Norwich
Presented with cost estimates from their architect, Montpelier’s Jay White, board members voted, 4-1, to move forward with a design that they estimated would cost no more than $1.41 million to build.
With that decision, Norwich is set for a bond vote coinciding with the Nov. 8 general election.
A public hearing on the bond request is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at Tracy Hall.
This sticker price is the latest detail in a long discussion over how best to shore up the town’s aging emergency facilities.
As town leaders in past years split into factions over issues of cost versus long-term investment, the projected outlay fell, bit by bit, from as high as $7 million in some estimates to $3 million in two unsuccessful bond votes last year.
The debate continued, to a smaller extent, on Wednesday as board members weighed whether to adopt another cost-saving suggestion of White’s: remove several parking spaces from the proposed facility’s lot.
The architect recommended the reduction in order to avoid having to spend extra money — about $100,000 — on pervious pavement, which he said a larger lot likely would need in order to secure a stormwater permit from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.
“Sometime in this decade we ought to get this project done,” Selectboard member Dan Goulet said, after some discussion. “The additional dozen parking spaces — we’ll get that done later.”
The board decided to move forward without the spaces, and approved the final bond amount with only one objection: that of Selectman Christopher Ashley
Ashley said he objected to the pace at which the board was proceeding, as well as to various cuts to the project, including that night’s reduction in parking.
This request from the Selectboard would pay for a combined police and fire station off Main Street with a rough gross square footage of 5,900.
The current police station would be demolished to accommodate the integrated design.
“One step closer,” Police Chief Doug Robinson said with a smile afterward as he shook White’s hand.
In other business, interim Town Manager David Ormiston updated the board on the prospective addition of speed tables on Hopson Road, whose residents this spring asked for measures to reduce the speed of motorists on the narrow, winding road.
Ormiston said that, after consulting with his department heads and hearing mostly positive responses from residents, he was prepared to install three speed tables along the southern portion of the road, between its intersections with Elm Street and Route 5 South, at a cost of roughly $7,500.
Some board members had already expressed skepticism about the idea, and Selectboard Chairwoman Linda Cook asked whether Ormiston planned to complete the installation before the board’s next meeting, when they could discuss the matter further.
The interim manager said he didn’t know.
Ashley said the decision was part of the town manager’s purview as road commissioner, not the Selectboard’s, and the meeting soon moved on.
“The reality is this is something that Dave can decide,” Ashley said.
The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Sept. 14.
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or at 603-727-3242.
Correction
A proposal to build a new combined fire and police facility in Norwich would demolish the police station but leave the existing fire apparatus bay in place, with the option to move the bay later in order to provide more space for fire engines. An earlier version of this story mischaracterized what the project would do to the apparatus bay.