AMHERST — A committee studying how to bring a fire station to South Amherst and how to renovate or build a new headquarters for the Department of Public Works is beginning its work.
The DPW/ Fire Station Advisory Committee, which next meets June 9, is examining ways to bring projects to Town Meeting, possibly as early as this fall.
“The intent in this is to take to Town Meeting actions necessary to build a new fire station and DPW,” said interim town manager Peter Hechenbleikner.
As the basis of its work, the committee will use both a recent DPW study, presented to the Select Board in March, and a decade-old fire station study.
The DPW study projected costs between $37.06 million and $38.26 million to construct a building with at least 79,129 square feet, and identified three sites where a new building could be located: a vacant parcel on Old Farm Road, the Matuszko Trucking site on Ball Lane and the current Fort River School, 70 South East St.
The fire station study projected costs of a new building at $11 million, though one idea being floated is to have the fire station move to the current site of the DPW on South Pleasant Street.
Hechenbleikner said the committee should be able to determine sites for both buildings on its own.
“I think they will be able to do the siting concerns without much additional consulting,” Hechenbleikner said.
More challenging, he said, will be to figure out how these projects fit into a schedule that also includes a renovated and expanded Wildwood School and Jones Library, as well as the immediate costs of completing renderings of a new fire station and DPW.
“We need to look at what kind of funding to move from where we are now to schematic designs for the DPW and fire station,” Hechenbleikner said.
Town Meeting is advising the DPW and town officials to move forward with installing sidewalks and new crosswalks in the area of Applewood Retirement Community and the Hampshire College campus as soon as possible.
The action was taken in response to a petition brought to Town Meeting by residents concerned about safety in the Atkins Corner area.
Public Works Committee Chairwoman Christine Gray-Mullen told Town Meeting that most of the work is already underway, but that any sidewalk work will be determined based on DPW priorities.
For the 25th year, a pancake breakfast will serve as a fundraiser to keep Puffer’s Pond and the trails surrounding it safe and clean for people and wildlife.
The breakfast takes place Saturday from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at Mill River Recreation Area.
In addition to the food, including pancakes, blueberries and maple syrup, the event will feature a raffle, sale of tank tops, T-shirts and tote bags, and music performed by the Juggler Meadow String Band.
Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for children, and $5 for extra sausages. The event will be held rain or shine.
All proceeds go to the town’s conservation department. People can also make contributions to the conservation area through the Kestrel Land Trust at P.O. Box 1016, Amherst, 01004, or at www.kestreltrust.org
The first work on the closed Mill Street Bridge, expected to be rebuilt in 2017 so it can reopen for vehicular traffic, is taking place this week.
Hechenbleikner said officials with the Department of Transportation were on site to do soil borings to prepare for the project.
The bridge has been closed to vehicles since 2012 following a state inspection that found it to be in deteriorating condition.
MONDAY: Transportation Plan Task Force, 2 p.m., Town Room , Town Hall; Town Meeting, 7 p.m., middle school auditorium.
TUESDAY: Cable Advisory Committee, 8 a.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall.
THURSDAY: DPW/ Fire Station Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Zoning Board of Appeals, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
