WESTHAMPTON — After nearly two years of training anywhere they could find space, Westhampton firefighters were finally able to hold a session for CPR in a space of their own at the town’s new 10,400-square-foot public safety complex.

“This is a huge leap forward,” Fire Chief David Antosz said.

Members of the volunteer fire department and the part-time police department began moving their apparatuses and gear into the new complex, located at 48 Stage Road, about 10 days ago.

“Our turnout gear is in separate locker rooms and not getting contaminated by diesel fuel,” Antosz said. “We have a separate exhaust collection system that evacuates those fumes out of the building. You can move between the vehicles without worrying you’ll bump into anything. It’s a big difference.”

In the old digs, space between the bunker gear was previously packed in the former bays of the building a few feet away from the fire trucks.

The space dedicated for police officers wasn’t much better as the entrance to the upstairs area was located over the building’s fuel tanks and accessible through a single decaying stairwell.

The space now contains a booking area, office space and proper storage and record retention area that meets state regulations.

A long process

The main portion of the former 7,300-square-foot Stage Road building was constructed in 1948 as a highway garage. Over the years, additions were made to accommodate the needs of the fire department.

The much-anticipated project, which was originally slated to cost $4.3 million, has been many years in the making. Discussions of a new facility date to the town’s previous fire chief, Christopher Norris, in 2017.

After a 2018 study stated that the building lacks the proper space to safely perform the functions of a fire and police department, voters approved a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion override to construct a $4.4 million facility at the September 2018 special Town Meeting. However, those plans were nixed a month later when residents voted the override down.

When the project was proposed again in 2021 with a $4.3 million price tag, residents approved the debt-exclusion override in March at a special election and special Town Meeting.

Shortly thereafter, Antosz said the old building was emptied out to make way for demolition in April 2021. Prior to demolition of the former Stage Road facility, vermiculite, a type of non-fiberglass insulation, was discovered and led to a $15,000 remediation that took five weeks to complete.

From that point on, the project was beset with challenges and delays for a variety of reasons, from a dozen change orders to COVID-19-related nationwide shortages of construction workers and materials, according to Phil

Dowling, chairperson of the Select Board who also serves on the Public Safety Complex Construction Committee.

“It was a struggle every step of the way,” he said. “There’s probably like 10 things that still need to be figured out, but we have a certificate of occupancy and we’re in.”

Despite some of the hiccups along the way, Dowling said there were a lot of positives. Because the cost of the demolition came in lower than estimated, the total project cost has been reduced to $4.26 million. The interest rate for the project for the next 20 years is 1.7%.

Dowling credited the town’s low interest rate to its AA+ credit rating, as determined by S&P Global.

“It saved us about $50,000 a year on the note, which means that over the course of the 20 years, we’re saving almost a million dollars from what we brought to Town Meeting,” he said.

The new building also contains some of Dowling’s own handiwork as he created the counter and window frame for the police department in the lobby of the facility.

As it stands, the 3,000-square-foot second floor of the building is unfinished. Dowling said he has been in touch with state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, and state Sen. Paul Mark, D-Becket, to see if the town could get about $180,000 in funding to install an elevator — where space has been set aside — and to finish a second stairwell up to the second floor.

Dowling also mentioned he’d like the town to use its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds to install solar panels on the building.

“I want to finish this job and that would mean all the electricity in this building is getting produced by the sun and then some,” he said. “The library, which has a 15-kilowatt system, which we put in 12 years ago, and that basically covers the library … mostly, throughout the year, that bill is $0 or negative. And that overflow goes to the Town Hall. This building could cover itself and more.”

As the final touches are still being applied, Antosz is hopeful that they’ll be able to host a community open house in April.

“We’re getting there, slowly but surely,” he said.

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