Capital Improvements Program (cip) Committee - Regular Meeting

So it's 6.01. Let's go ahead and kick things off. So I will officially call this meeting of the Londonderry CIP Committee to order. As always, it's an advisory-only committee. We're going to try to find out detailed information on the different capital projects coming through the town and school and give a general consensus ranking for the individual respective boards to use. So with that said, we will go right on into new business. And that brings us to project overview and presentations for the library.

Good evening. I'm Donna Plant. I'm the assistant director of the library and currently the acting library director. I have with me tonight Megan Donovan, who's our head of circulation and teen services, Jen Frankowicz, who's the head of children's services, and then we have a couple of our trustees, Beth Morocco, who's the vice chair, and Nancy Hendricks, who is our chair. So just so that you know who's here with us tonight. So we have a presentation to go through with you. First, I wanted to thank you for listening to us, hearing us out over these projects. It has been quite some time since I don't even know the last time the library participated in the CIP process. And we definitely felt it was very necessary considering the current project that's going on at the library. And we obviously don't want to have to come forward to ask for emergency funding and have disrupted operations again. So, to prevent that from happening again is really why we felt it necessary to bring these projects forward. So, if you want to go to the next.

It won't go to the full screen. I don't know why. We have a problem with that.

Oh, okay. So I just wanted to give you a quick summary of the projects we're going to go over with you. Megan is going to present the first project to you, the Phase 2B renovation, and then I will cover the children's room projects. So... Phase 2B is just a continuation of the work that's already started and is happening. Phase 1 was really to cover the mold remediation work that needed to happen as well as the damage repairs that came from the pipe burst. the initial pipe burst at the end of January. And then phase 2A includes some engineering work that needs to happen with our rooftop units, some very initial work with the building envelope, and what's needed to supplement cooling and installing glycol to prevent freezing over this next winter before we can replace the rooftop units entirely. So phase 2b will include that replacement process of replacing end-of-life assets. It's addressing some energy audit issues that were documented in last year's energy audit and also some issues brought up in our external building envelope reports throughout the work that's already happened in Phase 1 and 2A. to protect operational continuity, which I kind of already mentioned, and to improve public health and safety. Obviously, we don't want any kind of reoccurrence with the mold and want to be able to control humidity to prevent that from reoccurring. The estimated cost, I can give you the exact amount on the next slide, but about $1.4 million. We do consider this the highest priority project and likely to be put forth in a Warren article. The other two projects, children's room renovation, estimated cost of $307,000. We're suggesting more of a phased approach to spend over several fiscal years, I think five fiscal years, so that it's not just one expense all at once. There is room to potentially get some private donations or some grant funding, and or grant funding, as well as to spend some money out of the operating budget. That project really addresses ADA compliance in the children's room. Again, replaces the end of life assets that we're seeing are at their 30 year mark. You'll hear me say 30 year old things a lot tonight. Also improves public health and safety. And then the children's room addition or expansion, that is for a specific programming space off of the children's room. That one is we're estimating $1.6 million, considering this the lowest priority project. And I do think that there's room to do more of a campaign to get some private funding, potentially grant funding, before going the route of a Warren article. That is more in response to community growth and to invest in youth and families and expand capacity and service. I will turn things over to Megan for phase 2b.

All right. Hello. So for phase 2B, the funding request is for the fiscal year 28. It's $1,418,117. And we will go through what that means. So these are pictures of our current roof. It's of note that all four of the rooftop units are in need of replacing. R2U1, which is in the first upper left photo, is for the main library. R2U2 is not technically pictured here, it's on the other side of RTU-1 and we just, we cannot see it from the roof where we were taking these photos from. Then RTU-3 is the lower level unit and that is in the lower left and then right behind the skylights on the lower right is the tiny one for the HISTORICAL ROOM. R2-1 WAS REPLACED IN 2012. R2-2 WAS REPLACED IN 2013. AND THEN R2-3 WAS ORIGINAL TO THE 1996 EDITION. And same with RTU4. That is a split system. And that one was installed in 1996 as well. And it has been inactive since 2017 when it was no longer functioning. uh so the pictures really give you an idea of what the roof looks like there is a flat roof with a small pitch that is the side that faces that's part of the main library so if you're looking down on the lower right that is the flat roof over the main library with a small pitch and then it has a bigger pitch and that's the side that faces the town buildings that you can see at the library. The upper left is facing the fire department at the top of the building and the roof you see off to the left is the children's room, which is the original part of the building. IMMEDIATELY UNDERNEATH THAT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT R2U3, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE CONSIDER THE FISH BOWL. YOU CAN SEE THE FLAT ROOF IS THE NEW ADDITION FROM 1996 TO THE ROOF OF THE CHILDREN'S ROOM THAT IS THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE. THAT'S WHERE THE TWO BUILDINGS MEET. That structure is face that RTU unit is sitting right on top of the lobby entryway of the lobby of The library so when you walk into the steps, it's just on the other side of that facade the part of what we'll look at later is the roofing work needs to be addressed on the shingled roof which is included in that flat the pitched roof near the flat roof and then the exterior envelope Consultant recommended addressing some of the attic ventilation, drainage issues, and potentially redesign of the air handling units to address the humidity, which again is marked as one of the causes of the mold. And it was noted in our mold testing company's report that it should be around 50% is the target.

