Since the purpose of the Information Meeting is to briefly discuss the Warrant Articles; the Committee would like to address the two articles relating to their mission.
· Article #15 requests $10,000 for design and planning of a new Fire Station. We have several options which are still being explored.
· In order to get an article into the Warrant for Town Meeting, it was necessary to provide the request to the Selectmen in early January.
· Article #38 requests that the Town establish a reserve fund for the proposed Fire Station. The second objective of the Committee’s request made in January was to establish a Reserve Fund to at least start saving for the project in accordance with the Capital Improvement requirement as set forth in the Comprehensive Plan in 2004.
· To date, no reserve fund has been established or funded by the Town for the proposed Fire Station.
· While the Committee respects the analysis of the situation by the Budget Committee, this analysis does not consider all necessary aspects of the project.
o The range of prices per square foot received cover only the costs of construction and do not take into account the incidental costs such as the design, geotechnical requirements, legal and advertising fees, equipment and furnishings, clerk of the works fees, paving etc..
·
The Committee also supports the idea of planning for this project,
and appreciates the intent of the suggestion to raise $150,000 per year for this
project alone. This would put an undue tax burden on the citizens of
o In addressing the issue of building costs, it has been brought to the Committee’s attention by several individuals in local construction and design businesses that the cost of construction has doubled in the past five years. In other words, if the Town agreed to fund a project that can be built for $750,000 today; it will not be the same project that can be built for that same amount of money in another five years. There is no way of knowing what that same amount of money will fund five years from now.
·
It may be prudent to table this article for the time being, and
hold a
· In March of 2006, an article was approved to take from surplus $16,500 to purchase land for a new Fire Station. The land was purchased and a new committee was appointed in March of 2007; consisting of 6 people.
· The current committee does not have a specific directive which has actually proven to be a positive factor as it has left the committee open to exploring several topics, including the possibility of receiving grants.
· The Committee has had 23 meetings since last March 6th.
·
Committee meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday
mornings of the month from
· 4 meetings involved visits to fire stations
· 3 potential grant writers have been contacted.
· 1 meeting was with a representative from USDA Rural Development concerning grant applications.
· Several meetings and discussions have been held with prospective contractors and designers who have been involved in the construction of several Fire Stations in the area.
· Other meetings have involved site visits with a local surveyor (Ron Kiesman) to determine layout, etc.; the DOT re: an entry permit; the Plumbing inspector to discuss the option of using the Septic system for the Town Office.
· The Committee has spent a great deal of time on several subjects; some of them are as follows:
o Discussing needs vs. wants
o
Discussing equipment: what the Town currently has, what the Town
expects to have in the future and what is required to maintain a viable
Volunteer Fire Dept. in a town the size of
o The layout of everything on the existing property and how it will impact current and possible uses (snow removal, parking, the well, the septic system, etc.)
o Potential for future growth (laying out the building so additional spaces such as offices, a space to hold elections, etc. could be added at a later date if necessary).
o Many options for the design of the proposed station, and their cost effectiveness.
o The changing design climate and what is now required to build even a simple structure.
o Lessons learned from other Departments in the area who have built stations recently and in the past.
o Possibilities for the future of the Fire Dept. and how the decisions made regarding the building today may impact that future and vice versa.
o The various possibilities and aspects of qualifying, applying for and receiving grants from as many different sources as could be found.
o Options to engage grant writers.
o Some options for financing the project.
o Creative ways to reduce the expenses associated with the project while still producing a quality project.
Property:
· As indicated, two years ago a piece of property was purchased next to the Town Office.
· Due to the fact that the well on the adjacent property is located next to the new Town Office and to the zoning requirement that all lots be at least 1 .5 acres in size, it was necessary to purchase an irregularly shaped piece.
· This results in some unique challenges in locating the proposed building.
· It has come to the attention of the Committee that the property is not laid out in exactly the way that the former committee intended. The owner has agreed to changing the lot line to move it closer to the road if possible (there are concerns about disturbing the well). This should cost less than $1,000, but would be money well spent to keep the station closer to the road which would reduce the cost of paving and the cost of building on fill if necessary since the back of the property drops off.
· Another possibility would be to obtain the piece of property that goes all the way to the road and includes the Valley’s well and exchange it for the same amount of property at the back of the proposed station. Should the existing well prove to be suitable for the needs of the proposed station and the Town Office (The office currently shares the Church’s well) this might be a cost effective option as it allows for building closer to the road; reducing the cost of paving and reducing the quantity of fill required. This option has not been discussed with the property owner as of yet; but the cost would include installing a new well for the property owner.
·
The Committee spent a great deal of time researching the option of
receiving any available grants. Since early application is critical to getting
on the list to receive any funding, a representative from the USDA Rural
Development Grant Program was invited to a meeting early in their fiscal year to
give the Committee details of what is involved in applying for and receiving a
grant. After much research and discussion with 2 potential grant writers, the
final outcome is that the Town of
· All of the options that the Committee was able to find have been researched as outlined in the meeting minutes over the past year.
·
Other communities such as Sebago are eligible for grants due to
the fact that their average income level is below that of the rest of the county
in which they are located. That is
why Sebago is able to get so many grants and
· It is not possible for the Committee to be specific about costs at this time as it is simply an unknown.
· We have been told to expect costs of anywhere from $150 - $200/ SF just for the construction of a Fire Station. This does not include the cost of all of the incidentals.
· The cost of such a building is one of the reasons that the Committee is considering the proposal of the fourth option of a basic storage garage.
· The Committee has truly done their due diligence and is now looking for direction from the Town.
· At this time, no money has been spent from the fund, all expenses to date have been minor, and have been borne by committee members.
· The Committee agrees that it is in the best interest of the Town to lay out the options and be able to field questions at a meeting dedicated to the topic; and to let the Community decide which direction to pursue
· Money will have to be appropriated for the purpose of having drawings and specifications produced.
· After plans and specifications are developed (detail is very important at this phase to reduce the likelihood of cost overruns); the project can be put out to bid.
· After bids are received, they can be reviewed and a potential contractor selected.
· After the contractor is selected, the decision could be made whether to appropriate funding for the project.