Chelmsford mulls $25M for fire, DPW headquarters

I'm so outraged I can't even write a response or opinion.

Yeah, one minute crying there is no money, the next a building project. How old is the firestation and why is it falling apart.
Typical local politics, ask for an overide to support things we want, then slide in a building noone wants but the hacks.

Find money in the budget to fund the schools first. I'm sure they could cut back to find the 2-3 million that the schools are lacking

The Center Fire Station was in dire straights when we opted to instead build the Dick Moser Performing Arts Center. Now the floor is about to collapse under the weight of the truck and we have an underused, overstaffed theater at the high school.

Whoa wait a minute, we already have a "MUST HAVE"
3rd water treatment plant being built and the N Chelmsford folks are being drained for cash even before it was approved. The sewers over near S Chelmsford still are not completed. If there ever was a cry for Town Mismanagement it would be now.
The fools who have put us in this situation were definately not thinking ahead, and should be held accountable. The FD definately should not have to be in that crappy building, but how about selling the FREE ANNEX and the land around it that Yeoman wound up with? Why does the school dept need something that they never had before? 30 X 30 offices 200+ yards away from the closest Middle School, thats a supt/director? There are lots of things this town can do to alleviate the pressures on the taxpayers but nobody is standing up to DEMAND this type of action, WTH is the matter with all of you.

I watched the discussion of this proposal at the Selectmen meeting last night and it was clear to me that this is the right time to go forward with both of these capital projects. Interest rates are low, construction costs are low, and the purchase price for the new DPW building is relatively low. Now is the time to act.

The economy should be in much better shape in a couple of years, when we start paying for these necessary projects.

We should also get a significant return on our investment since our overall quality of life will be enhanced if these two projects are completed... our town will rate higher on comparative lists (like the one in Money Magazine a few years ago wherein we were ranked in the top 100 towns in the country)....and all of this will actually increase the financial value of our homes more than this $76.50 a year increase in our property taxes.

Therefore, this seems like a very good investment to me... and I hope to you as well.

Tom Christiano wrote:

I watched the discussion of this proposal at the Selectmen meeting last night and it was clear to me that this is the right time to go forward with both of these capital projects. Interest rates are low, construction costs are low, and the purchase price for the new DPW building is relatively low. Now is the time to act.
The economy should be in much better shape in a couple of years, when we start paying for these necessary projects.
We should also get a significant return on our investment since our overall quality of life will be enhanced if these two projects are completed... our town will rate higher on comparative lists (like the one in Money Magazine a few years ago wherein we were ranked in the top 100 towns in the country)....and all of this will actually increase the financial value of our homes more than this $76.50 a year increase in our property taxes.
Therefore, this seems like a very good investment to me... and I hope to you as well.

The economy should be better? typical politician and I would not expect any other answer, well what if it isn't better? might as well spend what is not there right? Your like the person who is 40K in debt and then is offered another credit card and says "lets do it" weeeeeee..Except its not your money you want to spend, its MINE..

the old adage - you can pay me now or you can pay me later.
So the projects that need to be done are postponed? Until when, at what future cost?
Coupled with this Iwould like to see a commitment that some capital projects are delayed. i do not want to see another 500,000 firetruck that goes 13 stories because if we buy it later it will cost more. that rationale is getting old.
Cut or postponed some capital projects now as a part of the deal, and just dont make some up so you can say they were "needed" and dropped.
Someone make a call into AIG and ask for some cash.

Kevin wrote:

Yeah, one minute crying there is no money, the next a building project. How old is the firestation and why is it falling apart.
Typical local politics, ask for an overide to support things we want, then slide in a building noone wants but the hacks.

Did you not read this article? The truck is about to go through the floor. I think it was built in the 50s, certainly not designed for modern use. Who doesn't want the building? Would you live in your house under conditions like those?

I don't think there is any question that a new fire station has been needed for a l-o-n-g time. Problem is that we are going to be paying for school renovations, sewer installations and for some people a water treatment plant also for a l-o-n-g time.
Why a performing arts center was more important than a usable fire station a few years ago I don't know.

The Performing Arts Center has been a tremendous asset. It certainly isn't underused.

Franklin wrote:

The Center Fire Station was in dire straights when we opted to instead build the **** Moser Performing Arts Center. Now the floor is about to collapse under the weight of the truck and we have an underused, overstaffed theater at the high school.

I certainly understand that we need to replace the firestation in the center and we also need to upgrade/ move the DPW (issues with too close to the NC wells). If we can purchase the land for a reasonable fee and move the DPW to an industrial area rather than in the residential area that it is in, I'm all for it. My concern at this point is, what happens to the existing firestation in the center? Do you demolish the building? Then what? Can you sell the piece of land for commercial use to recoop some of your expenses?

How much are we spending on the bleachers and press boxes?

Why wasn't the 600k for bleachers in this year's capital budget used to fix the fire station floor?
Why do we need a Performing Arts Center that the community cannot use because it costs the organizations too much to rent?
Why do we have town meeting reps and elected officials who do not stand up and take a stand? It is always easier to just send it to the voters and pay for that special election. By the way, where will the money come from for that?
Chelmsford is being very poorly managed. It is time the townspeople wake up and take charge.

We have town meeting reps who do stand up and go on...and on...and on about $25,000 for Nashoba Tech and then don't say a word about half a million dollars for stadium seats. Not on her agenda.

let the fire station fall apart. let a truck go through the floor and injure the firefighters working.
i mean, after all, what do they do for us?

then watch them sue the town and collect because they were forced to work in an old, unstable building.

I believe that most of us here (not all but most of us) agree that the fire station needs to be either repaired or replaced. It might have been nice if we had thought to do that before we spent money on other things less pressing, like press boxes and stadium seats.

Wake Up wrote:

Why wasn't the 600k for bleachers in this year's capital budget used to fix the fire station floor?
.

Because fixing the floor would be like shoeing a lame horse, the entire building is a disaster.

Yeah, $600k is a lot for the bleachers, but it's still a lot less than the settlement will be when somebody falls through the old ones like they did last year at the middle school. Lot of penny-wise, pound foolish folks around here today.

Wake Up wrote:

Why wasn't the 600k for bleachers in this year's capital budget used to fix the fire station floor?
Why do we need a Performing Arts Center that the community cannot use because it costs the organizations too much to rent?
Why do we have town meeting reps and elected officials who do not stand up and take a stand? It is always easier to just send it to the voters and pay for that special election. By the way, where will the money come from for that?
Chelmsford is being very poorly managed. It is time the townspeople wake up and take charge.

You're right - the performing arts center is a nicety that shouldn't have been built before something as essential as a fire station. I guess that highlights the problem that the fire department's "lobby" isn't as powerful as the schools. The challenge will be when you wait to repair the fire station and the project bounces up against another school project.

I guess I don't understand why sending the question to the voters is a bad thing - I should be allowed to decide if I want to support the station upgrade or not. If it passes or fails, the people have spoken - not some special interest groups who influence elected officials.

It's too bad this town can't prioritize its efforts better, but lets not ignore the needs of the fire department and DPW because the schools duped the town a few years ago. I would think fire and dpw are essential services up there with police - maybe I'm missing something?