Should be able to control to 50%.

All right. So next slide. All right. So our boiler was installed in 2003. cast iron. So that was when it was last replaced. In the last year, we've had some significant maintenance issues come up. In April, there was a leak detected and also a motor failure. So it caused the boiler to shut off and the motor was replaced on that section. In July, there was another leak and it At that time, they noted that the seals needed to be replaced and they took pump two, which is what you see here, off to repair. They have since returned pump two and then they have removed pump one for repair, which I believe they just brought back. And part of the reinstall included some supports for the pumps to help extend the length of time for repair. these maintenance issues that we're having because of the seals that keep leaking. According to the energy audit last year, the GDS Associates Scoping Study, it should be replaced with a more efficient boiler for the energy efficiency. And as we are seeing, it is getting to the end of life for that boiler. Okay. ANOTHER AREA OF CONCERN WAS TO REPLACE THE MINI SPLIT THAT SERVES THE SERVER ROOM AT THE LIBRARY. THIS IS JUST RIGHT OUTSIDE THE EMERGENCY EXIT ON THE LOWER LEVEL FACING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. AND AGAIN, IT WAS SUGGESTED TO BE REPLACED DURING THAT SAME SCOPING STUDY WITH A MORE EFFICIENT MODEL. Right here we have some views from the exterior of the library and it's basically just walking around some of the areas of note where around the children's alcove where the former entryway was the emergency exit and the main library. The North facing alcoves in the South facing alcoves in particular are all showing a lot of wood rot signs. As part of our recommendation, it is to install window coverings so that we can protect the library collection and new carpet that we just had installed from photo degradation and damage due to the sun. What you're seeing on the carpet picture is a cloudy day without any sun hitting it. All of those areas that you're seeing are the actual color of the carpet as it was faded with the different eras of adding shelves and usage of that so you can just see over 30 years the sun did a lot of damage there Some of the material that you have our DVD collection you can see That the plastic is just disintegrating and it's causing us to have to replace cases and the books that you see are Becoming faded you can't read the spines. So there's just damage due to the Sun so the in recommended install that we have are shades that are able to be raised and lowered. They allow partial light in so you will be able to see out. We did work with somebody to make sure that you could still see out and still get that cozy library vibe, but still able to protect everyone from the harsh sun and all of our materials.

And that's just a window covering that goes on? You don't need to replace the glass or anything?

No, it's just their shades, like on a chain. And a couple of the windows would be sectioned just because they're really large. So they would be manually able to be raised and lowered very easily. And it does also help with energy loss. SO THESE ARE AREAS THAT STILL NEED CARPET REPLACEMENT AND PAINTING THAT WERE NOT COVERED IN THE PHASE ONE WORK THAT WE HAVE. SO THERE'S THREE OFFICE SPACES AND THIS WOULD BE IN THE MAIN LIBRARY. SO THREE OFFICE SPACES, THE HISTORICAL ROOM AND THEN TWO STUDY ROOMS AND ELEVATOR. THESE ARE THE TWO STUDY ROOMS FEATURED IN THE PHOTOS. And then included in the slide, we just were mentioning the transitioning. We have started to transition to LED light bulbs, but it would be something that we're continuing to transition to be, again, more compliant with the GDS scoping study for energy efficiency. And that is the end of phase 2B.

I just have a question for you. Yes. How are you using HVAC right now? How are you dealing with that issue right now?

So right now there are four cooling units to help offset the humidity and the two yes there's four portable units in the upstairs two in the children's area and two in the adult collection um there is one dehumidifier upstairs and one dehumidifier in the lower level um that are running around the clock to help offset the work of the H back units on the roof because they are not producing enough power to completely cool the space and keep the humidity down.

The value of that obviously is the mobile we don't want to write to keep them old. So we have to keep renting these so we're able to come up with some yes, I'm a solution exactly going to be a permanent operating costs until we can get this. Yes.

