A rendering of the proposed renovated Shrewsbury DPW facilities. (Photo/Courtesy Town of Shrewsbury)
SHREWSBURY – The Municipal Facilities Optimization Committee (MFOC) on Sept. 23 recommended to the Select Board a new project design to renovate the town’s Department of Public Works facilities. The recommended budget for the project came in at $26.8 million.
Of the $26.8 million, $22.3 million would be construction costs.
Formed by the Select Board in April, the five-member MFOC has been meeting since June to recommend plans to solve the ongoing space deficiencies at the town’s 207-211 South St. DPW facilities. The 13.75-acre parcel includes an 11,000-square-foot, 1950s-era Water and Sewer Garage and a 30,000-square-foot Highway Garage built in 1976.
Both buildings — particularly the Water and Sewer Garage — have major issues. At the Water and Sewer Garage, staff members share their locker room with shelves of bottled chemicals and there isn’t enough space for modern-day equipment.
The new proposal calls for a 21,600-square-foot addition to the existing 30,000-square-foot Highway Garage. The Water and Sewer Garage would be demolished, according to the proposal. All Shrewsbury DPW departments — including the Highway Department, Parks and Cemetery Department, and Fleet Maintenance Division — would have designated spaces in the new combined facility.
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The proposed plan includes 6,400 square feet of on-site offices for DPW personnel; 30 DPW staff members currently work in about 4,000 square feet on the second floor of Town Hall. With Town Hall having its own space concerns, DPW staff moving to South Street would presumably free up space for other offices.
While the MFOC was originally set to consider investing in renovations to Town Hall, no such funds are included in the current plan.
The current proposal is the third design discussed at MFOC meetings as the committee worked to decrease the cost of the project while attempting to keep all major improvements. One major change between proposals included moving the DPW offices — which once had their own “wing” of the building — to the second floor of the project.
On Sept. 24, one day after the budget was first presented, the MFOC went before the Select Board in hopes of getting its approval to bring the plan to Town Meeting in November, when residents would decide whether to fund the project.
At the Select Board meeting, Town Manager Kevin Mizikar recommended holding off off icially placing the DPW plan on the Town Meeting warrant until the town can work out the finances. The $26.8 million estimate is an increase of about 35% over the initial estimate.
The town does not anticipate seeking a debt exclusion at this time, said Assistant Town Manager David Snowdon.
Discussion of the Shrewsbury DPW facility will continue at future meetings.
