July 18, 2007 Minutes
Library Building Committee
City of Fargo
Minutes of July 18, 2007
Members present: Linda Coates, Pat Zavoral, Helen Levitt, Herb Snyder, Beth Postema, Betty Kerns
Members absent: Mike Williams
Others Present: Erik Johnson, City Attorney; Richard Moorhead of Image Group; City of Fargo staff; public and media
I. Minutes
Herb Snyder moved to approve the minutes of April 18, 2007, as presented. Betty Kerns seconded the motion; the motion carried.
II. Alternates for new Main Library
The City Commission acted on the base bid and alternate number seven, non-certified steel fabricators. Fabrication certification normally is not tied to this market. This also has limited availability and would not fit with the construction timeline of next year.
Alternate number two, Mechanical controls, would allow for different controls. The low bid, Robert Gibb & Sons Inc chose not to bid this alternate. No action needs to be taken.
Alternate number three, underground conduit, will tie the library into the city infrastructure. This is not to be a part of the library budget, although the best price for other city departments will be during construction. No action is needed.
Alternate number four, video conferencing equipment, would allow the library to offer videoconferencing to the community and area nonprofits. The equipment bid now may be outdated by the time the building opens. The wiring will be in place with equipment to be purchased later with the FFE budget. No action was taken.
Alternate number six, TPO roofing, provides a white reflective roof that reflects the sunlight in the summer. In the winter either product would be covered with snow. The new product has not been available for long term testing and is similar material to that which failed the library previously. Since the primary purpose of a roof is to keep out the elements instead of reflect the suns rays, Herb Snyder moved to go with the black roof that is less likely to leak for the main roof base materials specified. Beth Postema seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Alternate number five, planted roof system, would provide a green roof on the entrance canopies. The building itself can not be converted at a later date to withstand a green roof. The canopies will be visible from the second floor. Kim Christianson of the state of North Dakota pledged money for demonstrative environmental areas such as the green roof canopies. Betty Kerns moved to approved alternate number five with TPO roofing under as an added change order. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
The base bid included pricing for a light brown color brick. Alternate number one was to price a dark gray brick. Comments regarding the light brown brick included that it looked too much like a school. The dark gray brought comments similar to that of the old building, cold and uninviting. Designers from MS&R prefer the dark brick. A dark red alternative was introduced as providing a compromise between the dark gray and light brown. Beth Postema moved to use the dark red Interstate Bronze Stone brick as a change order. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
The committee is comfortable with the bid process; although the project does not have extra money from lower than projected bids. The project budget includes $3 million from fundraising with $1.58 million raised to date.
Interior demolition has started on the main library. Exterior demolition will start soon. September 6 is the tentative date for the kick off of new construction.
III. Next Meeting
The next meeting will be as needed. The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen