Public Safety Facility Panel Narrowing Potential Sites
DALTON, Mass. — The Public Safety Facility Advisory Committee is working to narrow down the four property selections it will include in its feasibility study.
Committee members recently reviewed potential sites and voted to remove some from the list.
Properties discussed included 134 East Housatonic St., 450 West Housatonic St., the Dalton American Legion, First Congregational Church, and the lot next to the Senior Center.
During the feasibility study, the architect will assess what is needed for a public safety facility to be accredited and efficient.
They will provide cost estimates and consider different scenarios, such as building a new facility on a green site, remodeling an existing building, and demolishing and rebuilding potential sites.
The committee voted to remove the properties located on West Housatonic Street and East Housatonic from consideration due to their proximity to railroad tracks.
Police Chief Deanna Strout said during the meeting that the noise and potential hazards from railroads are a concern.
"The noise of the trains and especially their whistles could hinder our dispatchers to be able to hear callers, officers, and fire and EMS personnel. The constant vibration of passing trains could damage the radio towers that would be attached to the building," she said in an email to the committee.
"Lastly, the possibility of an emergency with a passing train, such as a derailment or a hazardous spill, could damage a building in close proximity or put employees at risk. I know the possibility of an emergency is minimal, but it is still a risk."
In addition, East Housatonic Street has a private road that would have to be maintained, and the owners did not want to sell or rebuild the property; they wanted to lease it and use the existing building, committee co-Chair Craig Wilbur said.
Committee member Anthony Pagliarulo noted that while investigating procurement, he discovered that a municipality in Massachusetts can only lease for 30 years.
This requirement could complicate a lease-to-own arrangement and adds uncertainty to the feasibility of a long-term lease option.
Committee co-Chair Don Davis recommended that the town attorney provide an opinion on the legality and limitations around this matter.
Pagliarulo said he spoke to the Dalton American Legion board about the possibility of "slicing off a piece of property" to build a facility but noted they were not "keen" on the idea because this particular property is used for car shows and the carnival.
Pagliarulo said he created an "arbitrary" carve out that they were not keen on but said the board would come back to the committee if they come up with an alternative.
Committee member Dave Martindale added the First Congregational Church to the list of potential sites during the Oct. 16 meeting.
The church has offices in the basement with a walkout and some offices on the second floor on the south end that are available for rent.
There is also the possibility of constructing a building farther to the east, using some of the green space and parking lot.
He previously said the church would take the parking lot on the west side to make up for what it would lose.
The existing two-story building has approximately 2,600 square feet on each level and was built with the provisions to add a third floor.
Since the last meeting, Martindale met with the church's trustees to request they ask their congregation to decide whether or not they are interested in making a deal, he said.
"There is another level of control above the trustees, and it would still have to go in front of the congregation. They're in the process now of setting that church meeting up to decide what they want to do," Martindale he told the committee.
"We told them where we are in that all this has to go through a process and we tried to explain the process. We conveyed to them that we have the feasibility study pending, which is going to tell us a lot. So, it was just the meeting to continue talking more than anything."
Pagliarulo said the church was communicative, considerate, and had positive comments from two members.
"I think the key there is, it's a real solid building block, concrete floors, it can accommodate a third floor, two access points, one in the front [and] one in the rear, in terms of [Americans with Disabilities Act,] and it's a good sized piece of property backing up to the Housatonic," he said.
Martindale said he also spoke with an "experienced contractor," who also indicated that it was a good site and could not see any red flags.
Pagliarulo said the trustee has to meet with the council of elders, in possibly two to three weeks, do discuss the prospect further. Then, if approved by them, it would have to go to the congregation for a vote.
The church can let the committee know if the location is a possibility by the end of the calendar year, Pagliarulo said.
During its previous meeting, committee members agreed to look into whether the old Dalton High School property, the lot next to the Senior Center is an option.
Since then Pagliarulo looked into the amount of available space on the property to see if there is room for a facility.
To do that he divided the property into two, a parcel in the front, facing High Street, which has about 1.1 acres, and a parcel in the back, adjacent to Glennon Avenue, with approximately 3 acres, he said.
The property has some hurdles like some of the other properties, such as flooding, which is being addressed with the Walker Brook project.
It was noted that utilizing the location for a police station would need to be approved at a town meeting because when the town demolished the old school for a million dollars, there was a commitment that housing was going to be the priority in order to build up more tax revenue to repay the funds it cost to demolish the building.
If the town were to change this to use the parcel for municipal use then they would have to go back to town meeting for approval.
Other properties they are still considering is 197 Main St., 11 Cleveland Road, and 339 North, which is a small parcel that the committee wants more information on.
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