Georgia explores facilities expansion

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
mireporter@mac.com

Conceptual drawing of the proposed Georgia Fire Station off Rt. 7.

A recently study has recommended a new fire station and renovations for the Georgia Town Hall, and the Selectboard is holding a special meeting on June 29 to solicit public input on those scenarios.

The proposals would address two of the town's most pressing space needs, as identified through a multi-year evaluation by its Municipal Expansion Committee, said committee Chairman and Selectman Colin Conger.

Having seen those recommendations subsequently fleshed-out by engineers and architects, Conger said the Selectboard is holding two public forums this summer to hear opinions, suggestions, and decide if the town should move forward at this point.

“What we've done is identified the needs and come up with a solution,” he said. “Now we need to present this to the townspeople to get feedback.”

“If the input we get is favorable, we'll take the next step, which is to bring it to a vote before the townspeople,” he added, at another point.

The proposed fire station has an estimated cost of $1.4 million and would be established on a town-owned parcel just north of the municipal offices. Current plans show an 8,996 square-foot building, with garage space for seven trucks and an equipment bay. There would also be office space, a training area, and gender-specific bathrooms—all things the department currently lacks.

The Fire Department has resided at a garage on Plain Road since 1972 and has essentially outgrown that facility, explained Conger. Examples included lack of a decontamination area for uniforms and firefighters having to take their equipment home because there's insufficient storage. Having worked closely with Fire Chief Chris Gonyeau on the expansion committee, Conger said the limitations are becoming a safety issue.

Additionally, relocation of the Fire Department is expected to alleviate cramped conditions for the Highway Department, which shares space in the garage.

The space study also recommends demolition of the town's original fire station, which is located near the town garage. The building is currently used as a salt shed, but has become decrepit and a liability, said town administrator Carrie Johnson. The current proposal is to replace the building with a new salt shed, at a cost of roughly $225,000.

Elsewhere, Johnson said renovation plans for the municipal offices are designed to provide much-needed meeting space by reconfiguring how the building is used. The $102,000 plan would enlarge the main meeting room by relocating it to the rear of the building, add two meeting rooms in the basement, and install a lift to make that area accessible to all comers.

Asked to prioritize projects outlined in the space study, Johnson said they're all important—and emphasized that long range planning was a major focus as well. As an example, she noted that the fire station plans were designed to accommodate up to 24,000 square feet of future development, saying the six-acre parcel was acquired in 2002 with expansion in mind and that they want to ensure room is available for the next generation and beyond.

“We're looking at what our immediate needs are…but we also want to intelligently plan for the future,” she said.

According to Conger, the Municipal Expansion Committee was formed in 2005, because space was becoming an issue for several town bodies and the Selectboard wanted to take a comprehensive approach to the issue.

Unclear at this point is what the community's reaction will be to those recommendations: both Johnson and Conger said they've only heard a small sampling of public opinion on this matter to-date.

In the short term, Conger acknowledged concerns about the economy could be a factor, but he noted that construction costs and interest rates are currently low, saying now is the time to build. In any event, Conger said the public would decide this issue.

“This isn't going to be decided by the Selectboard,” he said. “We want to get the information out to see whether or not we should present this for a vote by the townspeople.”

The special meeting will be held in the cafeteria of the Georgia School, starting at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 29.