Lanesborough to Re-establish Public Safety Building Committee
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After the town rejected a nearly $6 million police and EMS building proposal, the Select Board is preparing to start at square one in solving its problem of insufficient accommodations.
On Tuesday, the panel voted to push the application deadline for a reinstated public safety building committee out for one week.
Town Administrator Gina Dario reported that almost all of the standing members have resigned from the committee.
Voting members included Chair Kristen Tool, William Cook, Bill Mahon, Glen Storie, and William Calderwood. Dario believes that Tool remains.
"We're going to start from ground zero is where we're going to start with the exception of the knowledge that [Police Chief Robert Derksen] and [EMS Director Jennifer Weber] have and if [Tool] sticks around or whatever the story is," Select Board member Timothy Sorrell said.
"But I guess we don't have an option."
He asked if a week would be enough time for people to apply for the committee.
Dario said there has been uncertainty about the committee and by dissolving and starting fresh, there will be the opportunity for anyone to apply or re-apply. The deadline is Monday, April 10, by noon; residents can download a citizen's interest form through the town's website.
"Do we learn anything from this and decide to do it a little different with the committee?" Sorrell said, wondering if they should also have a group that could research grant sources for the project.
The board could decide to set terms of reference for the committee to give them direction, Dario explained, or have a board member participate.
Select Board member John Goerlach said understands that architect Brian Humes is still on board. At the board's last meeting, he expressed that he would like a building designed that is 1,000 or 1,500 square feet smaller to see how much it would cost.
"We had said that there was no perks in this. It wasn't like we made a Taj Mahal," Sorrell, former police chief, said about the rejected building design.
"I don't know how [Humes] is going to come back and cut anything back as far as square footage but we can try whatever we have to do."
This vote follows the town counsel's recommendation to disband and re-establish the committee.
The Police Station committee had recommended that the architect and the ad hoc committee as it stood be continued as a cost saving and to keep institutional memory but that a couple more members be added. The committee also advised that the name be changed to include the ambulance service and avoid confusion and that a Facebook page be created to keep residents better informed. Board members also said at last week's meeting that the committee should have at least some evening hours because its afternoon meetings did not allow for enough inclusion.
Last month, voters shot down a proposed $5.9 million public safety complex 139-214 at a special town meeting.
A steering committee was established to work on this proposal over the past year and after it was determined that the ambulance service would be added, designs were presented to the board late last year.
The 7,300-square-foot design by architect Brian Humes includes two ambulance bays, a police sally port, sleeping quarters, offices, locker room and private changing and shower stalls, an emergency management center, and an in-house training room.
The proposed site formerly housed the country club's driving range and is owned by Pittsfield's Mill Town Capital.
The town has a $1 million commitment from the state for the project and the Baker Hill Road District provided $150,000 for the property purchase.
With a 40-year U.S. Department of Agriculture loan at a 3.7 percent interest, property owners would have see an annual increase of between $46 and $183 on their tax bill if the project had passed.
The Police Department is working out of temporary quarters because of the condition of the current station. The town leased 545 South Main St. for two years using American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Tags: police station,
