Library Board of Trustees

MEETING MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY Held in the Mary Riley Styles Public Library 120 N. Virginia Avenue Falls Church, VA 22046 December 14, 2016 1. CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman Brad Gemand called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Brad Gemand ChetDeLong Terry Zawacki Jeff Peterson Excused Absences: Mr. Don Camp, Mr. Ed Rose, Ms. Stephanie Oppenheimer, Ms. Eema Ahmed (Youth representative) Assistant City Manager Ms. Cindy Mester, Library Director, Ms. Mary McMahon, and her assistant, Ms. Claudia Gutierrez, were also present as was a representative from Studio 27, Jim Spearman, who was joined by Ms. Karen Nichols, Mr. Matthew Ligas, and Mr. Alan Feltoon from Michael Graves Architecture & Design, an architectural firm from New Jersey. Also present were Jenny Carroll, Youth Services Supervisor and Cathy Breen, Youth Services Librarian. 2. PRESENTATION BY STUDIO TWENTY SEVEN ARCHITECTURE The Library Director introduced Mr.Jim Spearman from Studio 27 and Ms. Karen Nichols, Mr. Matthew Ligas and Mr. Alan Feltoon from Michael Graves Architecture & Design. Assistant City Manager Ms. Cindy Mester pointed out that Studio 27 was one of the two contractors working for the City on large CIP projects. She also mentioned that their presentation tonight is informational, and there is no commitment by Studio 27, the Library Board, or the City. They are under contract with the City and if the Library Board decides they might be interested in having them do the renovation- expansion project, there are several steps that must occur. First, a scope of work must be defined and sent out and then a formal proposal must be submitted and a review by the Library Board and City staff before a final selection. The Library Board could also decide that they would like to interview other architectural firms (neither BKV nor Studio 27) and then a request for proposals (RFP) for professional services would have to be developed and advertised, responses received, evaluated, and then interviews could take place from that group of respondents. Mr. Jim Spearman, Project Manager and Senior Designer at Studio 27 Architecture, said that they are currently working on the City Hall project here in Falls Church. He also said that Studio 27 and the firm, Michael Graves Architecture & Design, are teaming up together on different projects. He introduced his colleagues from Michael Graves and informed the Board that Studio 27 Architecture is based in the District of Columbia and works with municipalities around the District including the City of Falls Church. They specialize in projects that have community aspects such as schools, multi-family buildings, and commercial and industrial buildings. They are aware of the importance of the community aspect of the library, and that it is a part of the City's civic campus. Mr. Spearman showed the Board different projects that Studio 27 has worked on in the past and noted the focus his firm has for engaging the community and listening to its ideas and needs for the projects that were shown. 1 - -------------------  Ms. Karen Nichols congratulated the Board on the successful referendum and informed them that her architectural firm was founded by Mr. Michael Graves, who taught at the Princeton School of Architecture. The firm has been doing projects for 50 years and teams with other architectural firms in almost 75% of their projects. Their staff includes 70 people who are planners, interior and graphic designers, and marketing, communication, website, media, and project management employees. Michael Graves Architecture designs solutions and works to capture the imagination of the public in the buildings it designs. They have designed over 15 libraries around the country-a nearby one is the Beatley Library in the City of Alexandria. She showed and explained to the Board the different large and small scale projects that they have been completed, some of which included library buildings. Mr. Spearman talked about the possibility of having a new front entrance for the library on Park Avenue, which would face Cherry Hill Park and create an opportunity to participate more with the concept of a civic campus for the City. Ms. Nichols said that they have done a lot of building renovations, and they know how important the logistics are. They use the client's money wisely and work to solve problems in the current building. Mr. Spearman mentioned that they have worked with tight budgets and tight schedules and would keep the building up and running during the renovation. He estimated construction would take more than a year. Both firms understand that the Williamsburg architectural style must be kept for the MRSPL renovation/ expansion, and they also know the importance of community engagement in the process and inclusion in the City's civic campus. Mr. Spearman explained to the Board how the joint architectural teams would work on this project: The lead architect in charge would define the tasks of the project; Studio 27 would take the lead in the outreach portion of the work and would be the local architect with the ultimate contractual responsibility for design documentation and implementation in the construction phase. The Michael Graves team would be the lead design architects for the project. They would also engage subcontractors, such as mechanical, plumbing, electrical, civil, and structural engineers as well as a landscape architect for the project. Mr. Gernand asked them what they foresee as the most difficult challenge of having such limited property space to build on while trying to make the most of that limitation. Ms. Nichols responded that if the project uses the west option, the challenge will be to maximize it out to the sidewalk and then design a fa9ade that is friendly and uses windows to engage the public rather than presenting just a wall there. Ms. Zawacki asked them if they would use the architectural drawings that have already been done during a previous study and then just design the interior space. Ms. Nichols responded that they