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NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. – Voters will not be asked to fund an $8 million Department of Public Works facility at the Annual Town Meeting in October.
The Building, Planning and Construction Committee has a “number of issues’’ to examine so it decided to delay a decision until May, committee Chairman Thomas Pilibosian said at a meeting of the Board of Selectmen on Monday night.
Selectmen agreed with the decision, with most saying they would not support the $8 million proposal made by HKT architects to redevelop the DPW at its current site on Fletcher Street.
At a meeting last week, Pilibosian said HKT has been asked to study whether the former Old Colony Stationery at 371 Douglas Road could be modified to fit DPW needs.
That option is strongly supported by Selectman Jay Athanas. The price tag on that property, which includes a 19,000-square-foot building, was recently reduced from $1.6 million to $995,000, he said.
He estimated another $600,000 in modifications would be needed, costing taxpayers $50 per square foot. The Fletcher Street plan carries a price tag of $450 per square foot.
“Why isn’t there more of a sense of urgency” to purchase the property, Athanas said. “It won’t be there in the spring,’’ he said. He asked that Pilibosian’s committee take a “hard look at a quick pace. It would be ludicrous to let something like this go."
Athanas also suggested that the owners be asked to make the necessary modifications as part of the sales agreement. A private company isn’t required to follow the prevailing wage laws.
“All proposals are back on the table,’’ said Selectman James Marzec. Property in Linwood once considered as a potential DPW site remains on the market, he said.
“That price tag of $8 million; there’s no way the taxpayers are footing that bill,’’ Marzec said. But the town still needs a DPW facility that gets its equipment out of the elements.
Selectman Thomas Melia said he supported the Fletcher Street proposal but never expected the $8 million price tag. “I think we all have egg on our faces,’’ he said.
The Building, Planning and Construction Committee meets Thursday at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. HKT is expected to have a report on the Douglas Road property at that time.
Comments (20)
Whatever, let's just get this done. Skyscrapers are built faster than this.
I will still cover all bets that there will be no new DPW garage. wait lets do another costly study to see if we can build one :)
icecat,
It may be close if we can maybe get something between $2-$3 Million Dollars, just my take.
Juggy,
Inculcation!!!!!!
Guy,
How about we have a 'Salvage Company' bidding Auction for the old Buildings to be torn down and interior facility materials, construction debris Salvaged?
Then work with our State and Federal Representative for Brownfield Grants, to turn it in a park like Grafton did?
If we are going for a prefab/modular building now,( like the former BOS mentioned) let's refocus back to the WWTPlant Site, Facility, Saltshed, Expansion Area, and RR Crossing fixed, $2.1 Million Dollars. :)
Plus our Town Counsel already backed this Prefab/Modular Facility Process in the Fall of 2010 when it was brought up at the fall 2010 Town Meeting if I recall..
Juggy,
Inculcation!!!!!!!
Juggy,
Always the pipedreamer you are...........
There is nothing of any value in those buildings. The only things with any value would be the scrap steel but it would be far outweighed by the disposal costs of the rest of the demolition materials and the likliehood of asbestos being in there is right around 100%.
Grafton got the park because they were STUCK with the hazardous site by the former property owner(s). It was something they had no control over and got stuck with. It was not a site that the Town of Grafton had always owned and applied for a grant to get it cleaned up. Your grant idea is just more false hope.
FYI it was explained at HKT's presentation that the modular sections are still required to be built under prevailing wage laws. If you followed closely you would have known that they actually have modular panels incorporated into their design for the proposed building.
Why do you want to refocus back to the WWTP site? HKT's analysis showed that it was a more expensive site to develop?
Guy, (An Opinion)
Time to "Move On", the Fletcher Street Facility is never going to happen at $8-$9 Million Dollars, correct it has to be cleaned upped eventually. Or maybe the Town could put a big fence around it and rent it to the new movie production company's that are moving to the State to make horror movies, or historical documentaries on early prehistoric construction that was actually used in the 21st Century.?
