list? Pat? I think the ideas that everyone has raised are incorporated in that list. There's a little bit of overlap and I think that's fine because the overlap is not necessarily, we still need to make the issues distinct. And so I, from my perspective, I think Rob covered everything. Thank you. And Catherine? I'm satisfied that we've got everything down. Okay, great. And Lindsay? Yeah, that was a good summary. Thank you, Rob. And just to clarify on the canopy question that canopy question and the elevation that I was suggesting may be helpful to look at. Erica, do you have any thoughts on what we would propose there? You know, with the glass volume, I think a solid canopy would actually be pretty nice right there. It kind of break up that expansive of glass and then it provides an opportunity to provide some really solid downlighting. So yeah, I mean, I think that the description that was provided sounds good, but maybe when this team comes back to present signage, we could see a render of that back entrance. That's what I was thinking as well. If that can be part of the sign review to have an elevation and a description of that particular area of the building, that would be helpful. And perhaps it's possible a rendering or something that shows the sight line toward that entrance. I think that was not completely clear from what was shown tonight what that approach really looks like. Yeah, I agree with that. I think that would be great to see. All right, so can I ask for a motion to approve the design proposal for the Jones Library with recommendations from someone on our committee, please? I still move. And a second? Second. Thanks, Pat. All right, all those in favor, please say aye and raise your hand. Aye. Wonderful, that's a unanimous. Thank you all for your hard work on this and for your super clear presentation this evening and for showing up. Erica, may I just take a moment to thank you all for the care that you have shown in the time that you put in? Public service in this town is a gift to all of us. And I wanna thank you for giving that gift. Tonight I am going to sleep with something that Lindsay said. She said, this is very exciting to see. So thank you for that gift to my sleep. You're very welcome. And it's a gift to all of us that you're doing this beautiful work. So thank you, thanks everybody. Thank you very much for your very thoughtful time and comments. We very much appreciate that. Thank you. Great, great. All right, you're welcome to stick around. I think we're gonna move on now in the agenda to the public comment period. I noticed that we do have a number of people from the general public with us this evening and wanna make sure that we hear what they have to say. So if anybody would like to make a comment, please go ahead and raise your hand and Rob can give you the floor. So we do have one person, Hilda Greenbaum, who I'm going to give speaking permissions to right now. Fantastic, thank you. Hilda Greenbaum, 298 Montague wrote, and I'm covering this meeting for the ND, but I'm speaking for myself. I'm very disappointed that you didn't ask for public comment before you took your vote. There may have been people who had things they wanted to say. And I really feel that even though they had the big open house and everybody giving comments that the public comment hasn't been listened to very carefully or incorporated in any of the design. So I'm not gonna bother saying anything because I don't wanna rain on your parade. But it would have been good if there were people who wanted to say something that they had an opportunity. Thank you, Hilda. All right, then we have one more person, Hedy Startup. Don't know if that is, but I can give them speaking permissions. Hello everybody, can you hear me? Morning, thank you. Great, that's great. I'm particularly interested in the majority of comments about how the new edition is respectful of the 1928 building. It's my observation that the massing and volume of the addition on the north prospect side is actually pretty big in comparison to the historic building, the 1928 building. And I'm a little concerned about the dimensions and proportions of the dorma windows in the upper level, even though I'm sure it makes for a very beautiful light interior space. So that's one thing I'd love some feedback about. I'm also speaking as an architectural historian in town. I've been writing for one of the online magazines in Amherst about historic preservation. And it was a really exciting discovery to me to find out that a very beautiful fan shaped window from the Wipple House on Pleasant Street was incorporated into the edition, the 1919, 93 edition in what is currently the study collections of the Jones Library. I'm very concerned that that window is now in jeopardy because it clearly falls in the category of building fabric that will be removed. And so those are my two comments for today. I would say by way of explanation that I'm taking a tour with Mr. Farber soon. And I look forward to seeing more in detail about what's going on and what the current conditions are. I'm a very avid library patron and I love our Jones Library and all the people who work in it and use it as much as I can. And I think that it's been very helpful for me to hear the design review board make all these comments and observations. I think we'll end up with something better as a result. I am also familiar with the Holy Oak Library and I love what Jim and all of you did there. So I guess I'll just leave it at that. Thank you very much for the opportunity to ask some questions. We appreciate your comments, but thank you. Rob, a couple more hands. So no more hands from people in attendance, but we have two panelists who are with us right now from the applicant who just spoke, if you wanted to have them address any comments. Yes, there's no requirements to address public comment, but if you have something that you'd like to add to provide some context, you're welcome to. So I think Rachel's hand was up first. Oh, you muted. I suspect Jim has the same response. So I'll let him speak to the Wipple window. Interesting, we were just discussing that again this afternoon and realize that it is an important artifact that had been moved to the previous edition and we're looking for a way to incorporate that into the design. We are thinking it may be something that we locate in the main reading room or one of the large reading rooms and really are able then to interpret it through some information in the room itself. It doesn't