(from the Maine Townsman, July 1994)
Finally, after over three years of planning, analyzing, and actual construction, the new offices of the Maine Municipal Association are complete. With minimal disruption to the membership and staff, furniture, equipment, and personnel were moved into the new building between July 7 and 11, 1994.
BACKGROUND
In response to the growth in staff, in the fall of 1991 MMA's Executive Committee authorized the appointment of a 12-member Facilities Committee. They were asked to explore current and future space needs of the MMA and to make recommendations for dealing with these needs.
MMA would like to thank these committee members for their efforts in resolving the physical space problems of the Association by bringing forward the building project. Facilities Committee members were: Chairman, Mike McGovern, town manager, Cape Elizabeth (MMA Vice President); Julie Rankin, town manager, Jackman (Executive Committee); Phil McCarthy, town manager, Kittery (Risk Pool Board); Richard Metivier, finance director, Lewiston (Chairman, Health Trust Board); Patricia Dickey, town manager, Skowhegan (Health Trust Board); Bruce Benway, city manager, Gardiner; Arlan Jodrey, selectman, Bethel; Judi Stebbins, councilor, Winthrop; Harold West, selectman, Milbridge; John Edgerly, town manager, Farmington; Jane Saxl, councilor, Bangor; and Michael McLaughlin, councilor, Houlton.
The Executive Committee accepted the Facilities Committee's recommendation to proceed with the hiring of an architectural firm to perform a two-phase project; to do a feasibility study of space needs and the ability to expand the existing building, and if it was not feasible to expand the current structure.to begin a site selection based on the criteria defined by the Facilities Committee.
The Executive Committee also appointed a six-member Building Committee at this time. MMA Building Committee members were Chairman, Michael McLaughlin, Philip McCarthy, Richard Metivier, Judi Stebbins, Bruce Benway, and Crispin Connery, selectman, Woolwich.
The Executive Committee and staff appreciate the Building Committee members' time and effort in assisting the Association with the entire decision-making process during the various phases of the project.
SITE AND BUILDING DESIGN
In July of 1992, the Building Committee, based on the findings of a detailed feasibility study, found that expanding the current facility was not feasible or cost-effective and authorized the site selection to begin. During the site selection process the University of Maine at Augusta was approached regarding a six acre site adjacent to the Augusta Civic Center. The agreement with the university was that MMA accept the parcel of land as down payment on our current facility, and that MMA would finance the balance. Additionally, the university agreed to postpone occupancy of MMA's current facility until the new facility was completed.
"The schematic design for the new Maine Municipal Association facility represents a response to site conditions and a variety of programmatic requirements." This was the lead in to a narrative prepared by Patrick Costin, Project Architect, of Harriman Associates.
Costin reviewed the building design in detail and identified the following categorical areas the design represented:
- the need for adequate meeting space with a gathering area provided for break outs of the meetings;
- quiet professional area for offices located in the upper west portion of the facility;
- systems furniture design for the areas projecting significant growth.The new facility is laid out in what the architects refer to as "bays." Each bay is approximately 20 x 62 feet, total square footage is 27,500.
Listed below are the principles that guided the staff, the architect, and the Building Committee through the design and development phases:
. The character of the new Building should be consistent with the basic mission of MMA - to provide a high level of service to its membership, the municipalities of the State of Maine. It should be an accessible, efficient, professional facility that encourages membership use.
. The overall design should be flexible enough to accommodate changes driven by future membership needs.
. The new facility should be expandable in the long term by new construction, but should have some expansion space built in now to serve MMA's needs beyond the current ten year growth projections.The MMA Executive Committee accepted the Building Committee's recommendation on the 27,500 square foot facility at their April 8, 1993 meeting.
MMA staff, Harriman Associates, the architectural firm, and Richard Bachelder, a construction consultant retained by MMA to assist with the project, employed a pre-qualification bid selection process to select potential general contractors for the project.
The Project went out to bid in late June with the bid awarded on July 27, 1993. Allied Construction of Portland, Maine was awarded the bid and began construction in early August 1993. Allied's team of Owner David Cook, Project Superintendent Michael Doherty, Project Manager Peter Pellitier, and the subcontractors worked through this winter's record cold temperatures to keep the construction right on schedule.COME VISIT
It is with pleasure toat we remind you, the membership, that this is your building. Visit it, enjoy the meeting rooms when the opportunity arises, and continue to utilize the services and resources available to you through the staff.
Mark your calendars for the Open House scheduled for September 29, 1994 at 3:00 p.m. Make plans to attend.