Land buy is big Milford issue

Thursday, March 4, 2010

MILFORD – The big decision on the town ballot this year is a land purchase bond - $850,000 to buy four lots adjacent to the current fire house on School Street.

Acquiring the lots, located on Nashua and Pine streets, would be the first step in building a combined facility for the fire department, ambulance service and emergency management department.

Everyone agrees that the fire and ambulance service facilities are inadequate in terms of space and code compliance, but some, including some members of the town Budget Committee, which deadlocked on the issue, say the town should hold off spending money in the current economy.

Selectmen’s Chairman Tim Finan disagrees and says the land buys will only get more expensive if they are put off.

“This is a need that is not going to go away,” Finan said. “With the current real estate market, now is the best opportunity to obtain that land at a reasonable price.”

The community facilities committee analyzed several options and reviewed 30 possible sites, and town officials selected the combined facility on School Street as the best option.

Selectman Mike Putnam, who voted against recommending several warrant articles, including the Osgood Road sidewalks and improvements to the rail trail and Kaley Park, called the shared fire and ambulance facility the only “sensible solution” to the emergency services’ space problems.

“Even though the up front cost is large, it is cheaper to do a combined facility in the long run, than two separate facilities,” he said. “With the economy the way it is, it is a buyers’ market, and I don’t think we will be able to purchase the land any cheaper than now.”

Gary Daniels was the only selectman to vote against recommending the plan.

Daniels objects to the incremental approach to the project.

“Too many times we have asked voters to approve projects that were, in fact, only a portion of an overall larger project,” he said. “Kaley Park is a prime example of this. Years ago voters were asked to buy the land for Kaley Park, which they did, only to have the town come back to them asking them to fund a $500,000 turning lane, which they have continually rejected.

“Understanding that the needs of the Ambulance Department are a higher priority than the current needs of the Fire Department,” he said, “the incremental approach runs the risk that voters may approve $850,000 to purchase the land, but in future years object to the $6 million-plus cost of building the combined facility.”

Town Administrator Guy Scaife agrees that the debate focuses on timing, not the need for the facilities, and he says the time is now.

“The physical needs are becoming more critical every year and the longer we wait to secure the necessary land, the longer it will take to begin the development of a comprehensive building plan to present to the voters,” he said. “It would be financially foolish to spend money on further engineering without having a specific lot to plan the most cost-effective facility.”

Town officials are currently negotiating with the land owners, and the $850,000 is considered the maximum that would be spent on the lots, which include the three properties that surround ATECH Automotive, as well as the lot on the corner of Nashua and School streets.

The Community Facilities Committee estimated the eventual cost of the project to be $6.2 million. Along with relieving space problems at the fire and ambulance facilities, removing the ambulance service from Town Hall will give it badly needed space.

The facilities committee reported that Town Hall lacks “operational efficiency, code compliance, public access, and does not meet the service needs of Town Hall operations for the next 15-20 years.”

The bond fire/ambulance facility land purchase article needs a 60 percent vote to pass.

The committee’s report and plans and diagrams are on the town Web site.

There are 24 other ballot items on the town warrant, including:

• a $11.4 million town operating budget.

• $73,500 for Osgood Road sidewalks and bike path.

• $53,210 for Granite Town Rail Tail improvements.

• $37,137 for the non-emergency medical appointment bus.

•$25,000 for Kaley Park improvements.

• $8,500 for Fourth of July fireworks.

Election Day is Tuesday, March 9 and Milford polls are open at the Milford Middle School gymnasium between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.