Bridgewater citizens consider
new municipal building
By Tom Henderson
Special to the Star-Herald
BRIDGEWATER — On Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011, over 30 residents of Bridgewater met for an informational public hearing on the proposed new multi-purpose municipal building that the town proposes to erect to house the fire department and community center.
For estimating purposes, the new building would be measure 110 feet by 70 feet. This would include three truck bays, a work area, a training and meeting room and an office for the fire chief for the Bridgewater Fire Department. The remainder of the building would house a community center, conference room, storage, a commercial kitchen, two bathrooms and room for the Town Office, if it is decided to house that in the building also. The entire first floor of the building would be handicap-accessible.
The proposed site for the new building is where the Bridgewater Grammar School was located. The playground and ball field would be left in their current location, although the memorial site, stone, trees, shrubbery and flagpoles may be moved, depending on the actual site chosen for the new building. Another decision to be made will be whether to have the fire station driveway enter from Route 1 or onto School Street.
The Building Planning Committee is made up of Diane Clough, chairman; Jill Rusby, town manager; Ralph Kinney, road commissioner and head of the town’s highway department; Keith Kingsbury, Town Council; Bart Bradbury, assistant fire chief; Mark Simonson; Kevin McKeen, retired plumber; and Terry Bradstreet, contractor.
The group started meeting in January 2010, and originally were charged with developing a long-term plan for the town’s municipal buildings. Since that time, their mission was changed to that of demolishing the grammar school and erecting a municipal building. They have tried to look at all the pros and cons of doing a new building vs. repairing the existing ones. The existing fire station is in need of around $40,800 in repairs and updates and the existing community center is in need of $69,600 in repairs and updates.
The ‘pro’ side of the equation includes not needing to do the updates and repairs on the existing fire station and community center, low site preparation costs, low maintenance for a number of years, large parking area, eliminates the life safety issues, being ADA compliant, new kitchen that meets code, provides an emergency shelter and improves the appearance of the town.
The ‘con’ side of the equation includes the added expense of building new vs. repairing the two existing buildings, possible increase of property taxes, a water supply for the fire trucks and the idea that it will probably be too small the day town officials move in.
Preliminary cost estimates for a new building are between $1.05 and 1.4 million for a new building designed by an architect. For a pre-engineered (PE) building, the cost estimate is around $642,230. Buck Construction has done several PE buildings and based their estimate on prior projects.
The group has been working with the Northern Maine Development Commission on doing a Community Development Block Grant application for funds toward the building. The application deadline is Jan. 21, and the group is applying for the maximum allowed — $350,000. The odds of being awarded the grant are about 3 percent and the group is also aware that most grants have a number of “strings” and requirements attached.
In analyzing the costs for construction, if the town receives the full grant and applies for the additional $300,000 needed for construction as a 20-year loan, the yearly payment would be $23,000. This would raise the taxes per $50,000 of property value around $37 a year. If the town applies for the entire $650,000 as a 20-year load, the yearly payment would be $50,000. This would raise the taxes per $50,000 of property value around $81 per year.
The loans could also be paid down sooner if the existing fire station and community center were sold. They would go down even faster if the Town Office were also moved into the new building and the existing building sold. There is an advantage to having everything under one roof, thereby eliminating multiple utility bills.
The group hopes to have all the preliminary figures and answers in place soon so the entire project can go before the voters in March. For more information, contact Jill Rusby at 429-9856.
