Planning Board backs Fairbank Center panel swap but defers formal vote

SUDBURY -- February 22, 2023, Sudbury Planning Board signals support for Fairbank Community Center material swap but cannot vote. Architect Joel Barkman told the board a specified polycarbonate clerestory panel for the gymnasium became unavailable at the contracted price in December and that switching to a Kalwall fiberglass system, one of three specified alternatives, would avoid a roughly two-month schedule slip. Barkman said the substitute has an R-value about 5 percent lower but still beats a double-glazed window and would not force HVAC redesign. Chair Stephen Garvin had recused himself, leaving only two full members eligible, so a formal vote was pushed to March 8. The board separately approved three 36-inch gray security bollards at the Bank of America ATM at 23 Union Ave., endorsed an approval-not-required plan at 382 Willis Road, and heard that a redesigned Fox Hill Drive retaining wall would cut the maximum reveal from 27 feet to 13 feet and roughly halve the wall cost from about $600,000 to $300,000.