Andy (and all the rest of you!), I feel we might be getting close. (what a relief it is to be able to write that)
Given what I now know, having attended last night's select meeting, I agree that we need to spend study money in order to get another option, what I call the no-frills approach, on the table. That money will flesh out a newly conceived option that is no-frills, addresses the essential needs, is Hartwell-centric, focused on new construction/renovation at Hartwell, and flexibly addresses the location of some services at other locations when that makes sense. The study would allow this new alternative to be developed to the level where it can be considered on an equal footing with the two existing proposals when it comes time for the town to vote and chose a preferred approach. I sincerely believe that such a no-frills version would still be worthy of the label "integrated community center." In that sense I would like to vote yes as a path forward. But I am not there yet. The devil is in the details of the wording of the warrant article and what gets presented by the CCBC tomorrow regarding how they intend to proceed if the $325,000 funding is approved. The clarity and specifics about what the warrant explicitly requires as output of the study is of vital concern to me. I am aware that it may take an amendment from the floor to constructively sort this out. I am waiting to see what plays out tomorrow. I hope that the collective "we" can sort enough of this out through this type of dialog to avoid chaos and confusion tomorrow night if it comes to amendments. Fingers crossed. Dennis Picker On Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 1:30 PM Andy Wang <[email protected]> wrote: > Dennis, > > I agree that you are not distorting the sentiment of the statement I > posted before. > > However, I think you're probably more correct to question this statement: > "However, if you are in favor of a combined community center on the > Hartwell campus, but are concerned about the cost, then I would encourage > people to support the vote with a YES on Wednesday because this is the only > way that the project can move forward and further define what the costs > will be (and potential cost savings...and to be fair, possible cost > increases) and overall impact. And whatever comes out, the town will be > back to vote on THAT plan with, hopefully, more information." > > I will correct myself in saying that I should have said 'but are concerned > about cost *and/or scope*' and not just the cost. I still believe, that > without the funding, some of that reduction in scope can't happen without > professional services to back them up. Some outreach could be done, but the > real impact to the building and spaces can't really be determined without > services. > > I've personally gone back and forth about supporting an amendment to put > more explicit language in the warrant, but given the way it is written, it > does not seem to fit in. The language is intentionally broad to give the > committee some latitude in this next phase. I believe this puts more trust > in the CCBC to look into some of the things you are suggesting in looking > for some things that might be elsewhere, but given that I'm not going to do > that work, I'll have to rely on the output of others. I always come back > to the belief that the committee would like to build a community center, > and they are going to come to terms with the fact that they are going to > have to put forward a plan they think will pass a 2/3 vote to bond. This > vote should not be the hard vote, the next ones (pick proposal & bond) are. > > - Andy > > > > > > On Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 1:01 PM Dennis Picker <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> I want to call attention to this outside of the torrent of posts on the >> main Community Center thread. >> >> Andy Wang said, in part (I don't think that my excerpting distorts his >> meaning): >> >> "Now, if you (the royal you, not you specifically, Adam) don't think that >> there should be a combined community center at Hartwell at all, and I know >> there are several of folks who don't, then you should vote NO, since I >> don't think the committee intends to go way back 10+ years to re-hash all >> those decisions." >> >> There is a crucial nuance here. Let's try to not get tangled up in >> misunderstandings and confusion about what each of us thinks a "combined >> community center" means when we vote. >> >> I support pursuing new construction to meet rec and coa needs at Hartwell >> with the explicit caveat that this study, if approved, produces a new >> option (to consider when it comes time to vote on a preferred choice) that >> is no frills, focused on the essentials and that takes advantage of any >> favorable opportunities to provide _some_ of the services at other sites in >> town. Even if some of the services are not at the Hartwell site, it would >> still be a "combined community center." >> >> From the discussion at the Select Board meeting last night, I believe >> that something along the lines of what I said in the previous paragraph is >> what the Community Center Building Committee intends to do. I eagerly >> await seeing exactly what is presented tomorrow. >> >> If we incorporate the work to flesh out and cost estimate a version that >> has "center of gravity and new construction at Hartwell, but some things >> might be elsewhere" that is NOT re-hashing 10 years of work and decisions. >> It is finally completing important work that I wish we had done earlier in >> this saga. >> >> Dennis Picker >> >> >> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. >> Browse the archives at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> >>
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