Are those enough to support the can you say the are to you for was for in the store room and there's is there anything in there and now so you know what the happened is it was no longer working in the cost to replace it was deemed at the time not to replace that. Due to the location, it would be difficult to change in the 2017. That's right. Yep. OK. Just lots of numbers going on. So the Board of Trustees opted not to go forward with changing that. What we do is the glass on the door was removed and replaced with a screen. And then we keep the door open at night and when the building's not occupied to help the air circulate that way. But currently, there is no dedicated service for either cooling or heating for the historical collection.

Not ideal.

Not ideal at all. No. Of all the rooms. So I have a question. How long was that going on for? And did we lose any valuable documentations and books and stuff? You know, through that damage, that's all.

As far as I know, I don't know the timeline from the 2017 when they made that decision, but what happened was the unit had a drip tray that was flooding, and we did lose circulating materials. It was covered by the insurance claims that we did have to replace a significant amount of books at that time. But the actual historical collection, to the best of my knowledge, I do not believe we lost any materials from that room. It's just seated over the circulating area. So we lost more of like the circulating collection.

So that bowl up there, that's where the snow sits in there and even covers that equipment, right? Yeah. Had numerous leaks there for quite some time.

Absolutely, yes.

Raise that roof so we don't have that so the wind can blow it off and we put those new units in there.

Exactly. The RTU-4 is on the other side of the library over by the – new parking lot where RTU 1, 2, and 3 are in that fishbowl, what we call it for lack of a better word. It's where the two buildings meet and it really, it's a good six, seven feet down. You have to climb down a ladder to get to that section and that just fills up with snow and ice and debris and things over the course of a year. And it's really harder to do maintenance in the wintertime if anything comes up. Due to that being covered in snow Yes, that is the plan is hopefully with the engineering work in phase 2a So that's what they're going to be looking at to get those raised and again We just to help with longevity of the new units. Hopefully that we can get sooner rather than later with the engineering work moving forward, they would be maintained better so that they last a little bit longer and have a better lifespan.

In 2 ways already funded correct and engineering work so that we can be lined up for this so we can soon as March is hopefully that gets approved we can order have it in by the fall sooner of another winter that's the strategy right.

Yes, exactly so we would have potentially if all goes well they are to you is replaced over the summer of next year so that the rental units would only have to be the summer and next summer.

So the order time is like six months, so we're going to get them in September. We're going to just barely get them in time to be able to get them installed before winter comes when we have more damage and we don't know what the cost of that is.

Right another piece of face to a was installing like all into the heating system to prevent freezing since that's been a historical issue on the north side of the building. So that's another cost that's kind of preventative so that we don't have something major go wrong over the winter.

On those lines of these, have they have they been in the past on maintenance cycles, like structured maintenance cycles or. And will they be going forward preventative maintenance for this.

Yes, and so the former when we had the former director and Madeline she was the first to really have a contract put in place we with the help of the board and so there was preventative maintenance happening, but it wasn't as scheduled through a contract there was no contract in place to my knowledge.

Is there kind of a plan? Now there is. Excellent. Now that's great news.

The idea is to kind of move forward and know what could happen if you don't have that in place. For instance, when E&E, the current company that we're contracted with, came to change the filters, they were black because they had not been changed in so long.

So I couldn't hear you very well and I'm sorry. No, no, no. I just want to double check that I did. I was straining. Um, so you said you now have a building maintenance plan put in place. Is that,

For the to maintain like the future, you know making sure that they they got to go to you know, the so we will get whatever tuned up when it needs to yeah, so it is an actual written plan now we have a contract that's the board approves a contract every year now in that contract spells out the preventative.

You mean instead we drafted multiple years with.

It's usually one year at a time.

With a certain business?

With, like, an HVAC company.

Okay. I just did, because I know, like, the school and the town is trying to put in all these, with fire and police, and we're trying to put in all these plans, you know. So this way the contract doesn't get forgotten. Because if you have the plan, it's easy to forget about a contract if they don't call you and people change.

It's an asset management system. I'm sorry? An asset management system is what we're implementing. Okay.

All right. That's good. That's good. And did you guys, like, I know I hear a lot of stuff, but is, like, there some sort of, like, the most important thing, the second most important thing, do you know what I mean, that needs to get done? Like, so if there's only so much money, right? And number one, which is out of all the things, what is the most important? What's the second most important? And then you should probably put like, why?

So are you specifically asking about phase two B? Or just in general?

I just think the whole overall library, it's just how you should look at it because, you know, if B gets in and C needed to be done first and everybody thought B needed to go first, then it just should be somewhere written so that it can be kind of like a...

It's on your spreadsheet. If you look at the prioritization, it's the color-coded prioritization on your spreadsheet.

Yeah. Which one?

It's the master spreadsheet that we provide to you.

