The selectmen spent the last hour and a half of their marathon four-and-a-half-hour meeting Nov. 15 going over the terms of a lease and the criteria for a request for proposals (RFP) for the old library, which will be vacant in January. Over the prior two weeks, each selectman had sent suggestions for lease terms and RFP criteria to Town Administrator Tim Bragan, which he and Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro compiled into a nine-page document, with initials identifying each selectman’s input.
While there was some disagreement over what proof of financial viability should be required from the lessor, most of the lengthy discussion was civil and productive. The selectmen agreed that the term of the lease will be three years and that the minimum rent for the building will be $450 per month for the first year, $600 per month for the second year, and $800 per month for the third year. They also agreed that two rooms in the basement will not be included in the lease in case the town needs them for office space.
Each section of the RFP was assigned multiple conformance criteria, designated as highly advantageous, advantageous, not advantageous, or unacceptable. Some of the highly advantageous choices were leasing to a nonprofit organization registered in Harvard, programming or services available to the general public, and serving a broad range of Harvard residents. The highest score for financial stability will be given to respondents with a two-year track record and the cash on hand to cover the first year’s rent, utilities, and security deposit. Respondents without a track record would drop to the advantageous category.
The selectmen included a section in the RFP designed to allow respondents to offer additional monthly rent or contributions toward accessibility improvements for the building. Selectman Ron Ricci asked how those offers would be weighted against the other criteria, and Bragan told the board that there needs to be a “rule of award” that explains the weighting of all of the criteria. “That’s another meeting,” said Selectwoman Alice von Loesecke. Bragan told the board he and Sobalvarro will incorporate the selectmen’s decisions into a new draft of the lease and RFP, and the board will weight the RFP criteria at its next meeting on Dec. 6.
