Selectmen Letter to the Editor- Medfield DPW Garage

To the Editor;

It will be up to you the voters to decide whether or not Medfield will build a new town garage. Your Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to urge you to do so. After much study by the Permanent Building Committee, with over 100 years of construction expertise behind them, we are convinced that it is imperative that Article 27 pass.

We took the lead from the Warrant Committee, the town’s chief financial watchdog, who unanimously voted to support the garage, that this makes financial sense. Our DPW is responsible miles of roads and sidewalks, miles of utility and drainage lines, acres of town land, and all the vehicles that the DPW operates during normal operating hours. In addition, our DPW is on call 24 hours a day for all emergencies. The equipment used to respond is temperature sensitive. Extensive studies were presented to us that show there will be increased costs over the life of the building if the vehicles were stored outdoors. 

We have asked many questions concerning the garage to make sure this plan is what is best for the town.  One of the key financial arguments is that present interest rates are never again going to be at their current historic lows. Most important, there is no question that a new garage is needed. If you have not seen the garage, please take a walk through to see for yourself. If we wait one, two or more years, the future increased interest rates will add substantially to the costs. Construction costs will continue to increase. There are also safety issues, which could become financial as well, due to the condition of the building.

We asked, why we can’t just salvage the existing garage; just add onto it?  Built in the 1970s, the garage does not meet current environmental, mechanical, plumbing, structural or building codes. These codes and laws we cannot just ignore. Major renovation would require the building to meet these current codes. It is likely that renovation costs would be near the cost of a new facility with less useful life of the re the renovated structure. We have been shown by the building committee that the garage is not salvageable.

We asked why the proposed building is masonry. Wouldn’t a metal building be more cost effective? It was explained to us that a metal panel system would cost just as much or potentially more initially and would cost much more over the life cycle of the building. Metal products deteriorate more rapidly over time than masonry and the salt used for snow and ice removal accelerates this process. It was the unanimous opinion of the building committee that the garage be constructed of masonry.

We have attended the near-weekly Permanent Building Committee meetings, always with numerous questions. In the end, the expertise we have seen on the committee has convinced us that the plans for the garage have been fully analyzed. Space in this letter does not permit us to respond to every question, so we urge you to go to the website: http://medfieldpbc.org

This is a most important issue for you, the citizen, to decide upon. After much analysis, we believe it is very important to build the garage now. We urge you to ask questions and listen to answers, as we did, visit the town garage, attend town meeting, listen to the presentation, and then make your decision.                                                                     

Sincerely,

Mark Fisher, Chairman                                                               

Osler Peterson, Clerk                                      

Richard DeSorgher

Medfield Board of Selectmen