I told you I was bad because we had a late meeting. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I'm just sorry. I didn't do my homework, so I'm going to sound stupid tonight.

Yeah, just so you know, they're color-coded, and they've done that. They've got immediate need, long-term need, and near-term needs. They've got three different colors for their projects. I'll just rattle them off. You want to rattle them off, or do you want me to do it for you?

Yeah, so I kind of alluded to it with the summary at the beginning. I can go back. So we are categorizing Phase 2B as the highest priority, an immediate need. And then the other two projects, the children's room renovation, I don't remember the exact term that you had, Sean, on your document. So like second.

The second one is near-term need. Near-term, thank you. And then D is a long-term need. So you've done, I would suggest, a good job of doing that. Other people have everything as an immediate need, but you didn't do that. You had. Yeah. You've got a longer plan and you've spread it out.

Yeah. Yes, we did try to be realistic.

Well, I just didn't understand because on the children's I saw 2027, so I didn't know it was in order of need. And then I saw 28, and then it goes back to 31 and then 32. So I know those are the years you wanted to. In other words, I didn't know that's how it was done. So I'm sorry. That's okay. Redundant questions. I do.

So the other thing that I wanted to share with you in terms of preparedness for this building, historically, for whatever reason, there have never been maintenance trust funds established for the library. And with the help of our good friend, Mr. Bob Slater, he came in and schooled us a little bit about maintenance trust funds. And for certain this year, we're going to start with a maintenance trust fund and a capital reserve fund. So God forbid. Anything like this should happen again, Deb, that we're certainly by far more prepared than we have been. I don't know why previous boards of trustees have not established maintenance trust funds. You build a building, you have to take care of it. And this building seemingly has been sort of ignored for quite some time, and it certainly has come back to bite us This year so as part of our fiduciary and fiscal responsibilities moving forward in this budget season We are absolutely discussing maintenance trust funds and capital reserve funds Thank you.

I just you know, you just don't know what I'm not familiar with what's going on there and I again Wait too many other things going on so You know, I think that's great that you're doing that. So good. Good. I didn't mean to interrupt. Go ahead. Go back to your next day.

All right. So I'm going to turn it back over to Donna so she can present the next two projects.

You skip ahead in the slides here. OK, so next project that we are considering near a near term need. is a children's room renovation. I will share that this kind of came about because it started with the carpet and the painting that could not be included in the phase one work for the children's room. We knew that that would have to happen in the near future since that room is also at its 30-year mark in terms of carpet and paint, I believe. But not positive about that one. So the funding request for this project is $306,984. And you'll see that we are actually in the next slide. We are proposing potentially spreading that out over five fiscal years. And I'm actually saying it starts this fiscal year because we've already had a private donation that allowed us to purchase some new furniture for the children's room. And furniture was included in this later on. So we got $1,200 for a furniture donation. It is a memorial donation. It's going to be really great when it's Oh, but that's nice. For the reopening. So we're excited about that. So that's why we started with, I'm marking it as 27, and then going forward from there. So the phasing is that next we would look at the carpet replacement with an estimate of 101,000. After that, we'd be looking at restoring and repairing furnishings and installing some new handicap access that we're estimating about 35,000. Year after that, we can do new furniture and technology, estimating about $70,000. And for FY31, potentially, a restroom renovation, we're looking at about $100,000. So we're trying to break things up a little bit. So it's not one expense all at once. So for those end of life assets, what's pictured here on the left is an example of carpet. There are places where we've had to tape down seams that are ripping in the carpet, kind of becomes a tripping hazard scenario. Also just in terms of like, it being sanitary for kids and families. Kids are constantly picking stuff off the floor and putting it in their mouths. So it's just something we're concerned about. It does get cleaned. It has been cleaned regularly. About twice a year gets a deep clean. And we have a regular cleaning janitorial service contract. But 30 years is still a lot for a carpet. Circulation desk is that middle photo. We're seeing that desk has had a lot of use in 30 years. It's worn down to its base layer pretty much as you can see on the desk surface. I'm on the wrong place here. I forgot about my notes for a minute. And then the third picture on the right is that of the shelving for our picture book collection. Also at the 30-year mark, it's made of metal and wood. There's a moisture barrier kind of on the underside of the top shelves that is separating and it's exposing the unfinished surface, which is a concern. It's also another sign that the humidity has been a problem. And also, it's hard to see in this picture, but it kind of bends down underneath a shelf. And it really is impeding access to collection materials. It's also difficult to shelve when it's... doing that so we've made several attempts to get it to reseal or re-stick but without solving the humidity problem it just continues to happen um and then there's also going to be a photo in a couple slides there's a bench seating in a window alcove also 30 years old um that at this point we really think needs to be removed because it's causing a safety hazard just from it being damaged. And it could easily be replaced with some more dynamic furniture and storage. It's used a lot as kind of like a play space, so that can still happen with some better choice of furniture there. All right, and back to some health and safety. So another kind of layer to this project that we added on the carpet and the end of life assets is ADA compliance, which is huge in a public building like ours. We see people, obviously, of all different ages, abilities, coming in through the doors. And right now, the children's room, there is really no equal access to that room. And what I mean by that is that the door to get into the room, which is that picture on the left, it does not have a handicap door. accessible wireless button like our main entrance does sometimes we leave it propped open but that's not really ideal for noise level or for parents having to like chase their kids out of the children's room the door kind of keeps things contained a little bit better but it is difficult with parents that have strollers parents are just leaving with big stacks of books plus kids anyone that needs to access the room in a wheelchair, really an array of accessibility issues. There also is no accessible height library catalog computer station. Right now there's a standing, two standing stations, and they're at what I would consider adult height. Um, so even kids, they have to stand on stools to be able to access them. Um, and there is no accessible heights station, um, mainly due to the furniture there. We would need a new fixture of some kind that allowed that. And then, um, we also, in terms of the restroom, um, There's no universal changing station. So the picture on the right is the restroom in the children's room right now. The changing table is just like a plastic fold down table. Again, as far as I know, it's been there for 30 years. Okay. I wasn't sure if that had been replaced at all. There is, as of I think 2019, a New Hampshire RSA requiring universal changing stations in public facilities. And I referenced that RSA here if you're interested. So obviously we would like to be meeting that standard. And we would also really like to see this restroom as a true family restroom with some touchless fixtures that helps keep controlled germs, for example, and also is easy to clean and maintain.

Two things. Yeah. Breastfeeding?

Yeah.

Do you have a station? It's not in this picture, so I don't know. You don't do it in the bathroom, or do you have a separate room?

We do not currently have a separate room. I was just asking because... Also, another RSA that's a recent... Oh, that's why I asked.

Yeah. So I do question, and then maybe this is for Mr. Slater. I don't know for you. I see rug in the bathroom.

No, it is not rug. It is tile. Oh, it is tile. It looks like rug in the picture. Odd colored tile. Odd color choice for tile, but it is tile. Okay.

And so I just want to... It looked like the rug in the... Yeah, that would be really bad.

Okay.

yeah they're they're very small tiles they are is there a drain in there too for if something overflowed like there's no not in that bathroom I'm talking about shouldn't that be in there no there are drains on the lower level restrooms but not in that one okay yeah I think that the other thing if you're gonna come into compliance with the changing station I mean, you need to just have like a chair and a facility for people to sit and breastfeed or a pump or whatever they need to do.

Yep. And I think the space that we have would definitely allow us to add that.

Okay. So you should put it in there.

Okay. So that's that one. So that was the renovation. Anything you wanted me to answer immediately for the renovation project or add to? Jen, was there anything you wanted to add? Okay. All right. So I will move on to the children's room addition or expansion. So this is our lowest level priority project. And we're bringing it forward more as a response to the growth of the community and the fact that Really, the library has not expanded to match the growth of the community for 30 years. That was the last time the library was expanded with the main library addition. This room, this would be a one room addition. It would serve as a multipurpose room that would be designated as a children's program space. However, when it's not being used as specifically a scheduled program space, it could be used as a sensory-friendly area. Since it's right off the children's room, it could be... There's really, in the children's room, it's all open space. So for any... anyone really that is experiencing like overwhelm in the children's room, because it gets very overwhelming in there, even for staff, let's put it that way. There really is no way for us to accommodate a sensory friendly space where we can, you know, close the door, lower the noise level, potentially lower the lights. That room can also have a sensory, like interactive sensory station in it, which you'll see in an example photo in a couple slides. And the other thing it could be used for is just additional community meeting space. So our meeting room is already available to nonprofit groups and town groups that need a meeting space. There's an application process for that. And this would be another space that could be reserved. So we think it could be really, really good space potentially for like a homeschooling family or homeschooling group, but also any group could definitely use this space. So I also wanted to share that kind of a need. The reason why this is the need versus something else for an expansion is just the fact that in usage statistics, we see that the children's collection has the highest circulation historically. And children's programming historically has the highest attendance. I think Megan determined that just in fiscal year 25, it made up 65% of overall library program attendance. We also recently were very grateful to have the community support in adding a new children's librarian position. Kind of showed the interest in growing children's services in the community. Alright, so to give you an idea of where this would go. So this photo with the bench seating is actually what I was referring to a couple slides ago with the bench seating that needs to be removed and replaced with furniture. This window alcove was the original entrance to the library, the library that was built in 73. And this is facing Mammoth Road, and the expansion would move out towards Mammoth Road from the children's room. That was also the original parking lot, so we know that there was nothing underneath it that would be an issue to add this one-level expansion. We're proposing a room that's approximately 30 by 40. It would include a sink, countertop, and cabinets for storage. Also furniture would vary in height to accommodate a variety of age groups from infants to adults. And there would be technology to allow presentations if we had a community group preserving the room or if we had a performer that needed it. and also some interactive activities that would be possible through new technology. There is an ADA compliance layer to this project as well. Right now, the only emergency exit from the children's room, aside from through the main entrance, is not ADA compliant. It involves going down these steps in the back of the building facing the fire department. So this addition would include another emergency exit that would be ADA accessible. So this is our, I will admit, AI markup example of what this expansion in one room space could look like. And there are some examples of what how it could be transformed based on the need. So whether that's a craft program, whether it's a presentation, there's some examples of what that could look like. The tables would all be height adjustable. And then we would have a variety of chair heights for the room as well. And some of the furniture in here is actually real furniture that we would propose propose adding. And then the sensory station, it's not a perfect example of what it would look like, but just so you know that it would be there. So it could be used during a program or even just that room could be open if a program isn't taking place.

