Selectboard
Selectboard Meeting Friday, April 23, 2021
Remote Meeting Via GO TO Meeting
Note: this meeting was recorded at the request of Selectboard member Richard Bisk. Please click here to view recording.
Attending: Karen Cruise, Richard Bisk, Matthew Moncreaff, Town Administrator Sherry Patch
Guests: Rick McGowan, Deb Cary
Meeting called to order at 7PM.
The board considered a warrant article proposed by selectboard member Matthew Moncreaff for a study and conceptual design of a Fire/EMS building at the Center School site at 18 Boylston Avenue.
In his proposal the town would build a new Fire/EMS building at the Center School site and the Police department would remain in their current building at 8 Town Hall Drive. Selectboard member Richy Bisk moved to include an article on the warrant as proposed by Matthew for discussion purposes. Matthew seconded. Matthew stated that he can defend with specific examples from towns in the commonwealth that you can build a fire/ems station for far less than the cost / square foot suggested by Caolo & Bieniek. He stated that removing the police department from the design could result in substantial savings for the town as the building would be much smaller Matthew stated that most current fire/ems stations being built or planned in Massachusetts are within a $2-4 million range. He added that we could build a Fire/EMS station for 1/3 of the proposed cost from Caolo & Bieniek. Matthew stated improved facilities for the Fire/EMS department are the most critical at this time and that renovations at the Police station at 8 Town Hall Drive could be done in the future. Matthew stated that the proposed public safety building designed by Caolo and Bienek is too large for the site and that a smaller footprint is needed because insufficient parking is a serious issue with the current plan.
A smaller footprint would result in significant cost savings, the option to expand in the future, and provide needed additional parking spaces. Richy stated that we went through similar cost claims a few years ago and that no one could provide examples of fire stations in that cost range unless they were considerably smaller. He asked why Matthew didn't come to the meeting prepared with examples. Matthew stated that you do not need specific examples to understand that a much smaller building costs less than a large building. He offered to put together a collection of examples for Richy for the following work week. Matthew stated that he would propose $25,000 for a new study utilizing work already done by JWA and Caolo and Bienek. Matthew stated that he feels another committee is needed to look at his proposal and raised concerns that 2 years of meetings of the Public Safety Building Committee did not follow Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. Meetings were not posted and there are no minutes available for review. Karen explained that minutes were kept for FCS1 and FCS2 but that Sherry advised that the building team was a working group and minutes were not necessary. Sherry advised that meetings were working meetings with the architects and that no decisions were made by the group. All information was brought back to the selectboard and updates posted on the town website. Richy asked if Caolo and Bienek’s $11.7M proposal includes demo of the old station in addition to the old school. Karen stated no (just the school). Matthew noted that in his plan only one building needs demolition which adds to the savings for the town. Karen asked Matthew what he would cut from the existing plan because by her calculations, Matthew’s building would be smaller than dedicated fire/ems space in Caolo & Bieniek’s plan. Matthew stated that he would not advise any reduction in the general plan for the fire/ems portion of the building but that by building a fire/ems station only you would be eliminating all of the police areas and the hallways that would have connected the two departments. He further stated that some areas that would have been shared by the two departments could be reduced. He cited the locker rooms as specific example of a space that could be reduced in size. He also noted that cost per square foot is very high compared to similar current projects in Massachusetts and that savings for the town will be a combination of the result of building a much smaller building combined with working on reducing the cost per square foot. When asked directly for his opinion on several specific areas, he also stated that he believes all of the apparatus bays, the fitness room, and EOC are necessary spaces that should remain (though maybe smaller). Matthew expressed concern over tax impact on residents. Karen stated that it is important to have shovel ready plans as funding is anticipated in the economic stimulus plan that is being discussed. Karen stated doing the buildings in phases will only increase the costs. Richy stated he would not support the proposal. Karen stated that she felt having two competing proposals on the warrant would confuse voters. Matthew stated that voters are used to making decisions between different candidates, representing different parties and platforms, and that choice is an essential part of the democratic process.
The motion to include the warrant article was defeated by a vote of Moncreaff in favor and Cruise and Bisk opposed.
Richy Bisk had previously suggested adding an article to authorize the town to sell the Princeton center school in events voters declined to approve the article for design and construction documents for a new public safety building. At an earlier meeting, the board discussed changing that to an article authorizing funds to raze the building. Karen Cruise made a motion to include the article. There was no second. Karen argued that tearing down the building without starting on new construction might incur additional csts to secure the area and that such an article would cause voter confusion at ATM. Richy agreed.
Karen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Matthew seconded. All voted in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sherry Patch, Town Administrator