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Selectmen Recommend Wait on Fire Station Location

The Selectmen want to wait until Fall Town Meeting to seek more information from the Permanent Town Building Committee.

 

 

Westford's Board of Selectmen will unanimously recommended to Town Meeting voters the dismissal of Article 27 on Tuesday night after coming to a consensus that more resarch is needed on the proposed Parker Village Fire Sub-Station, or if a fire station in Parker Village is even needed at all.

The Article, which asked voters to approve a swap of land in the Jack Walsh field parcel, now under the supervision of the Recreation Commission, for parcels of land near the Stony Brook School once being considered as a possible Town Hall annex location.

Town Permanent Building Committee chairman Tom Mahanna told the board that the Jack Walsh location, which would be funded by Cornerstone Square developer Robert Walker as a condition of a permit for the development, would be perfect for the new sub-station, if the board does indeed want a station in Parker Village.

Mahanna noted that due to the possibility of a new replacement station for the current Center Station at the Town Hall complex, recommending three preferrable locations for that should the board decide to move forward after discussion with Fire Chief Richard Rochon: its current location, near the Abbot School on Fisher Way, or across from Eric's on Boston Road.

If the board ultimately decided to move forward with the Eric's location, a lot described during the meeting as "the Gateway to Westford," Mahanna and Rochon told the board that it could be centrally located enough to serve the needs of Parker Village with the added traffic from Cornerstone.

Selectman Val Wormell asked Mahanna whether locations along Route 110 had been searched for locations as well, to which Mahanna replied that they had not.

Although the price of purchasing a lot along the 110 corridor versus the Jack Walsh option as well as the other lots, which the town already has control over, the board ultimately felt more information was warranted.

Assistant Town Manager John Mangiaratti informed the board that a delay until Fall Town Meeting would cause delays in required approvals for building on the Jack Walsh lot by the National Park Service and the Massachusetts State Legislature, approval being required from when the Recreation Commission obtained the land in the 1970s, which would then delay construction on the project.

However, given the gravity of the decision, the board still remained unified in their preference to wait.

"We might lose a construction season, but I don't think the loss isn't that great to ensure what we do is done correctly," said Selectman Andrea Peraner-Sweet.

Mahanna reminded the board that under the agreement with Walker, construction on the fire station must begin within two years of the end of "substantial" construction at Cornerstone.

Related Topics: Board Of Selectmen, Fire Station, and Town Meeting

janice ryan

9:23 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

what exactly does "which would be funded by Cornerstone Square developer Robert Walker as a condition of a permit for the development" entail? Is he going to pay for everything involved in the construction.. from plans to the actual building? And who is going to pay to staff this (taxpayers of course)? Who is going to pay for new vehicles to put in this building (taxpayers of course) and of course they try to show how we "need" this... Well I am living within my means.. its time the Town of Westford does the same... Learn to live with what you have and stop making our government and its payroll more and more bloated....

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Bob

11:58 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I believe Mr. Walker will build a shell of a building and the Taxpayers will pay for outfitting every other aspect of it. Including trucks and manpower. Not a bad deal for Mr. Walker. You can build your multi million dollar project if you put up a cement building on free land that we will give you.

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Andrew Sylvia

12:45 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Just a heads up from previous articles, the substation will initially be unmanned most of the time, at least according to the plans I have heard. If I hear any updates on that or if I can get details on the fire station payment details, I'll let you know.

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Jesse James

9:32 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013

Mr. Walker is in business to make money. A strange concept in MA.
The Planning Board made Mr. Walker agree to put up a "fire station" as a condition of getting waivers on certain zoning requirements. These impact fees have been around for a long time and they are a way to fund pet projects for elected officials.

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Andrew Sylvia

12:46 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

And one more thing, last night I heard that the town could choose between a new fire station and a fire truck, but from how it sounded, it seems the Selectmen are unlikely to take the fire truck over the fire station.

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Dick

2:58 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Andrew,

It sounds like the Forge Village debacle ,where the station was built,BUT,the town didn't have the money to outfit,and man.....I've got another bad feeling on this boondoggle to.

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Dan C

4:30 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I hope the residents to are sick and tired of endless no strings attached spending by the town show up at ATM in a week and make their voices heard, if we are truly going into the red in a year it's not simply a downturn national economy that's driving the Westford KoolAid bus into the ground but HOW money in town has been/is spent

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William Ryan

9:08 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

How about the new fire truck does the chief ever explain there purchase this isn't like replacing a dump truck. The department always purchases the Cadillac fire truck. There are numerous companies that produce fire trucks that are cheaper then what this department purchase ,s The town could save money on these trucks but the public isn't aware of the options. it's time to let a private company run an ambulance in town we lost 400 hundred thousand dollars last year. Not counting the cost of full time employees and there benefits It wouldn't cost the town a dime to let a private company provide this service. the police dept wants 4 new police officers it's time to live within our means vote no

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Sean Cafe

8:21 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013

What exactly does a recommendation of dismissal mean for the warrant article at the town meeting, does this mean it will not come up for a vote?

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Jesse James

9:28 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013

The motion to dismiss is put to a vote. If the motion to dismiss is approved then the article is not considered or debated.
If the motion to dismiss fails then the article is brought up for consideration.

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