Town Garage Project to be Proposed at Town Meeting

When the town garage was built 37 years ago, it was too small.  Now, with an increase in equipment due to an increase in population, as well as normal wear and tear, the building needs to be replaced, according to town officials.

Town Meeting on Monday will be asked to approve a $10 million debt exclusion to build a new town garage complex on the same site. 

If approved, construction would begin in March 2012, would be finished by December 2012, and would cost the average homeowner $225.76 a year in additional taxes.   

“The average cost of a house in Medfield, according to the Assessor’s office, is $564,400,” said Town Administrator Michael Sullivan. “The first full year of the debt service on a $10 million bond issue for the town garage is estimated at $900,000 ($500,000 principal and $400,000 interest).  This would result in a 40-cent increase in the tax rate which would amount to an increase of $225.76 on the average home."

Sullivan said the town is in a good position to address its future capital needs.

“The debt service payments on existing town debt have been going down for several years and will continue to go down,” Sullivan said, noting that, at the end of fiscal year 2011 (June 30), the outstanding principal on town debt will be $40,308,906, plus outstanding interest of $9,718,089 for a total outstanding debt of $50,026,995.

Sullivan explained that, for fiscal year 2012, the town’s annual debt service payments will be $5,685,266, a decrease of $1,713,999 (or 23.2 percent). In five more years, this figure will go down to $4,095,788, a further decrease of $1,589,478 (or 21.5 percent) as the bonds on the library, town hall, 1992 high school renovation, and other capital projects are paid off.

Superintendent of Public Works, Kenneth Feeney, said the time is right to take advantage of historically low interest rates to construct a building that has not grown with the community.

“The original [1974] building was downsized," Feeney said. "It was supposed to be a concrete block and steel building but they cut back on the size of the building to cut back on the cost. Today, the building is literally rotting away … It’s not a very efficient building at all.”              

Feeney said the roof of the building is “leaking like a sieve,” the lighting for making repairs is of poor quality, there are numerous electrical problems, a large heat loss, it has been exposed to a great deal of salt over the years, it is not fully OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] compliant, and “overall has very poor working conditions for the men.”

Feeney also said they leave the snow removal equipment idling in the winter to keep it warm and ready to go when needed. This causes noise and air pollution, and shortens the longevity of the equipment. He said the new garage would be minimally heated (to 45 or 50 degrees, the heat turns off when the doors open) and would be large enough to fit the town’s fleet of 30 to 40 vehicles.

“The building that’s proposed is entirely self-contained, and that’s what the DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] and the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] like to see,” said Feeney.

Feeney said the DPW has changed over the last 37 years and now encompasses the Highway, Water and Sewerage Departments, the Transfer Station, Wastewater Treatment Plant, cemetery, and the equipment maintenance and repair departments. 

Feeney explained that the Permanent Building Committee has approved the plan, and the project has the approval of the Conservation Commission and Board of Health.

To date, $1.1 million has been spent on engineering and design plans, bid documents, and funds have been allocated to replace the 35-year old salt shed at a cost of $400,000.

If town meeting approves the $10 million debt exclusion on Monday, the project will go before the Planning Board.

Feeney urges voters to attend town meeting on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.

“It is a lot of money and we realize that, but we tried to get this in 10 years ago when the cost was $5 million so you can see what’s happened, the prices just don’t go down, they go up,” he said.  “This is the best buy for the taxpayer.”

Feeney also noted that state building codes are expected to change in 2011 and 2012 therefore, if the town cannot use the plans and design documents that are already prepared, there will be additional costs on the project.

TO CALCULATE YOUR TAX INCREASE

Town Administrator Michael Sullivan explained that, to calculate an anticipated increase in taxes, divide your property valuation by 1,000 and multiply that amount by .40 (forty cents). For example, if a house is assessed for $500,000, the tax impact would be $500,000 divided by 1,000 (which is 500) multiplied by .40 (forty cents) which is an estimated $200 tax increase. This would decrease by a small amount each successive year because the interest payment would be decreasing.  After 20 years, the bond would be paid off and would disappear from the tax levy.