CHESTERFIELD — Replacing the town’s aging offices and fire station has been an effort three decades in the making. Now, with at least five scenarios on the table, officials are seeking community input on a project that could cost between $7 million and $10 million.
In the town offices at 422 Main Road, town officials and employees work in a former wood-frame school that closed in 1994 because of code violations. The building is plagued by asbestos and mold, has no air conditioning, windows that barely open, cracked walls and a leaking roof.
The police station is also just a room in the former school and is used as a holding station.
The fire station, built in 1954, has its own problems. Diesel fumes linger inside the building. There is no access to clean water, meaning no showers or washing machines. There is also a sagging second-story floor, and the bays are inadequate to fit emergency vehicles.
These conditions were documented in two videos shown to residents last June, funded by a $10,000 District Local Technical Assistance grant from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. On Wednesday, several proposals to move forward with replacing the buildings were presented.
Scenarios range from redeveloping the current town office building, constructing new facilities on town-owned land at 6 North Road, or repurposing existing buildings at 31 North Road, a property owned by Select Board Chair Roger Fuller.
Redeveloping the current town office site is the most expensive option, with an estimated cost of about $10.2 million. The least expensive proposal, estimated at about $7.5 million, would repurpose a house and barn at 31 North Road into municipal offices and a public safety complex.
There have been concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving the development of Fuller’s property. However, town counsel and the state Ethics Commission have ruled that Fuller can participate in the process until procurement. At that point, he would need to step away from discussions.
Currently, the town has $3.6 million saved in its building stabilization fund.
Larry Holmberg, who has been involved in the effort for 31 years and is a member of the Public Safety Building Committee, described the existing buildings as “antiquated and sick” and explained there are a handful of options to fill funding gaps.
These include drawing from the town’s tax base, seeking grants from state or federal sources, obtaining a legislative earmark in the state budget or taking out a loan that would be paid off over the next 20 to 40 years.
So far, no town money has been spent on plans to develop facilities, but has been entirely driven by volunteer efforts.
Holmberg stressed that the estimated costs are fluid and subject to change.
“Every day the price goes up because of inflation,” he said.
The current goal is to narrow the options to a single scenario so an architect can be hired. Holmberg estimated that the earliest any progress could be made is 2027.
But is there any light at the end of the tunnel after all these decades? “I sure hope so,” Holmberg said. “But we need direction from the townspeople.”
On Aug. 8, the Public Safety Building Committee and Town Office Building Committee will meet to workshop ideas. A date for another public information session will be set during that meeting, and officials are seeking public input from residents.