Time to 'refocus and recalibrate' on Douglas Rd, Linwood Site, or the WWTPlant Facility, and RR Crossing Fix.
It appears the Linwood Site may now also have the old RR Station parcel for potential sale also?
If the Town maybe could attain either the Linwood Site or the Douglas Rd site at a 'very economical price', that may be a possible option also.
Plus if the Town follows the advice of our Town Counsel, in his letter dated 10/15/2010, to our Town Manager. Relative to Modular Construction Procurement Requirements at the WWTPlant Site. (Building's Similar Like the Former BOS Showed at the 7/16/2012 BOS Meeting) That Site is also still very affordable now also, so the Town may have three excellent economical and affordable direction's now to go in.
I am also confident that our Town leadership may be able to find innovative and economical ways in cleaning up the Fletcher Street site if need be.
Its time to wipe the Egg's off our faces and lets find a realistic and economical location and if we have to be prepared to call for a Special Town Meeting., so be it!
In my opinion anything over $2-$2.5 Million Dollars is not going to Fly in Brigadoonebridge, so lets not waste our time. :)
Juggy,
Inculcation!!!!!!!!!
There is no egg to wipe up. It's time for the cheapskate tightwads in this town to wake up and realize that things cost money and that there isn't a DPW fairy that is going to deliver a $3 million dollar facility.
Guy, (an Opinion)
Just my take from the BOS Meeting the other night 'No Way' the BOS are going to back $8-$9 Million Dollar facility. 'Not tightwads', why buy a potential Rolls Royce, when the job can get done with a Chevy Impala? Plus the taxpayers know we have to do something about the Fire Station soon. So maybe a $2- $2.5 Million Dollar DPW now, and in a few years the Fire Station has to be addressed by the taxpayers.
Maybe time to turn this potential Frog into an inexpensive Prince by going with one of these Site's, WWTPlant, Douglas Rd, or Linwood, just in my opinion.
Plus it seems possible like the new 'Brigadoonebridge Express', has left the Fletcher Street Station heading towards one of these three stations! I hear tickets are going fast, for its next stop, still some seats left in the observation car if your interested Guy?
Juggy,
Inculcation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since when is a package steel building considered a Rolls? Besides if you cheapskates don't like the $ of the DPW you sure as hell ain't going to like the $ of a new Fire Department............heck..............maybe we can get a Grant to turn the old FD into a museum or something..............(insert rolling eyes emoticon here).
You and others like you need to realize that you can't buy new "Chevy Impala's" for $2500.00 dollars anymore. Why spend another $100k on a survey to prove to people like you who are out of touch with reality that you can't get a facility for the Fairy Tale $ you were sold before.
Guy,
Its the price '$8-$9 Million Dollars', 'strange' the Steel Building at the 2010 WWTPlant Site was only $1,200,000 dollars. I have a feeling with maybe some minor recalibrations, the Town may be able to even attain the steel building cheaper then $1,200,000 dollars, like Uptons or Uxbridges.
Plus it appears the Town may not care about the RR crossing fix, so subtract an another $350,000, plus use MGL Chap 149 sec 44E as our Town Counsel advised the Town Manager the Town could in his letter to the Town Manager in October, of 2010. I have a feeling the Town could potentially build at the Waste Water Treatment site for under $2 Million Dollars, with just a simple Steel building, Wash bay, and a Salt Shed. If the Town of Norton, MA, can use MGL Chap 149 Sec 44E, for their new construction of a suggestive Library, surely Brigadoonebridge could also use it. Why reinvent the wheel???
No need to do another survey on the Douglas Road site, or the Linwood site, all Brigadoonebridge would have to do is put out an RFP under Chap 30B. If the owners of those properties are potentially interested, they can thus answer or respond to Brigadoonebridge's RFP requirements for a DPW facility. Plus the Steelbuilding Company's surely has Engineers that could facilitate putting the WWTPlant Site into reality if Brigadoonebridge was interested. Plus meeting the requirement of a facility project Manager under MGL 149 sec 44E, as Town Counsel put in his letter to the Town Manager, is not an unrealistic endeavor for Brigadoonebridge in my opinion.
