Swansea holds info session on proposed municipal complex. Here's what they have planned.
SWANSEA — There may have been as many questions asked as there were attendees.
Before a sparse crowd at the Joseph Case High School auditorium, the town on Wednesday night held the first of its Municipal Complex Project information sessions.
The yet-to-be finalized project would build two main buildings on a town-owned parcel, part of the former Del Mac Orchard, behind Joseph Case High School. One building would consolidate current occupants of the currently spread-out Town Hall, Town Annex, and the Council on Aging buildings. The other main building would be a Department of Public Works garage. The plan also calls for a shed to store the DPW's road salt.
A slide presentation included the current conceptual design. The design will be finalized and then voted on at Town Meeting on Nov. 6. The project cost, also to be finalized, was given as between $48 million and $53 million. The estimated taxpayer cost impact of the project (based on a $400,000 home) would by about $450 to $500 annually.
The project would be financed for 25 years.
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About 50 people attended the informational meeting, hosted by the Swansea Capital Building Committee and moderated by Municipal Complex Building Committee and Project Team chairman Derek Heim.
Future public information meetings are scheduled for:
Thursday, Sept. 14, noon, Council on Aging.
Sept. 20-21, school open houses, TBA.
Oct. 10, neighborhood meeting for Hidden Woods and certain Wood Street residents. (Residents eligible to attend to be notified by mail.), TBA.
Oct. 18, Brown School, 6:30 p.m.
A video played before the start of Wednesday's meeting emphasized the poor — in some instances decrepit — conditions of Town Hall, the annex and the COA building. Among the problems shown and/or then noted by Heim were the current DPW buildings inability to house town heavy equipment; a crumbling foundation at the annex, and crumbling plaster and paint and one usable bathroom at Town Hall.
“Something has to be done in town because we've simply outgrown our spaces,” said Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein, who also answered questions at the meeting. “We are a growing community. We offer high-quality services, and in order to continue that, what the public expects and governing in the 21st century, the spaces need to be upgraded considerably. And the most economical way to do this is to kind of combine everyone together, not just for one-stop convenience for people to come do their business in town, but also expansion of programming, especially for our senior citizens and also interdepartmental collaboration and accountability and managerial effectiveness. And just really giving the town a bang for its buck.”
Representatives from the project managing firm CHA and from Turowksi2 Architecture, which is partnering with Weston and Sampson, were also on hand.
The second part of the meeting consisted of citizen input and questions, with several citizens asking multiple questions. Both citizens and town representatives bemoaned the fact that meeting attendance was so low and sought for ways to better get the public aware. The town used social media, its website, and electronic signs along roads to announce the meeting. The town website offers extensive information about the Municipal Complex.
Town resident Ana Porto-Pontes complained that she did not hear about Wednesday's meeting until a half hour before its scheduled 6:30 p.m. start. She followed that with a stronger complaint.
Her home at 200 Wood St. is uniquely located along the proposed Municipal Complex parcel. The house is bordered on three sides by the parcel. To her home's north would be the salt shed, to the south and west the DPW area.
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Citizens at 2019 Town Meeting, approved a warrant requesting $1,310,000 for the purchase of the almost 33-acre Del Mac Orchard property. A solar farm company was also interested in the property, which was in Chapter 61A, giving selectmen first right of refusal.
Porto-Pontes said citizens were led to believe that the land would be used for a new school. The conceptual plan shows a school building and athletic fields that the school committee has expressed interest in creating in the future.
Heim said that the previous Town Meeting warrant stated that the land could be used for schools “or any other town essential services.”
Town resident Jim Pelletier, a general contractor and a member of the sewer commission, said after last night's info meeting that he, like Porto-Pontes, recalls the Board of Selectman, in urging citizens to attend that 2019 Town Meeting, emphasized that land would be used for a school.
Pelletier spoke several times, once asking what would happen if the town approves the municipal complex plan only to see bid prices exceed the $53 million ceiling. Kevin Sullivan, CHA's project manager, said that in such a case, cuts and adjustments would be made.
“We're not going over $53 million,” he said.
Pelletier said the town must be diligent if and when it comes time to sell the COA and Town Annex properties to “get proper value.” He said that the own has previously sold unwanted properties at very low prices only to see the buyers quickly flip it for huge profits.
Town resident Geri Mullaly spoke and said she held in her hands Municipal Complex documents, from both CHA and Turowski2, that contained incorrect cost computations. Sullivan said he was not familiar with the document Mullaly spoke of. After Wednesday's meeting, Mullaly and Sullivan agreed to meet immediately after Thursday's meeting at the COA.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Town shares details on proposed Swansea municipal complex
