FIRE STATION
BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING (FSBC)
January 4, 2016
In attendance: Chairman Dennis Moran, Vice Chairman Mike Pivero, Joe Lingel, Trisha McCarthy, Jim Ryan and Jim White. Fire Chief John Alcaidinho was excused. Barbara White transcribed the minutes.
Secretary Barbara White informed the Committee that this was considered an "illegal meeting" as the notice had not been posted 24 hours in advance. As such, they could make no decisions as a committee tonight. December minutes will be approved at the next meeting.
Chairman Moran called the meeting to order at 7:11 pm, noting they would be discussing what their next steps would be.
Discussion and Report from Mr. Pivero
Mr. Pivero reported the Selectmen had approved the acquisition of an independent third party to inspect the existing fire station and give an estimate of what repairs/new work would need to be done and an approximate cost to bring the building up to code, if it was possible. It would need to be made safe, up to code, and compliant for the next 10-15 years. There was general consensus this most likely would not able to be done.
He reported that inspection would start on Friday, January 8. It was agreed that the report would need to be received by the committee by noon on January 15 to allow ample time to review it for the public hearing on January 18th. This report would allow a comparison between the costs of renovation and a new fire house.
There was discussion if they should wait one more year to present this to the residents; the consensus was they had spent a good amount of time and energy on this and they should present it this year. Members will work on questions they will need to answer and discuss at the next meeting.
Bond rates are low at the present time which is a good thing. Mr. Moran will calculate what the approxi- mate tax impact per household would be so we have that figure.
The Committee knows there is a lot of work to complete and a short time in which to do it. The public meeting is in two weeks on Jan 18th; the deliberative is on the 30th.
There was discussion about the growth rate in the past 5-10 years and how many homes have been built.
There was also discussion and the Committee thought Newton Fire and Rescue encompassed what the function was; they will review with the Fire Chief to see if he approves.
There was discussion on how to get the information out to the residents. The information would need to get out on cable and the website and any social media we could use.
The Committee all agreed Chief Alcaidinho should be the presenter at the public meeting and that there would be others there to supply some of the facts.
Mr. Pivero will have Kelly Davis send a PDF to Mr. Moran who will print up two more copies so presentation boards it can be posted at the Town Hall, the Fire Station and at the meetings.
The Board will need to get all the bits and pieces of information to Mr. Davis so he can format it into a brochure. Mr. Lingel offered to pay for the printing, Mr. Ryan offered to pay for the postage. There was also discussion on an insert for the Carriage Towne News, which the Board decided should be an eye-catching color. Mrs. McCarthy will purchase the paper needed for that. Mrs. White will find out the deadlines, how many are required, if it can be double-sided and how much it would cost.
The Committee noted they would need more meetings to get the job done in the timeframes that had, so they scheduled meetings for January 6 (at the Fire House); January 11 (Town Hall) and January 15 (Town Hall). Mrs. White will make up the agendas and schedule the room with the Selectmen's Office.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara White
Barbara White
Barbara White, Secretary
Fire Station Building Committee
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