Reference the Fire Station lets cross one bridge in Brigadoonebridge at a Time, all I was trying to say a Fire Station may have a faster return time on the taxpayer's plate. If we can get a very economical DPW for the Town, plus our Schools have needs also in the future.
Their is a song in Walt Disney Fairy Tale, Cinderella called 'Its Possible', yes Guy, 'Its Possible'!!
I hear the Brigadoone Express whistle now, hop on board Guy, plenty of good seats still availiable! :)
" Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
Juggy,
Inculcation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where do you come up with the 1.2 million figure for a package building? Hopefully not from the fairy tale that was put forth to voters at the Fall TM years ago.
Mark my words, there is no way to legitimately put up an equivalent building at the WWTP for under $2M.
Plus the PWRR already stated that there is not to be any additional facility at the WWTP w/o an upgraded RRxing.
It's amazing how you manage to slip things like facts in and out of a story to fit your position in an argument.
Guy,
The $1,200,000 figure comes from the Town Hand out that was provided to the Taxpayers at the fall 2010 Town Meeting, under number eleven, number #1. You know the plan our three Senior BOS, Town Manager, Town Counsel, Half the FINCOM supported.
"Building, including fixtures and equipment equals $1,200,000" :)
You can always ask a steel framed Company to come before the BOS maybe like the one in Sutton, to give a price for a 13,000 square foot building at the WWTPlant, correct? Plus they may be able to provide the Town with a project Engineer like our Town Counsel suggested in his letter in October of 2010 to the Town Manager.
The Town saves significantly by going with MGL Chap 149 Sec 44E, ask the Town of Norton, plus the suggestive savings on Architectural Fees, in my opinion. :)
From my understanding their were numerous meetings over the size of the WWTPlant DPW Facility, and approx 13,000 square feet was adequate. If you take the office space out you now have extra garage space, (for the two Senior Center Vans). The one or two people that work in the DPW office could now work in the Sewer Building Office if possible.
Never heard the one about the PWRR stating the Town could not put anymore buildings on the Towns property at the WWTplant Site, w/out upgrading the crossing first? Can you refer to anything in the BPCC Meeting minutes of the Fall 2010 relative to backing up your comment, or anything else specific? BOS Meeting Minutes?
Plus I think that may infringe on the Towns property rights under the US Constitution trying to limit the Town building on its own property. The crossing must be the Towns property because if it was PWRR they would have potentially addressed the Crossing issue by now? Is that not why the Town carry's Municipal Liability Insurance for these type of issues?
Plus from my understanding the PWRR is still interested in working with Town on the RR Crossing, and for doing it less expensive. If I recall our former BOS Chair mentioning it at a BOS Meeting, relative to used signaling equipment.
Juggy,
Inculcation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Selectman Jay Athanas should run an apples an apples cost comparrison by equating a project cost with a construction cost. A project cost is not the same as a construction cost.
There is no question that a "design build project purchase" should be the least expensive method to do any municipal project when it passes the AG Office review. We wonder if Selectman Jay Athanas would be interested in taking on that responsibility and seeing it through the AG to accomplish this worthy effort. It would be a feather in his cap an not a futile effort bringing a well deseved applause and appreciation by us.
I hope when the BPCC & BOS do their cost analysis that they take into account that they if they go with a different property that they are taking one of the very few viable commercial properties off of the taxrolls. I also hope that in their cost analysis that they factor in the cost of the future clean-up and remediation of the existing Highway facility on Fletcher St.
To not do so equates to pushing the problem off to future generations. Even if it is turned into a park in the future that is a cost that should be associated with the cost of construction of a new facility.