Just for orientation, and I know this is AI, that's why. Yes. But the window, would I be looking at Mammoth Road? You would be.

That window would actually face Mammoth Road.

Okay, okay. Yes. I mean, you'll probably hate me for this. Could somebody, a nice family, say, have a birthday party there?

That would be money to use the place if it wasn't being used So that would be a decision left up to the board They would have to decide to change the library policy for meeting spaces in order to do that But they they could have a birthday party at the library currently I

If it was open to the public base, I think it was all great and we see this available right now I don't see why understand what you're getting at I just wanted to let you know that it is in case anybody was listening you we actually I had no idea you could even use it for that so.

And it would be I mean you could put with parameters around it, you know sure so much the kids or whatever.

It's a common ask. The kids love the library, so they try to have their birthdays there a lot.

I know in my hometown in Revere, they actually do sleepover birthday parties, and they charge a lot of money, actually, for a parent to be able to have their kids spend the night in the library.

Deb, we don't think that we can charge for anything like that because it is a public building.

Well, we charge fees for using this room, and we charge fees for using... Space. No, you can.

Yeah. You do have the ability to make money off of those things.

Just to go into what you're seeing. Well, thanks. Megan was the one that put it together. I wanted to note that in comparison to our current meeting space, this room is very bright, colorful, warm and inviting space that is geared for kids, whereas our meeting space right now is very white, bland, just so that it can fit the needs of all of the programming and we can make the room whatever we need it to be. Whereas this, we can really focus on serving kids and families. Also, historically, we have not been able to host some children's performers due to the low ceilings of our meeting room space. Something like a juggler, we can't have because they don't have the clearance. And in some cases, we've had performers, but they've had to adjust what they would normally present to be able to fit within our space. So seems like a small thing, but to us, it would mean a lot. We would also have storage for programming supplies. they would be in the same location as the program. Right now, the children's staff have to move them all over the place, even more so right now, because we're all over the place. But I think having everything right there where they need it would save staff time in the prepping and making sure they have what they need for any particular program. It also means easier setup and cleanup. Again, a savings of staff time. This is mobile stackable furniture. Whereas right now, we don't have that. Besides from stacking chairs, tables still involve two staff members to lift to make sure we're not damaging the floor. We could also staff children's programs more efficiently because these programs will be in view of the circulation desk in the children's room. So right now, the meeting room space downstairs is not in view of any other staff members. So we have to send, for safety purposes, we send two staff members down to a program. We wouldn't have to do that in this case. We'd have one person at the desk, one person at the program. We can also we would also be able to accommodate two programs at the same time where we'd have this space in the lower level meeting space or you'd have a community group meeting at the same time as using this space. The design we really obviously this is AI so it wouldn't look exactly like this but we really want it to support the agricultural history of Londonderry and also kind of like the library's branding. And this space could continue to evolve with changing community needs, which is really what is needed. Oh, thanks, Megan. There was a backside to that page. I also wanted to note that there could be a potential donor opportunity to name this room. So we could get a private donor that might be interested in naming it that would help offset the cost of the taxpayer. So that is really the end of our presentation. We're happy to entertain any questions that you have.

Is it true, Bob, that this library can go up a whole level when they built it? It was to make two levels? Or was that a rumor?

That is the purpose of the flat roof was to build a second level on that section.

Oh, it was. Oh, okay. Because I thought I heard that rumor and I was like, huh, wonder why they never did, you know. They never looked at it.

