Officials agree on peer review of library construction project
By Karen Mann

A peer review will be done on the engineering firm hired to analyze the building envelope of the Forbush Memorial Library.

Selectmen along with the Library Building Repair Committee decided at their meetingon Oct. 2, that this was the proper step to take after Andrew Barr, of Russo Barr Associates, Inc. presented a different plan than was originally discussed for repairing the walls of the library.

The original plan called for using a material called glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) to seal the walls of the building. Barr had told the committee the project would cost about $550,000, plus a 20 percent construction contingency.

Library officials used this estimate when asking residents for money at town meeting last year and voters appropriated $670,000 for the project.

The renovations to the exterior of the building come after years of leaks, mold growth and other such problems.

Barr told selectmen at the meeting that the price of the project would now cost around $820,000. According to Barr, this is because each panel of GFRC has to be custom made to fit around the already existing windows in the library. Barr said normally the panels are put in place, then windows are cut out around the panels.

Barr then proposed an alternative, using a combination of GFRC and stucco. GFRC would still be used for the bottom base panels; the rest would be stucco. He said this would cost around $630,000, and was basically the same quality.

The thickness of the stucco and the lifttime is almost the same as GFRC, according to Barr. The stucco panels would be 5/8 of an inch thick and last between 30 and 40 years.

Board Chairman Lorraine Emerson was concerned that they would be giving residents something different than what they voted for.

"The folks at town meeting fought for this," said Emerson. "This isn't the same product. It is not what we presented to them."

Selectmen wanted to know why Barr didn't give a higher estimate, so they would have enough money to cover the costs of using GFRC.

Emerson reminded Barr that they stressed the importance of having a proper estimate before asking residents for money, so "the number would be real the first time around."

Library trustee and committee member Dana Altobelli also brought this point to Barr's attention.

Barr said that it was a preliminary estimate, and only after doing more research realized it would cost a lot more to use GFRC on that specific building.

Altobelli agreed with selectmen that a peer review should be done. This means that another engineering firm will look at the case, and look at what Russo Bar Associates, Inc. has done, then give their opinion on the matter.

"We want to go ahead the right way with the right firm handing it," said Emerson.

Barr did not object to the peer review, and said he would help officials get started in the process. According to Barr, a peer review usually takes a few weeks.

In other business:

 Planning Board member Andrew Sears was appointed to the Montachusett Regional Planning Committee. There is still an opening on the committee for a resident to serve as an alternate member.

 Selectmen also appointed Walter Taylor to the Council on Aging. Selectmen agreed with Taylor that he would add diversity to the committee, because he is younger than the other members.

 Selectmen agreed to a temporary change in hours worked for Rachel Seale, the adult reference service librarian at the Forbush Memorial Library. Seale's hours will increase from 20 to 30 per week to help with cataloging until someone is hired for the position.

 A special town meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Westminster Elementary School. Selectmen said that all outside articles must be submitted to Karen Murphy by Friday, Oct. 6.