Westborough Selectmen Put Public Safety Complex On Hold
PHOTO/COURTESY
A rendering of a proposed $30 million public safety complex in Westborough.
A $30 million public safety complex in Westborough may be delayed after receiving insufficient support at a recent selectmen's meeting.
The Westborough Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 to recommend that the town not pursue construction of the 63,000-square-foot project.
"The short answer is, it's the economy," said Selectmen George Thompson, explaining his vote to put the project on hold.
Bargaining Power
But on the other side of the vote is Selectman Leigh Emery, who argued there is an "urgent need" for the project and said the town could get a better bargain given economic conditions.
"Right now contractors are hungry," she said. "Bids are coming in substantially less than projected."
She said the longer the town waits to do the project, the more it could cost.
"Inflation could factor in," she said.
Thompson said he doesn't expect the cost of the project to change significantly in the next year or two.
He and the other two selectmen who voted against the project support the development in concept, but do not want to take on the cost now.
Residents would have to approve a debt exclusion to pay for the complex that would increase the average residential tax bill by an average of $242 for the next 20 years, according to town records.
Westborough officials have been planning the replacement of the town's 1888 fire station for about a decade because it is overcrowded and has structural issues, according to Emery.
The complex would be a combined police and fire station, adjacent to the current fire station on Milk Street.
The town has already spent an estimated $3 million planning for the project since 2001, according to Dexter Blois, a member of the town's Municipal Buildings Committee. Incurred costs include purchasing land, demolishing the former V-Arc manufacturing building that was on the site and completing engineering studies and architectural designs by Heery International of Burlington and Jacunski Humes Architects of Berlin, Conn.
Though the Board of Selectmen has recommended the townspeople not undertake the project now, the issue will still be considered at Town Meeting, scheduled for Oct. 26.
The selectmen's decision not to support the project is indicative of an overall slowdown for construction in the town.
At this time last year there were 578 building permits applied for through the Westborough Building Department. This year, so far, there have only been 443 permits, according to Building Commissioner Joseph Inman.
"Everything is basically down," Inman said.
In the first half of last year there were 80 commercial renovation and alteration permits. This year, there were only 43 during the same time period.
Inman said a site plan permit has been approved for the public safety complex, but no construction permit has been applied for yet.
The Board of Selectmen could consider the issues again before the spring Town Meeting, Blois said.
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