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Town of Reading
Meeting Minutes
Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
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Ad Hoc Library Building CommittqqlU QV —3 A 111- 2b
Date: 2014 -08 -05 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Town Hall Conference Room
Address: 16 Lowell Street
Purpose: Regularly scheduled meeting
Attendees: Members - Present:
Vice Chairman Rachel Baumgartner, Greg Stepler, Karen Herrick, Secretary
Cherrie Dubois, Bob Newton, Nancy Twomey,
Members - Not Present:
Chairman David Hutchinson, Jane Kinsella
Others Present:
Joe Huggins, Virginia and Everett Blodgett, Vicki Yablonsky, Alice Collins,
Fire Chief Greg Burns, Ruth Urell, Christos Coios , CBT Architects, Eileen
Casciari, CBT Architects, Evan Warner, CTV Construction, M.Widzinski,
Sharlene Reynolds Santo (SRS, Carl Mittnight (CM, Robyn Parker (RP),
Nancy Kohl (NK),Virginia Adams (VA), Sally Hilgendorff (SH), Ron Weston
(RW)
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary
Topics of Discussion:
The Building Committee was called to order by Rachel Baumgartner at 7:57 at a regular
meeting of the Reading Historical Commission. The Building Committee attended because
the library was on the Historical Commissions' agenda.
Chris Coios reviewed current and historical photos of the library, the current site plan, and
the updated designs, including floor plan and clad window samples.
The Reading Historical Commission had several concerns:
1. Can the north side roadway be narrowed? Answer: The width is required to
accommodate emergency vehicles.
2. Can shrubbery and other natural elements be used to mask the north side roadway?
Answer: Yes, this will be addressed with later design work.
3. Are the memorial trees being removed? Answer: Yes
4. Can the indoor stair cases continue to be used? Answer: Current codes require enclosed
staircases.
5. What is on the alternate priority list? Answer:
a. Porte cochere
b. Spires [on turrets]
c. Copper gutters
d. Planter railings on roof deck
e. New retaining wall on Deering Street
6. The design includes varnished oak shelving and cabinets. Oak is highly acidic and not
appropriate for delicate historical materials. Answer: The design team will look into
other more appropriate materials.
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7. Is another window being added on the west side? Answer: Yes, when the stairs are
removed on the west side, the window from the east side will be moved to the west
side.
8. Must the windows be replaced with modern materials? Answer: The practicality of
modern windows outweighs the use of older materials for reasons of high energy
efficiency and low maintenance costs.
9. The re -use of the porte cochere is not designed sensitively from a historical perspective.
It appears too large and bulky. Answer: The large windows will allow the original
entrance to be seen from outside. The design is intended to blend with and not obscure
the original building.
10. RHC: Can the north side roadway not include the five parking spaces? Answer: The
Library needs to increase parking space to match the increased program space created
by the project.
Library Trustees: Also concerned with the parking spaces.
Solutions:
a. The neighborhood, when surveyed, did not object to short -term street parking during
events at the Library. Can the spaces be built and simply not allow parking unless there
arises a compelling reason to allow parking?
b. A shuttle service was proposed that can move people from the parking spaces by the
train tracks along High Street up to the library should many more spaces be needed to
support an event at the Library.
c. Not build the spaces at all, as the 5 spaces is a small percentage of the total number of
spaces given the on- street parking available.
Promote walking, regardless of the outcome of the parking space issues.
The Library Building Committee requested an endorsement from the Reading Historical
Commission as part of their Massachusetts Historical Commission review. The Reading
Historical Commission responded that they would need to discuss this before rendering an
opinion and they will send a letter with their concerns and or recommendations to the
Massachusetts Historical Commission within a week.
The Building Committee adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary
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