Canton Selectmen Step Back From Plan to Separately Purchase Commerce Drive Parcel for Highway Garage

Wednesday night the Board of Selectmen stepped back from a plan to separately purchase 325 Commerce Drive for a future town Public Works facility, instead concurring with an alternative proposal from Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner that emphasizes first getting a planned peer review and communicating with the public. 

Following a 814 to 454 May referendum defeat of a proposal for the town to bond up to $5.4 million for a new public works facility at 325 Commerce Drive, selectmen at previous meetings had discussed the idea of proposing a separate purchase of the property for $225,000 and placing it as a question on the November ballot. At least one selectman was also in favor of the Public Works Department performing some of the site work in an effort to further reduce costs.

Selectmen and members of the Permanent Municipal Building Committee also discussed plans to bring in another firm to review work done by consulting engineer Weston & Sampson and secure a project price before bringing it back to voters at referendum.

For Wednesday night’s meeting, Skinner prepared a memo for the board and while he said timing on purchasing the property separately could work for November, he felt that the town should first get the second opinion on the project and address the common questions and concerns raised by the public. He also said there were other logistical problems to purchasing the site separately, such as the potential to have to go through the land-use process twice and the desire from many citizens to vote on a complete package.

Once a referendum date is set, the town is also limited in how it can respond to questions and concerns, Skinner added.

While some would never support a project on Commerce and the town doesn’t need to respond to every "accusation or claim" it has to address the common concerns and perceptions, Skinner asserted. 

“We really need to gain the public’s confidence in this project,” Skinner said. 

Under his alternate proposal, Skinner said a firm would be hired to review the programming needs of the department, perform preliminary design, review the town-owned properties most discussed and prepare the documents needed to get the pre-referendum price.

Skinner also suggested the new consulting engineering firm do a further comparison to garages in similar communities. Comparisons done by others held led to the belief that the town’s proposal was “over programmed and too expensive,” he wrote.

“Regardless of the accuracy of these accusations they were what the public herd and in many cases believed,” he wrote.

Skinner also stated that while he felt Canton cannot build a garage similar to an undersized facility in another town, he felt that many voters were clear that they want a proposal that meets the minimum needs.

Simply putting the land on the November ballot without addressing the common questions could set the project back even more, Skinner said. 

“The current DPW is suffering in an inferior facility and if they were to receive only 70 percent of what they need it would still constitute a 100 percent improvement,” the memo states.

First Selectman Richard Barlow said he had “embraced” purchasing the land first but said he agreed with the need to communicate with the public and wanted to stay away from the need to go through a land-use process twice.

“Although I'd like to purchase the property and get that over with, I think your proposal has more merit,” he said.

Selectman Tom Sevigny agreed, saying he had heard feedback that people wanted more information and a less expensive project.

“If we went purchase land a lot of people wouldn’t feel comfortable, “ he said. 

Selectmen also discussed a few other issues such as whether the town would need to try and set a target price. Selectmen discussed what the public may go for, with some saying it should be as low as $4 million and others under $5 million. Regardless, Skinner said, a project cost would need to be justified. 

Under Skinner's proposal, the new consulting firm that reviewed the needs and other aspects of the garage, would also initiate a two-part process to secure a firm price before a referendum was held. 

Department of Public Works director Robert Martin said the town should also be clear in its plans for the current site near the river, a question he hears often. 

In his memo, Skinner wrote, “the town should emphasize the positive aspects to the current site after the garage has been moved. As the Upper Mill Pond Master Plan indicates the goal of public access to the Farmington River would finally be achieved.”

Skinner also included a proposed timeline, which would put the referendum date at May 2014 with, pending approval, construction beginning in March of 2015.

For more specifics about the proposed process, see the memo in the Board of Selectmen's packet at http://townofcantonct.org/filestorage/120/196/07.24.13_BOS_Packet.pdf