The design phase of the old library accessibility project is about to begin, and the selectmen met on Feb. 15 to restructure the Old Library Accessibility Committee to better handle the tasks ahead. Mark Mikitarian is stepping down as chairman, Pete Jackson of Jacob Gates Road is joining the committee, and Selectwoman Lucy Wallace will be chairwoman.
The town voted to borrow $383,000 at Special Town Meeting last year to make the old library fully accessible, including moving the entrance to the front of the building on Fairbank Street. Mikitarian, who has been the committee’s chairman since its creation in 2016, said he lacked the time to continue in that position. He is also on the board of the Harvard Cultural Collaborative, the building’s only tenant, and he agreed to stay on the accessibility committee as that organization’s liaison, a position required by the committee’s charge.
Pete Jackson, a retired civil engineer who served as co-chairman of the library building committee 10 years ago, expressed an interest in joining the accessibility committee for the project’s design and construction phase. Because Mikitarian will remain on the committee, a position was not open, so the selectmen voted unanimously to increase the committee’s size to six members and to appoint Jackson. Chris Cutler, who has a background in construction, was appointed to the committee in November. Both Cutler and Jackson served on the first Town Hall Building Committee. Wallace told the board that she hopes the skills and quality of the current committee, which also includes architect Wendy Cote-Magan, will enhance its ability to keep project costs down.
In other accessibility committee business, Wallace asked the Board of Selectmen to waive, in this one case, the board’s policy that prevents selectmen from chairing other committees. She said none of the other members had the time nor inclination to chair the committee, and as Selectman Ken Swanton’s primary role on the committee during the next phase will be to track the budget, Wallace said she was willing to serve as chairwoman. She added that the committee was in favor of the move, and the selectmen voted unanimously to waive the restriction.
The committee is still negotiating a contract with Abacus Architects + Planners and hopes to have it ready to sign at the selectmen’s Feb. 27 meeting. If all goes according to plan and assuming a March 5 start for design, construction would begin in July and the project would be complete by the end of October. The Harvard Cultural Collaborative has agreed to vacate the building during construction to help keep costs down.
