Core Team Notes: 12-1-14

12-1-14 Core Team

Agenda:

• Overall timeline on permitting and design for infrastructure
• Scope of civil engineering beyond wastewater and stormwater- - power, water, driveways etc
• Budget for all of the above
• Plans for cabins and other demolition
• Scope for 35^th anniversary “unveiling”- Sketchup, wood model, pretty drawings, display for lobby
• How do we batten down our overarching estimates for Phase 1 in terms of capital campaign- Dave T. and I will be working on grant proposals in Dec/Jan and need to make sure we are on the right page
• Scheduling January date for half day/all day Core team pow wow- get all members of the team up to speed and on the same page. Need to define agenda for that day and deliverables/goals

In attendance: Kate, Kinny, Elizabeth and John (by phone)

Act 250: We discussed the scope of work for the Act 250 permit process. Kate spoke with Peter Lazorchak last week (who was recently injured in an accident and sustained a concussion so couldn’t be in attendance) and he recommended that we initiate the Act 250 permitting process even while the stormwater and wastewater were still in design development; there was no reason to hold off and the three permits could be worked on in parallel. Kate reviewed the application requirements for a “minor” or administrative amendment to an existing Act 250 permit. Key is defining the scope of what we’re asking for in this round of permitting- we decided that we would go for infrastructure plus the first two buildings (one shop and one dormitory) as that seemed reasonable for what we plan to tackle in the next 2-3 years. We need to get basic estimates for the following: site preparation, buildings (# of square feet and $ per square foot), roads and parking, utilities, landscaping. The total of these items will determine the fee (total cost x $.00540). Therefore on a million dollar project the fee would be $5400. Elizabeth confirmed that unless we have an abutter who thinks a hearing is necessary, we should be able to do this with a simpler administrative amendment.

Timeline: We discussed how much of the work to be done at this point unfortunately hinges on Peter Lazorchak, our civil engineer. Kate will check in with Peter later this week to see if he’s feeling better and to try to get a sense of the timeline and what is on his plate and how much attention he is able to give to this project. Kate will also ask him who the contractors are that we might want to approach for bidding on the earthwork- we couldn’t come up with any names other than Kingsbury Construction.  Another question for Peter is how much time it will take to do the civil engineering design- driveways, water, power etc. once the stormwater and wastewater details are more complete. JC made some amendments to the draft timeline that I had sent around (see attached- JC can you send me the Excel version so we can continue to edit and refine this?).

35^th Anniversary: Date is set for the weekend of July 18^th. We would like to use this as an opportunity to unveil the master plan and talk about the future of Yestermorrow. The plan is to have a SketchUp model of the site created by April 1^st as well as a physical wood/cardboard/3d printed model on hand (Elizabeth said she would check with her son who works at AutoDesk to see if he might be able to help with that), and then invite members of the YM community to submit either a digital model and/or a handmade model of one of the buildings defined in the master plan as a way for them to contribute their ideas to the process. Files must be submitted by July 5^th so that we have time to get everything combined together into the master model, and design the “fly-through” to be projected as part of the presentation. Kate will send out an initial Save the Date for the 35^th in January, and then we will send out more details and invitation to design in May. Kate will take a first crack at a one-pager defining the program, guidelines, principles for public distribution as part of the design exercise. We reiterated the importance of defining expectations for this exercise- it is NOT a competition, it is considered a fun way to get input from a variety of people and get them excited about the process. We need to come up with a plan for how to manage the designs that are submitted and provide feedback on them. However, we do plan to engage a professional architect/designer to do the actual design of the buildings, potentially using some of the “best of” ideas as inspiration/guidance (after vetting by the Core Team).

Next Meeting: we are hoping to find a day in January when we could get the whole Core Team together for a day-long meeting and really have a chance to walk around the site, dive into some of the nitty gritty details, review the draft program package, and design work to date. John will connect with Bill to try to find a couple of potential days that would work for them, then we will check with the rest of the team.

Other items: Kate is really hoping to get some clarity on the timeline for summer 2015 since it affects planning now for cabin lodging, and we need to reach resolution about the future of Pine and Strawbale cabins, whether they are to be deconstructed, moved etc. so she can figure out a logistics plan for making that happen. Since we are taking bookings now for summer classes we need to know what lodging will be available and when. Kate is also looking for feedback on the Our Transformation draft document she sent out last week (also attached).