work well on the exterior of the building and the design at this point, but we think it can be incorporated nicely into the interior somewhere. So that's our thinking. So I think that's the latest, Rachel, but you may have more than I. You said it better than I could. Thank you. Okay, thank you. So that's the plan where we are aware of it and we are looking for the right spot. Thank you, Jim and Rachel for adding on to that comment. So Hedy did raise her hand back up again if you wanted to give her a second chance to speak, but it's totally up to you, Erica. Oh, happy to. We'll just, your Hedy's comment and then we'll move on. Yep. Thanks very much. I also was wondering if you could just address the thought process behind the contemporary barrel vault that I'm seeing on the north prospect side, even given that you've trimmed up the Norway spruce tree, I'd still like to hear a little bit more about the fenestration, the standing seam metal roof. Great idea for New England, but it's not slate, is it? I'm just looking for a little bit more information at this point about that. Thank you. Well, I'll just point out that I think our design team has largely left the building at the moment, but if Rachel or Jim or Sharon had anything quick to add, I think that we could spend a few minutes on it here, but there's... Maybe just a simple comment, I think partly the metal was to really stand in a way and in contrast to the original building. I think we've tried hard to let the original building, the 1928 building stand on its own so that the idea of the using a contemporary material, it sort of ties in with the idea of the brick or the siding that makes it a little bit of a background, I think, to the original building. So otherwise, I think the other aspects are similarly being thought out is to make it contemporary without getting too close to the original. So I think really that's probably all I would say to that. Well, Barring, and thank you, Jim, and thank you, Heady, for your additional question. Barring any other comments, we will move the agenda along. I'm mindful of everyone's time this evening, longer than many of our design review board meetings have been lately. We will move forward to approval of July meeting minutes. And DRB folks, should I share my screen or did you have a chance to review those? I looked at them, but you're welcome to share. And Pat wasn't here. So I can't comment on them. You don't have much to say. Catherine, did you get a chance to review? Yeah. Okay, so any edits or Barring that approval, movement that moved, sorry, motion to approve? I move that we approve the minutes of the July, what? July 24th? July 24th. July 26th of meeting. I was just trying to remember. Maybe it's just me that July feels like ancient history. Did the white line brewing, did they present twice? They did. They came back to present their outdoor furniture player. Okay, that's why. So I was like a lot of graphics on the front door, but I can't remember if that was, that's why it feels so long ago is because that was a previous meeting. And it's not reflected in the comments because it wasn't part of this. So that was my only clarification for myself was just to make sure that I was remembering somewhat that there was a previous meeting where the other components were addressed. In any case, I second Catherine's motion. Fantastic. All those in favor, please say aye. In one abstention. Pat, fantastic. Abstain, yeah. Great. So approved. And then of course the next item on the agenda is just anything unanticipated and barring nothing, we can move to adjourn. So Rob, anything for us to think about the way adjourned? I just want to say thank you, Erica. That was really well managed from my perspective and could have been a really challenging meeting. And I think it was handled really, really well as always. Well, thank you all for doing your homework. That made the conversation move really quick. And how I got the site, sorry, the site walk was really helpful, Rob. Thank you for organizing that. Yeah, I apologize for having to leave early but I'm glad you guys benefited from going on that site walk. And I'm excited to see what they propose in their updated plans. I'm actually curious to see what the North entrance is gonna look like because you're right, they didn't show anything about that canopy at all. So thank you for bringing that up. Yeah, it seemed like it was a pretty glaring piece that wasn't really presented, it's really important. So I appreciate you representing that in their summary. And I'll echo Lindsay, Erica, thank you for a very well run meeting. And it's a great introduction for me to this board to have meetings so well organized and the agenda so distinct, so thank you. Well, thanks, I appreciate that. We're not quite as tight as the planning board. I like to leave some room for discussion when we can. And so just again, back at you all with appreciation for having reviewed all the documents because it was a pretty hefty package. Yeah. So thank you for Chris regarding how this comment, is it best to do it the way we did it, where we respond based on what we've discussed and then allow the public to speak or should we in the future allow the public to speak before giving our final response? I think it's probably a good idea to allow the public to speak before you give your final recommendations only because then they feel that they really have been heard and they feel that their ideas might somehow influence your recommendations. Maybe they would and maybe they wouldn't but I think it just allows them to feel heard. So that's my only thought. Yeah, I respect that comment and it was an oversight on my part just because the meeting agenda puts the public comment was at the end and the technically public comment is about things that are not on the agenda. But of course, in this case, folks do have things to say and I think that that's important. There have been so many opportunities for the public to weigh in. I was just, it was an oversight. So the way the planning board handles it is when they're having a meeting about a project, they take public comment on that project and then they have a separate time where they take public comment about things in general. So that's a suggestion that you might consider. Yeah, I think we'll incorporate that in the future. All right. So can we remotion to adjourn? I will remotion that we adjourn. Okay. Good night everybody and thanks for your time. Bye, thank you. Very much. Thank you all. Okay.