I'm going to guess the codes have changed, though.

I'm sorry?

I'm going to guess the codes have changed, just like at Moose Hill.

Also, it's no longer...

It will no longer be up to code, and that was the reason we couldn't put a second floor that easily on Moose Hill to expand, because all the building codes have changed.

Yeah, I was just curious out of it, you know, more than anything, because, you know, as I'm listening to them talk about expansion, expansion, you know, more families, and knowing the building coming in and thinking, you know, where else can they go? Because there's kind of, this way is kind of getting really used. Where would they be able to go? And I just wanted to see if, yeah. It was viable, but I guess it's not.

I don't know for sure, but Bob would be the one to know more than I would.

CIP is to, according to Mr. Mulholland, is to think about the future. Absolutely. Is to think about things that um you want to put on there that you may never get but if there's a grant out there that says hey you know um you might want to have it there just in case right am i am i crazy on this no okay good no so that's what i'm just throwing that out because you're doing this for the kids but if we keep growing what do you you know how else can you Evolved and have more which the more you have the more people you have the more generating of whatever right? Besides the goodwill and stuff in the community. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about sustainability of your own establishment That's what I was thinking Do any either of the trustees want to add anything while I'm Okay

Yeah. So I...

So they're aware, because I'm not sure that Deb probably knows the front of the dollars, but the other committee members... Yeah, I don't have the phase 1 and 2A.

Right. That sounds about right. I would actually say maybe more on the town side, but I'm not... Yeah.

More like a 954, if I remember right, calculation. Yeah.

Yeah, so phase 2B in particular is really, like I said, the highest priority to make sure that we finish out the work that's been started and that we get the building really where it needs to be in terms of maintenance so that we can continue following the CIP process and plan ahead going forward for those expenses that unfortunately were left to an emergency basis this time.

Yeah, those all, I mean, the 2B looks extremely needed. I mean, honestly, to me, everything on here is like, yes, we should have it all. Again, we can't get everything. Phasing's important, but the 2B stuff definitely can't be pushed.

Right.

Brian, did you want to?

No, I think you guys all asked really good questions. Bill? Really satisfied, yeah.

I mean, it's too bad that things weren't maintained properly. It's too bad that they weren't at CIPs a while back. I mean, all of that, you can't undo the past. You can only say, now I've learned, we'll never do that again, and what can I put in place to make it better? And to me, these are good steps, and I think you took a real proactive look at it by saying, okay, that's a lot of money. How do we spread it out? How do we do it in a fashion that's not going to overburden when we have fire stations that need to be repaired and probably expanded and this building has issues and you know how do you manage all of that um so i think you did a really good job so you should be very proud of yourselves to step into this for the first time and do as well as you did so thank you appreciate that

If I could, just a couple more points just to kind of think about the potential for the space. I just wanted to note that there's a growing trend for homeschooling families, and this would be an important opportunity for those pods, for those learning groups, for individuals. We're really kind of looking at the future of one in Derry. And additionally, for a parent who is trying to work on a resume or, you know, use the internet or any of those pieces, we really don't have an accommodation for a family to come and get their work done and have a safe space for their children. So this room would provide a dedicated space that's childproof, that's child-focused, where an adult could also get some work done or get some services or some training from our staff. So it's really looking kind of The library is our community center, and we need to have an accessible space that really factors the needs of our families and our individuals. And we have a large population of folks with disabilities in our town because our district is renowned for its great services. So we really want to be mindful that beyond our school rooms, where are we having accessible spaces for these families?

And that brings, to your point, you guys should be taught, you as trustees should be talking about what's the projected future in the next 10, 20, 15, 50 years. Yep, and that's why we're here. But I'm saying that one room I think isn't going to, personally I don't think it's going to be enough for the population. It's not just a room though, it's a design. Yeah. We're already at around 30, 31. I figure you're going to get to about 34, 35 before- Yeah, you know, I don't know what it's more than a room, though.

It's a design of furniture and lifestyle in the needs of the community. And our building is outdated and it was designed for a different period and a different set of needs. And it was looking at a space through a singular lens. A contractor was looking at I built a room. It's got the doors, it's got the windows. We're done. But this is looking at it with a new lens to really look at the population of demographics that we need to serve in that space. Yeah, I think that's important.

Very important. And so I would agree. And I agree with you and our town manager that part of this is absolutely thinking and planning for the future. And libraries, as you know, are completely evolving all across the United States of America. You know, probably when most of us were kids, you went to the library, you checked out a book, and you went home. Those days are gone, but libraries are so much more than that. Now, I was in a really small town, Deb, so that was what we did.

I lived outside the city.