would design the scale and character of the exterior so that is neighborhood-friendly with lots of windows around the building. They would also design the interior to create more space and lighting. They understood that the Board's preference is to expand towards the west because of the need to retain the current parking onsite and the driveway. They would consider those needs when creating the designs. They could also design a garden wall on the fa9ade-again making it neighborhood friendly. Mr. Peterson asked several questions. He wanted an explanation on: how the scheduling timelines would work; how they would work with the tight $8.4M project budget; and, what would happen if the bids for construction came in higher than the budget. They responded that they have a consultant team that starts validating costs during the early phases of the conceptual designs; they also know what kind of materials they are using, so they can start to run a rough cost estimate early in the process. They said they would also make educated decisions on how to use the money smartly, and they have a cost consultant who has experience with construction costs in Virginia. In addition, they pointed out that it is important that the project go out to bid during a certain time of the year so that 2 they miss potential cost increase cycles. Once they are aware ofwhat the community's and library' s priorities are, they make a simple, but also rigorous, review of those priorities and then design with economical materials. They are conscious that the design must serve its purpose and do not spend more than necessary. They also said that in their experience if there is an uncertainty about material costs, they have a menu of alternative materials that can serve the same function, so they are not limited to only one type of material and one price. Mr. DeLong said that architectural firms have a reputation to protect, not only for design and construction, but cost estimating, so they are very careful. He stated that he worries more about what the design will be. Ms. Mester informed the Board that Council is considering a construction manager at risk (CMAR) model which could be used for the City Hall renovation and expansion. Council will consider adopting this CMAR proposal at its next meeting. She also informed the Board that with this model, a qualified maximum price is submitted, which helps mitigate the risk so there are no, or at least fewer, surpnses. Ms. Zawacki asked what the next step would be if the Board decides to go with a design from Studio 27. Ms. Mester responded that if the CIP is approved (which must occur first), a scope for the project must be written and then they can solicit proposals from the firms that the City has vetted already. The firms then submit their proposals, and each proposal is then evaluated by a City team along with the Library Board. If a consensus cannot be achieved, then an RFP would have to be done. Mr. Gernand said that he was pleased with the information in the presentation, and they seemed to understand what the library needs are. The rest of the Board seemed pleased as well. The Director said that she told both the BKV Group and Studio 27 Architecture firms the need for a human scale for the building, and that the community must be engaged in the process. Mr. Gernand asked Ms. Mester if they have to ask both firms for a proposal or can they only go with one of the firms. She said that because both firms are under contract with the City and with the way the contracts are written, the Board must consider both firms. Mr. Gernand proposed that, due to the lack of time, the Board only hear Ms. Mester's parking agreement update, consider the approval of the November minutes, and vote on the second reading on the Local History Room policy. The Board agreed. 3. ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, CINDY MESTER WITH AN UPDATE ON LEASED SHARED PARKING AGREEMENT Ms. Mester gave the Board several updates. Council approved the use of a CMAR for the City Hall project which means that the design (which includes a parking deck with 44 public parking spaces) will proceed. She said that the legal and zoning reviews for the shared parking agreements with 313 Park Avenue building and 200 Little Falls have been completed. The term "shared parking" will no longer be used since that term has an official definition that means a mixed use for commercial and residential parking uses. Instead, the term now used is offsite parking. She also said that the City Planning Department has started designing way-finding signs for the offsite parking. She has not contacted the owners of the properties as yet. The library Director asked Ms. Mester if there is a date when the Board can talk to the Planning Commission about the library's CIP submittal. She said that on January 30th she will be presenting the CIP to the Planning Commission. Right now she does not have a confirmation about when each department will meet with the Planning Commission about their projects. She also mentioned that the 3 Planning Commission will adopt the CIP on February 22"d. She will let the Director know when the library' s proposal will be discussed. Mr. Peterson asked Ms. Mester ifthere is a current design in the City Hall project accessing the library from the parking facilities. She responded that Studio 27 has designed a pathway from the City Hall parking garage to the library. There will also be a pathway from the garage over to the Community Center as well as the Cherry Hill farm house so that all the City campus is connected. No trees in Cherry Hill Park will be cut down to allow for this pathway. 4. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS No petitions. 5. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 16, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the November 16, 2016 meeting minutes with minor changes. 6. ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT TASK FORCE (CATCH) REPORT No report. 7. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT No report. 8. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT No report. 