North Adams Transcript
WILLIAMSTOWN -- Even though the Williamstown Fire District is looking to build a new fire station, the roof of the existing station is going to have to be replaced this year, according to district officials.
The district’s Prudential Committee held a special meeting Monday afternoon to discuss how to proceed with the project so it could be completed before winter.
Prudential Committee Mem ber Edward Briggs said it makes no sense to put a new roof on the building with the district seeking to build a new station, but there’s no other choice.
"It’s bad. When it rains, it rains inside," he said.
Prudential Committee Chair man John Notsley agreed.
"We really don’t want to replace the roof, but even if we could build a new station a year from now, or five years from now, it wouldn’t solve the problem," he said.
District officials have already had the existing roof evaluated by D.J. Wooliver and Sons, Inc., of Lanes borough, which stated in a June 20 letter to Fire Chief Craig Pedercini that the overall condition of the roof was considered to be "fair to poor" and could only be expected to last one to five more years.
The existing roof, which is flat, was installed in 1997. Funding for the roof project was approved at the district’s annual meeting May 22. The warrant article sought to raise and appropriate $75,000, or any other sum, for the project.
Notsley
Jason Moran, who was asked by fire district officials to be on hand at the meeting due to his familiarity with the bidding process, said the district’s best bet would be to first issue a request for proposal for architect and engineering services. An architect would be able to put something together that could be put out to bid for the construction portion of the project and then be submitted to the town for a building permit, he said.
"I think your deadline of when the snow flies is reasonable," he said.
The Prudential Com mittee agreed with Moran’s suggestions.
The current fire station on Water Street was built in 1950 as a single-story building with a total of 4,325 square feet. A feasibility study done by the Maguire Group Inc. in 2009 recommended the construction of a new station. A warrant article was drafted for the district’s annual meeting this year to authorize the Prudential Committee to acquire property on Main Street, owned by the later Kurt Lehovec, for a new station. That article ended up getting passed over because the executor of Lehovec’s estate hadn’t been named.
To reach Meghan Foley, email mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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