HomeMy WebLinkAbout07162012 Space Needs Work Group MinutesMinutes of the Space Needs Work Group Meeting
July 16, 2012 – 2nd Floor Training Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road, Nantucket, MA 02554
Present: Libby Gibson, Town Manager; Diane O’Neil, Procurement Officer; Charlie Walters,
Melissa Philbrick, John O’Connor, Patty Roggeveen, Bruce D. Miller, John Tiffany, Louise
Swift, Neil Paterson.
Mike Forth joined the meeting at 4:15 pm.
1. Approval of Minutes.
PR: moved to approve the minutes of June 25, 2012; seconded by BDM; all in favor, so voted.
2. Finalization of Work Group Mission.
LG: reviewed the mission as drafted. There was general agreement to add the 20 South Water
Street renovation feasibility report to the mission as a current resource to be consulted.
Discussion followed about what the Board of Selectmen’s (BOS) policy/position is regarding the
location(s) of municipal office space. MP: suggested a review with the BOS about this before
the Group finalizes any recommendations.
JT: reviewed the Finance Committee’s position regarding the Town’s article for renovation of
20 South Water Street at the 2012 annual town meeting.
MP: noted that where municipal offices should be located is not part of the 20 South Water
Street report but that a stronger case needs to be made in any case for the Town’s space needs.
LG: distributed a space needs matrix which the architect developed subsequent to the July 16,
2012 Work Group meeting.
LS: spoke in favor of a long-term space needs plan as a “must” before any related projects
should be presented to the public.
LG: noted that some work has been done on a long-term plan but it needs to be tied together, by
the Work Group.
CW: spoke in favor of a “big picture” long-term space needs plan.
JT: stated that recommendations should be made by the Group as to where the offices should be
located.
MP: added that all locations should be evaluated from a variety of perspectives.
BDM: agreed, and added that the liquidation of other Town assets could be a potential source of
funding. LG: noted a reminder that assets such as real estate need to be reviewed as to how they
were initially acquired to determine how revenue from their sale can be used
JO’C: stated that philosophical issues such as the character of downtown Nantucket need to be
considered in the overall review process.
JT: said that he believes the BOS needs to take a position on this issue, either way.
LG: the BOS needs information and evaluation from the Work Group in order to help establish
its position.
BDM: wondered if the current Town bylaw pertaining to municipal office location reflects
current public opinion and suggested a public hearing might be a way to determine that.
MP: supports the idea of a public hearing. Some discussion followed about a public hearing(s).
LG: suggested that the Work Group needs to develop options and evaluate them first so that
people can have as much information as possible in order to make informed opinions.
JT: concurred and suggested a conceptual plan.
PR: suggested that the Group have a checklist that each member could have input on, in order to
come up with initial options that could then be evaluated and prioritized. The Group generally
supported this suggestion.
MP: said that after the checklist is developed, the Group could review it with the BOS to make
sure it is on the right track. MP said that she could help work on an approach for the Group’s
development of and evaluation of, space needs options.
MF: commented on the space needs matrix, noting that some of the numbers seem off and
agreed to try to revise it a little to get more detail on the actual space needs.
PR: wondered if the General Administration Building under construction at the Airport could be
used on some way to help address municipal space needs, for example storage. NP: concurred.
It was generally agreed that the following items would be on the agenda for the Group’s next
meeting:
-- approval of minutes for this meeting
-- space needs matrix revision discussion
-- review the idea of a checklist for options for space needs, plus other considerations and an
evaluation process
The next meeting was scheduled for Monday, August 6, 2012 at 4pm at the 2nd Floor Training
Room of the Public Safety Facility.
The meeting was unanimously adjourned at 5:30 pm.
Minutes Approved at Meeting of August 6, 2012