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Article 2017 -1.3: Appropriate Design Funds for Fire Station Swing Space Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $50,000 GF Debt Approval (9 -0) As noted above under Article 2017 -1.2, the Town purchased the property formerly owned by Liberty Mu- tual at 171/173 Bedford St. late last year, with the intent to prepare that property to serve as swing space. The purchase of the site and building, as well as the evaluation of the site as a temporary location of the Fire Headquarters station, was funded by an appropriation made at Special Town Meeting 2016 -5. This article is the next step in the process of preparing the site for use as swing space, i.e., the appropriation of $50,000 to fund the design of required modifications to the 171/173 Bedford St. building, the provision of a temporary heated structure to house fire vehicles at the site, and other site changes. It is presently envisioned that the modifications to the building will be confined to the first floor and the partial lower level, since those spaces will be sufficient for the intended purpose. Any use of the second floor would require creating a second means of egress from that floor. Modifications to the building also include the installation of sprinklers since there will be dormitory -style rooms on the first floor for use by the firefighters. A temporary structure connected to the main building with a covered walkway will be constructed to house four fire vehicle bays and to provide space for storing equipment. A study of traffic and vehicle access indicates that a single -mast -arm traffic signal should be installed in front of the site on Bedford St. with stop lines painted on the road at appropriate distances from the signal, and that the signals at the intersections of Bedford St. with Revere St. and Worthen Rd. should be con- trolled by radio signals. The driveways at the 173 Bedford St. site will need to be widened to accommo- date turning of the fire vehicles, especially the ladder truck, onto and from Bedford St. The goal is to maintain response times comparable to those achieved from the current Fire Headquarters. If this article is approved, we anticipate that there will be a follow -up request at a special town meeting in the early fall of 2017 for the appropriation of funds needed for the final design phases of the project and to complete preparation of the site for use as a temporary fire station. The total cost of the present request plus the remaining phases has been estimated by a professional cost estimator, based on preliminary doc- uments, at $2,092,121. The fall request would be contingent on approval of the exclusion of debt service for the project at a referendum to be held later in the fall. The debt exclusion authority would cover the present request for design funds, which will be financed in the interim by short -term, interest -only bond anticipation notes (BANs), as well as the expenses for subsequent phases of the project. In the event that a debt exclusion for the fire station is not approved by the voters this fall or in the next year or two, the preparation of the site as swing space will not proceed and the $50,000 of debt incurred under this article for preliminary design work would have to be serviced within the non - exempt tax levy. If this article is approved, the project schedule shows the Fire Department moving to the temporary loca- tion in 2018. The Committee unanimously recommends approval of the article (9 -0). 5