On March 12, 2008, Town Meeting approved a $2.3
million bond for the addition to and renovation of the current Downtown
Fire
Station. Links for the sideshows tracking the progress of the project
can be found at the bottom of the page or by clicking here.
A brief history follows:
Beginning in 1998 the need for expansion was identified and added to the CIP
timeline.
In 2003 a Town-wide Space Needs Committee was appointed by the Select Board to
analyze the facilities of Town Departments which, among others, identified the
need for increased space for the Fire Department at approximately 7,000 square
ft in addition to the current 6,600 square feet.
July 2005 saw the creation of an Internal Building Committee to begin the task
of determining the current and future needs of the Fire Department. Among the
major points in the charge to the committee was projecting ahead for twenty five
years and beyond. Another was location. Could we stay where we were or was another
location close to the current one an option?
The findings were as follows:
It was estimated that a building totaling 14,561 square feet would satisfy the
current and future needs of the Department. It was also determined that the current
site was the best location. Numerous factors were applied to determine the suitability
of parcels that were identified through various means. As it turned out the Internal
Committee recommended staying at the current site.
A Fire Station Building Advisory Committee was appointed by the Select Board
in July 2006 and set to work. Their findings echoed the results of the
Internal
Committee.
The
Committee went before the Select Board in January 2007 to present their findings
and to
ask the Select Board to approve hiring an architect to move into the next phase
of
the
project.
Approval was obtained from the Select Board to contract with the firm of Sheerr
McCrystal Palsen Architecture Inc. of New London for architectural services
in late February 2007. Bauen Corporation was selected in March 2007 as the
construction manager for the project. Final plans show a total of 15,243 square
for the project,
the larger number pertaining to hallways, stairs and such that the
Internal
Committee
was unable to determine. Meeting minutes for the committee can be found here.
Site work commenced on April 15, 2008. Follow the links below to track the progress
of the project!
Click on a thumbnail image for a larger view |
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