Request for Qualifications Resources

What are the square foot details?

The existing Ilsley Public Library consists of THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS on FOUR levels, constructed at different times over the last one hundred years. For the last forty of those years, this facility has been minimally maintained, but not substantively changed or improved to meet current community needs.

ORIGINAL 1924 core structure (traditional “Carnegie-era” cruciform shape)

• Approximately 8400 gsf

1977 ADDITION toward the Town Offices (primarily toilet rooms, elevator, stairs, staff spaces)

• Approximately 2200 gsf

1988 ADDITION to the north (Community Room, adult stacks/computers, reference rooms)

• Approximately 8600 gsf

Is there a target budget for this project?

The Project Team has worked with a cost estimator, Erickson Consulting LLC, to determine an order of magnitude estimate of $14.8 million (based on one possible combination of renovation, demolition and new construction that meets our target program needs). This estimate includes base construction costs (labor, material, etc.); fees and general conditions for the prime contractor, bonds and insurance for the contractor, contingency (to cover unexpected but necessary work); and escalation to cover the potential for inflation (over a one year period); owner costs at 10%; and professional fees at 10%. (See "Ilsley Public Library OPTION B - Budget Detail 11.4.2022" in the Project Background Materials for further information).

• Construction, contractors fees, contingency, and escalation = $12,359,974
• Owner costs = $1,235,997
• Professional fees = $1,235,997
• Total order of magnitude estimate = $14,831,968

Can you expand on your plans for relocating during construction?

We hope to be able to rent a temporary location in Middlebury. Realizing we probably won't be able to find a building as large as the current library, we anticipate some reduction in services, resources, and programs during the relocation period. Some portion of the circulating collection will be put into offsite storage for the duration of the relocation period.

How did you land on the design competition as your process? What level of design are you hoping that that stage gets to?

The design competition was suggested to us by a former selectboard member because previous attempts at addressing the library's facility issues zoned in on one option early in the process, and community members did not react well to not having choices. This time around we are trying to listen more carefully to the community and get their reactions as we go along. The idea of a design competition came forward as one way of doing that—the community will be involved in reviewing the designs that are put forward, and it would allow us to see how those teams interact with the community through that process.

We are not specific at this point about what would constitute conceptual design. We are not expecting complete schematic design. Once we have a conceptual design, the firm with the most outstanding conceptual design will be asked to complete a full schematic design so that we are able to get a bond vote in 2024.

In the RFQ, it mentions the potential of exploring a more formal relationship with the town office building. Can you elaborate on that?

Our previous attempts at addressing the library's facilities issues treated the project as an island. Although the library and town office building entrances do face each other, these two buildings have always been treated as separate entities. We have seen examples of other public libraries where the library is more a part of the town center/municipal building, which is intriguing. We brought it up in the RFQ as a possibility, to see if there is a way to establish a more substantive connection with the town office building. Having said that, this is just one idea we are open to. This isn't a requirement, just a possibility.

How many firms do you anticipate qualifying to go to the next step?

We anticipate inviting 3-4 firms to participate in the design competition.

In the RFQ, you mention you would like to see a fee schedule. Should that include just the hourly rates, or are you also looking for additional fee structures/fees for preliminary stages of work?

Our intent with the RFQ is just to ask for hourly rates at this point, and not get into more contractual information until later on in the project when we issue our request for proposals. We don't want this particular phase to be about money—we have a reservation of 10% in our budget for professional fees, so at this point we want to emphasize the design aspect.

Would you like qualifications packages submitted in electronic format or paper? If the latter, how many copies would you like?

Electronic submission, to dana.hart@ilsleypubliclibrary.org, is preferred.

#5 of the Required RFQ elements is a Statement of Likely Recommended Contract Format – is this for design services or construction delivery?

Per line 5 of Required Elements Step 1, ("Provide a statement of likely recommended contract format"), the lead firm for your RFQ submission should indicate the contract you would foresee between the Town and your firm for projected services if you are chosen to bring this project to completion of 100% Schematic Design Phase, including pricing and presentations. However, suggested details of this contract format will not be required until Step 3, the RFP.

If #1 above is for design, does the committee have any thoughts about construction delivery – design-bid-build, design-build, or construction management?

Per Step 3, the RFP is intended to be inclusive as indicated in our Public Notice and RFQ. We will be seeking specifics about YOUR team's vision for the most appropriate construction delivery alternative for this unique building / property, owned by the Town of Middlebury. Please keep this in mind as you respond to Step 1, Line 5.

Would you like to be able to make recordings of programs in the Community Meeting Room?

Yes. We would like to have a smaller Conference Room, which would be permanently set up to accommodate hybrid meetings. We would also like to have a recording option in the large Community Room, for recording things like lectures of large public meetings. We would also like to have a hearing loop system in the large Community Meeting Room.

Is humidity a problem in the Community Meeting Room?