9. STUDENT LIAISON REPORT No report. 10. LOCAL HISTORY ROOM MISSION, SCOPE AND DONATION POLICY-SECOND READING The Director said that the city attorney reviewed this policy and approved it as written, so the changes that the Board thought might be necessary, will not be made since the attorney approved the current wording. If any person wants an appraisal of their donations, they need to get it before they donate the item/s to the library. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the Local History Room Mission Scope and Donation Policy on its second reading. 11. FY18-22 CIP LIBRARY SUBMISSION FOR THE EXPANSION AND RENOVATION OF THE LIBRARY Discussion of the CIP submission will take place at the next Board meeting. 12. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Director informed the Board that Steve lngeman, who currently is the Circulation Supervisor, has been promoted to the Technical Services Supervisor. He will start on 4  January 3, 2017 which is the same day the current supervisor, Sue Tarak:emeh, is retiring. The Director will be advertising the Circulation Supervisor's position soon. • The Director also informed the Board that she and Marshall Webster, the Reference Supervisor, have begun scheduling interviews for the vacant Library Assistant II position in the Local History room. • The Director has received the FY18 budget guideline information. It will be another fiscally constrained budget. There will be no decisions about staff compensation until February when the City has a better idea of what revenues are coming in and also has more information on health care costs. It looks like the budget might be able to increase by 2.2%, but that is not definite as yet. The FY18 budget is due during the last two weeks of January and must be adopted before that by the Library Board. The Director will alert everyone if the January meeting date has to be moved in order to submit the budget on time to the City. • The library has started getting donations for the Beverly Rausch memorial which is a bench and a plaque in her honor. • Emily Lu, a Library Assistant II in the Children's Room, is leaving the library on December 21st. She will be working at the Arlington Public library in the Youth Services Department. • The Director informed the Board that today the library management team and the library IT team had a 4 hour meeting with Innovative Interfaces Inc.'s staff Hilary Newman, Senior Vice President, Library Success, and Mr. Travis Kelley, Business Director. Innovative provides the library's cataloging, circulation, and patron registration/accounts system, which has had serious problems over the past two years. They finally have heard us and apologized several times. They vowed to resolve all the problems. Innovative's CEO also called while they were here to check to see how the meeting was going. They committed to having weekly phone calls to relay progress in addressing the problems and also hear about any new problems that are occurring. • The Director reminded the Board about closing on Friday, December 16th from 12:00 to 2:00 for the City employee holiday luncheon. She also informed them about the early closing on December 23rd and Saturday, December 24, Sunday, December 25 and Monday, December 26. The library will also be closed on Sunday, January 1st and Monday, January 2nd. • The library's CIP submission for FY18-22 has been turned in. The Director noted that there were no changes in the amount except to account for the bond issuance fees, so the submission reflects the $8. 7M bond referendum approval. In the narration there was also reference to the successful referendum. The Director divided the total set aside for permit fees in half and spread it over two years rather than just the total in the second year since some permits may have to be pulled the first year for the project. • The Director also informed the Board that Mr. Chet DeLong attended the Economic Development Committee meeting, and he reported that the library is no longer being considered for the development on the comer of Little Falls and Park A venue because the developer has decided not to pursue the project right now. Mr. Peterson asked the Director to invite Ms. Mester to come to the next Board meeting to talk about a suggested time line for choosing one of the two contractors for the library renovation expansion project. He would also like to have a structured presentation on the actual process and a timeline about when actions must occur when in order to be ready for FY18 and the start of the project. There was a discussion about variances that might be needed for either option and when the variance might be needed. The Director said that she talked with Mr. John Boyle, City Zoning Administrator, about it some time ago. She will follow up with Ms. Mester and Mr. Boyle again and see if they grant the variance ahead of time. 5  13. BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA The Library Director introduced Jenny Carroll, Youth Services Supervisor, to the Board. Both she and Ms. Cathy Breen, Children's Librarian, came to hear the architects' presentation. Ms. Breen is also the person who volunteered to make the Foundation's Christmas tree for the Tree Fest on December 4th, which sold for $500. Ms. Carroll thanked the Board for granting the time off for staff over the Christmas weekend, saying that it certainly helped staff morale. 14. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Mary W. McMahon Library Director Approved: ~~ Bradley E. Gemand, Chairman Copies: Board of Trustees, City Manager, Library Reference Desk, Staff Bulletin Board, City Clerk, Library Web Page The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5032, TTY 711. 6  MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING December 14, 2016 SIGN-IN SHEET NAME ADDRESS EMAIL MMr L.\~AS. V1;}q_ CA-UJErLl ST I PC... V'VI.L~I\.s Q M\C.I:tARbR~ES COYV\ At...lt~ Ra..la>N I.M\ ~a:t~.tJir. .ffi~h N:f Al=E~evtt )ell.r,M Oft f. (f.J. J. . ,, 1, (!]_,~Ji L. (V1e~er c~'1 of Fa. ((s Chu vc eM e ~+e-r@ j;{. 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