March 3, 2021 by Carol Britton Meyer
Since the Town Meeting-approved $5.5 million purchase of a parcel of land at 335 Lincoln St. for a potential police and fire department public safety building, the building committee for that project has spent a significant amount of time and effort getting to the next step following the completion of a feasibility study and preliminary design plans.
"And you have only just begun!" quipped Selectman Joseph Fisher during an update Tuesday night about a related warrant article for Town Meeting consideration this year.
Kaestle Boos Associates was hired to perform the feasibility study and to develop the conceptual design for an amount of up to $250,000, approved at an earlier Town Meeting.
"The goal is to do a project that would be cost-efficient for the town while at the same time meeting the needs of both departments," Fisher said. "There are a lot of moving parts."
The 2021 Town Meeting warrant article asks voters to allow the town to move past the conceptual stage to support the appropriation of $1.57 million to be expended by the Selectmen to pay the expenses for design, architectural, engineering, owner’s project manager, and other professional services to complete the design.
If the article passes, subsequent work on the proposal would identify the total costs of building such a facility, depending on its ultimate size and scope.
Building Committee Chair Robert Garrity explained that Kaestle Boos has been involved with a number of public safety projects and has a good reputation. "The committee determined that it would be in the town's best interests to continue with their services, subject to Town Meeting funding this year," he said.
If Town Meeting 2021 authorizes the proposed design funds, a request for construction funding is expected at a Fall 2022 Special Town Meeting, at which time voters would also be asked to fund the town's portion of a renovated or new Foster School under the Massachusetts School Building Authority partial-reimbursement program. "Foster School continues to be a top priority," Selectmen Chair Mary Power said.
She noted that incremental funding as the public safety facility project advances allows Town Meeting "to sign off on each step."
Garrity emphasized that there will be "a tremendous amount of detail" to the project, and ample opportunity for public input. "There will be plenty of time to figure out exactly what the project will be and how [expensive]," he said.
If the new facility becomes a reality, the current Senior Center would expand into the space currently occupied by the police station so seniors "will get the improvements they deserve," Fisher said.
That said, even with no delays in the public safety building process, an expanded senior center is still six to seven years out, according to Power. "Senior members of our community have been very patient, and we're asking them to be patient for a little longer," she said.
The Selectmen will vote at their March 9 meeting whether to support the warrant article.