Yes. The current Community Meeting Room is often stuffy and suffers from humidity issues.

What size physical collection do you think you need in the new building?

We do not anticipate that the library’s collection size will change significantly (some portion of the adult collection are shrinking, and some portions of the youth collection are growing, but it more or less evens out). The library needs about 4,900 linear feet of shelving. This represents a 9% increase in linear shelving over what we currently have. The increase is necessary to ensure that the existing collections are accessible, that shelves are not overcrowded, and that there is ample display shelving. Specific shelving needs, and anticipated square footage estimates for accommodating the shelving, can be found in the Preliminary Program Study.

Is more space required for the Digital Media Lab?

A little more space, but not a lot. The current Digital Media Lab is 72 square feet. We would like to increase it to 100 square feet. Details can be found in the Preliminary Program Study.

Is there a full sprinkler system throughout?

Yes, there is.

What are the most recent drawings you have of the building? What kind of program were they created with/what kind of files are they? Is there a current site survey? Will these drawings be made available?

Regarding this question, base cadd drawings were provided to us upon request, by Daniel Dupras at Engineering Services of Vermont for our most recent upgrades study in 2021. They were intended for our use in creating our building program. When small discrepancies were found in existing layouts, they were corrected by Judith Harris and converted in 2022 to the pdfs now on our website. We believe we can provide these as cadd files to interested professionals, upon request, with the understanding they are for reference, not for construction.

Regarding site information beyond the documents posted to our website, we do not have a current survey of our property. Believing this would be advisable for any future design work, the Town Administration is currently reviewing proposals for a meets and bounds survey with topographic mapping for the site. It would include benchmark information to tie floor levels at the three existing entrances to adjacent grades.

Although a property survey has not yet been contracted for creation, we are hoping to accomplish this work in April, and to provide the results to the firms selected to engage in our upcoming Visioning Competition, in May.

If there is a meeting in the Community Meeting Room after the library is closed, is the entrance on the east side at the bottom of the ramp the only way to get in?

Yes. We have seen examples at other libraries in Manchester, Shelburne, and South Burlington where it was possible to set up a main entryway that was shared by the main library and the community meeting room, and also provided restrooms for both. That provided a clear pathway to the meeting room even when the library was not open. We liked that set-up.

Are the front steps leading up to the main entrance on the 1924 building cement?

Yes. They are in poor condition. The handrail is loose and there are cracks in the cement. They don’t drain well, so they are very difficult to maintain in winter.

How often does it happen that books come in and need to be sorted/shelved in the discharge room?

All day, every day, although returns are concentrated in the morning. We receive about 300 returns each day (although the number was more like 500 pre-pandemic). We would love to have a 24/hour book drop! For more information on our ideal space for shorting incoming books, refer to the Preliminary Program.

How many staff do you have?

We have eight full-time staff and four part-time staff (20 hrs/week). We also have between 5-10 substitutes and work-study students on our payroll at any given time. We don’t have adequate workspace for full-time staff. We also don’t have adequate lockers or storage space for part-time staff and subs/work-study students.

Have you done any upgrades to your heating system?

We have done patches on the existing system. The 1924 and 1977 building have steam heat, and the 1988 building has hot water heat. About four years ago we replaced four of the cast-iron sections of our boiler, which we think is about 30 years old, to buy more time before a full replacement of the heating system. In 2021 Engineering Services of Vermont developed a plan to convert the library’s current heat system to a cold-climate heat-pump system, but given the high cost and the need to relocate library operations during the installation we decided to wait and address the heating system at the same time as the larger renovation/expansion. The library’s current air conditioning system includes 10 units, and usually at least one of them is out of order at any given time. It is very difficult to maintain even heating/cooling across the library. The library is a space where people come to stay warm in the winter, and cool in the summer, and we anticipate as climate change progresses that the library will increasingly serve as a cooling center during hot summer days.

What is the size of the collection?

About 55,000 volumes. It fluctuates, but that this a good size for now. Our collection is “one in, one out,” meaning for every book we purchase we have to deaccession an older book. Everything on the shelves has circulated in the past three years.
Are there civic meetings that happen in the library’s Community Meeting Room that don’t happen in the town offices?
To the extent of my knowledge, the only meetings that take place in the town office building are select board or select board appointed committees. The town offices aren’t really setup to accommodate public meetings in the same way that the library is. So there are many types of public groups that meet in the library, but typically town committees meet in the town offices.

If you are planning on printing this, do you want the submission formatted in a particular way (e.g., letter-size, portrait orientation)? If it will be viewed only digitally, are we free to use a different format? Also, can you indicate if you have any file size limitations for receiving electronic files as well.

We do not plan on printing submissions. Since the files will be viewed digitally you may use whatever format you prefer, but keep in mind that the Project Team members reviewing the submissions will be viewing the files on screens of different sizes (laptops, desktops, etc). We do not have any file size limitations for receiving electronic files.