AMHERST — A plan for a new Department of Public Works headquarters that would involve using the existing 586 South Pleasant St. site, as well as satellite locations in other parts of town, will move forward under the guidance of a DPW Building Committee.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman told the Town Council Monday that with no site yet identified for a fire station in South Amherst, which would replace the aging Central Fire Station, he is prioritizing getting work started on a public works building.
“The DPW is at such a critical nature right now that we really need to get moving on the DPW, and then I’ll set up a separate committee for the fire station,” Bockelman said.
The DPW’s main operations, since the 1940s, are located in a deteriorating 1915 trolley barn, with complaints from workers for several years about a leaking roof and substandard accommodations.
The new committee will advise the town manager on the design and construction of a new DPW building to be located at the site of the present facility. Throughout the life of the project, the committee will work as a team with several consultants, including an owner’s project manager, an architect and other building specialists.
A separate charge will be developed for the fire station, Bockelman said.
At Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke asked what the plan is for the fire station, considering that a plan presented by Bockelman last November had it being placed on the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course site on West Pomeroy Lane.
Bockelman said Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren doesn’t support that location and due diligence is underway to find another location close to the DPW. “I do not want to delay work on the DPW until we have a location for the fire station,” he said.
Hanneke asked if a swap for the buildings could be made, but Bockelman said Hickory Ridge isn’t big enough for a DPW.
He added that placement for DPW is difficult. The town turned down an offer from Amherst College of land on South East Street and after seeking requests for proposals, including land in Hadley, and town-owned sites, none have proven workable.
“Choosing a site that already has a DPW, has a preexisting condition in terms of the environmental status that it has, we feel that would be the best location,” Bockelman said.
Under the plan Bockelman announced last year, the $35 million project could break ground in 2026, with the base of operations remaining at the current site. The DPW would also use the Ruxton gravel pit off Pulpit Hill Road as an auxiliary site, swing space and space for storing equipment and materials used in projects, and possibly satellite space as the project gets underway.
The department would also be located at the Atkins water treatment plant off Market Hill Road in the Cushman section of town, and at the trees and grounds building next to the War Memorial Pool on Mattoon Street, near the high school.
While Bockelman asked for Town Council to begin the committee’s work by appointing a councilor to participate for the next five to seven years, councilors were unable to reach a decision on which councilor would serve.
On the initial vote, District 4 Councilor Pamela Rooney earned five votes, Hanneke four votes and District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier three votes.
When Delvin Gauthier withdrew after the first round of voting, to ensure the councilor selected would get a majority — and she asked to be considered for when the fire station building committee is formed — councilors twice deadlocked at six votes apiece on the candidacies of Hanneke and Rooney. That means the decision on the councilor appointment will likely be made at the council’s Aug. 18 meeting.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