But libraries have grown into very, very different things. We have programming for adults. We have programming for children. We have programming for everybody in our community. So it is important to look to the future and plan for the future growth of our building. You're right when you say that we can't undo what has been done. I do not know why previous boards of trustees have not planned for the future, have not planned for reparations. So as I said earlier, here we are. But as this board of trustees moves forward, we are absolutely thinking about the future, and we are absolutely planning for the future and the growth of our building. And we can't do everything all at once. Rome wasn't built in a day. So we feel like we've outlined, you know, a good set of plans, and we just ask for your support, and I thank you for your time.

Okay. Thank you for coming in. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you very much. That was awesome. Great presentation. Great job across the board. um that that was our last um presentation of the night um so we will move on to the approval of minutes from the last meeting um did everyone get a chance to look at the minutes and was there any discrepancies or anything that want to be noted okay i make a motion to move the minutes as is i hear a motion move the minutes do we have a second we got a second all in favor all right And then that goes to other business. Was there any other business that anyone on the board wanted to discuss?

Mr. Chairperson, I have a couple of items. So we have two meetings left, the 15th and the 29th. Both are scheduled for DPW projects, and we're going to need all the time to do those because there's quite a few projects, as you can imagine. And also deliberations on that 29th, which really puts us pretty tight. IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. WE DO NEED TO PRESENT TO THE PLANNING BOARD OR I DIDN'T DO THIS LAST YEAR BECAUSE KELLY WAS HERE DOING THIS SO I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW THAT WAS DONE LAST TIME. You were here before that to the Jew folks actually make the presentation of the staff do that. No we didn't actually do the staff to get that that's probably a lot easier to yeah. So you'll make your determinations on the 29th and then I'll get that scheduled with the plane board and then we'll make the presentation to them. Of the bigger picture and obviously you're going to be there and Jeff will be there too so you can you know join in with us on that. uh and explaining those uh and then also our just so you know because we have moved up our schedule in october the council is going to be discussing the warrant articles and the cip and two meetings so that's a lot to handle um so we're going to be trying to push that through during that period of time while waiting for the last piece of information we need to provide the proposed 2000 fy 2028 budget to the council which they will get by the end of the calendar month of October. And their first meeting on a Saturday is on the 7th, I believe, this year is how the schedule works. So just to kind of give you an idea of the bigger picture where we're looking at. And then your task, just as a reminder, your task is going to be when we make these deliberations, As to where these projects should fall, I've already moved some things over to the unsigned projects list. We're just doing that, but you can move them back. These are ultimately your determinations, not mine. We thought it was appropriate to put them there, but again, you may move them someplace else. We need to have our discussion with the school about the DPW facility. I mean, that has a $50 million price tag. I don't see that all happening at one time, and that will have to be phased. That'll help some of that, but we've got to work with our counterparts in the school to to smooth that a little bit so when we come back to you on the 29th, it'll make your job hopefully a little bit easier in that regard. And as you indicated, it's important to have these projects at least on the list where I was before we'd pull them off and grant funds are available. Yeah, it's part of our plan. So we do have that part and so they're looking for that and one of these you can pull it off of that and you can put it into play wherever you need to when funding becomes available that we're out there searching for all the time. And then the prioritization is going to be an important thing as well. Obviously not all those things that have been proposed for the first year are possible. They're just not. We're going to have to figure some of those things out and it just isn't, things aren't perfect. I mean, this is a different project. If we don't do this, we're going to have the same problems we had all over again. This is more of a unique situation than we have in others. We're sort of in crisis mode. We've got... Operating expenses we have to have just to keep the place from mold from coming back in and water coming in. We've invested money already in terms of design to be able to get this done. This really is a big push for us to get this done, not just for the library, but for us too in terms of staff to get this project so we can get this building back to where it needs to be so it's not falling apart all over the place and it can function normally and we can spread those costs out and maintain that for the long term. So it is our building that's in crisis. As you know, we've got approval for the roof in this building and that building have a small leak at the PD, but not that's causing mold or damage. We have no leaks in here, but we don't want them either. So we're ahead of the game on these. We don't want any more situations that, you know, we have with the libraries. We need to get them back to where they need to be, their building, and then move forward from there in terms of our facilities. And of course, DPW is the big one, as you know. Um, And then, you know, there's more fine-tuning that will need to occur with that, but they're still working through their process there. So that, sir, is all I have for you this evening. Awesome.

Thank you, John. Appreciate that. That moves us into public comment. If anyone wants to speak on anything that hasn't been said already, you guys are all welcome to, of course. I'll take that as a no, which then brings us to our final adjournments. I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion to adjourn. I'll second it. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. And we are adjourned. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you again. You guys, awesome, awesome presentation. That was great.

Good job.