HomeMy WebLinkAboutAG Center Building Discussion 03-27-97AG CENTER BUILDING DISCUSSION
March 27, 1997
The first project planning meeting was held at the Government
Center beginning at 9*45 AM.
Those in attendance for all or part of the meeting were Tom
Dorsey, Art Jensen, Leon Berenschot, Kim Reaman, Chuck Christen-
son, Dave Sander, Dick Gade, Linda Paul, John Krizek, Ralph
Robole and Rich Loney, who served as recording secretary.
Larson said the first order of business is to obtain a topograph-
ical map of the site and determine the location of utilities
(gas, electric, sewer and water). The Village of Baldwin will be
contacted regarding this and, should a topographical map not be
available, the Highway Dept. will be asked to prepare one.
A general discussion of the site included:
1. General layout of the building
2. Possible consolidation of planned space
3. The possibility of a lower garage level with future
expansion capabilities and the potential to store those
items currently housed in cold storage
4. Lay -out of the building on the site:
A. Desirability of a southern exposure
B. Alignment of the driveway into the parking lot with the
side street running off 8th Ave. to the east
Larson said he felt consideration should be given to a prelimi-
nary schedule calling for proposals ready for consideration by
the County Board at their regular meeting scheduled for May 20th.
Larson said he would like to have the full month of September, if
possible, to complete the project. Christenson said the Federal
agencies may have some flexibility on this.
Berenschot said he felt it important to keep long term planning
and flexibility in mind with the project. Krizek mentioned the
need to keep the locations of various building systems and con-
struction considerations also in mind. Dorsey said he felt the
concept of inclusion of capabilities for an EOC (Emergency Opera-
tions Center) was also important. Krizek followed up, saying
this is not that expensive to do and would give emergency command
center capability at an additional site in the County. Larson
cautioned that this may mean consideration of an emergency gen-
erator for the facility. Krizek agreed, saying the room should
also probably be located away from outside walls, therefore with
no windows.
Basement use was discussed with Larson saying that this can work
well for storage. If vehicles are housed in it, there needs to
be separation for fire purposes, with the floor structure, walls
and doors needing to have a fire rating. It was noted that LCD
currently has four vehicles.
Placement of the structure on the site was discussed. Larson
said he felt the most valuable portion of the site is it's north-
ern portion, this from the standpoint of future development.
March 27, 1997
Page 2
Gade said the Federal agencies may have some flexibility with the
time frame, but want to have their costs, including wiring,
moving, etc., in the current fiscal year which ends September
30th. It was noted that there needs to be close communication
with the Federal people for wiring purposes.
Krizek said he would favor a structure with a pitched roof,
masonry siding, steel studs, standard construction dimensions to
minimize waste during construction and de -mountable partitions.
He also expressed a desire to keep "jutting out" corners of the
building to an absolute minimum, resulting in a square or rec-
tangular shaped building. Also, ADA (Americans with Disabilities
Act) requirements should perhaps be exceeded with wider doors
than minimum, etc. Current plans are to bid out janitorial
services, lawn care, snow removal, etc. Building Services staff
will handle mechanical, etc., systems. For security and building
environment reasons, plans are to have fixed windows. It is
desired to have meeting and ETN rooms accessible during off hours
with accompanying security for other areas of the building during
these times.
Plans are to co -locate the Feds shared client/break room with the
planned 660 sqa ft. lunch room. Berenschot said he felt the
possibility of relocating the Economic Development office cur-
rently housed at the Government Center to the new Ag Center.
Dorsey questioned if individual offices will have windows. Both
Larson and Krizek said yes, as much as possible. Larson also
mentioned the office door side-lite concept which helps to allow
additional light to the interior of the building.
Reaman noted that the bulletin display area needs to be in an
office area and securable because some of the items are available
for sale.
Questions about the demountable partitions were addressed, in-
cluding the voice privacy they afford, their capability to sup-
port hanging work surfaces, shelving, etc. Larson encouraged all
to discuss the office areas to determine where sound transmission
is an issue.
Various office sizes were discussed. It was noted that the Fed
maximum is 150 sq. ft. Larson said these need to be evaluated on
an individual basis based on the type of work planned for each,
storage needed, etc. He mentioned that his office is approx-
imately 120 sq. ft. and that it suits his needs fine. He also
said that common -type areas need to be looked at to see if con-
solidation can take place. It was noted that the Federal agen-
cies data processing room needs to be on inside walls with no
windows. Possible use of the lower level to store off-season
items, out of use files, etc. was noted.
March 27, 1997
Page 3
Berenschot questioned Larson as to whether he anticipated any
problems getting competitive bids at this time of the year.
Larson said no, this should be no problem for us. He anticipates
an approximate three week time frame for bidders to develop their
proposals.
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, 1997, 9:00 AM
in Baldwin.
The meeting adjourned at 11:20 AM.