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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE SPECIAL TOWN MEETINGS 2017-2&3 OCTOBER 10,2017 would cover the previous and present requests 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 including the costs of swing space. In the event that a debt exclusion for the fire station is not approved by voters this fall or in the next year or two,the fire station replacement will not proceed,the debt approved under this article would not be incurred,and the debt service for the previously approved$450,000 for design work would be funded from the non-exempt tax levy. In that case the Fire Headquarters would continue to work in the current facility. If both this article and the debt exclusion for the project are approved, an appropriation for the balance of the costs of the replacement of the facility will be sought in the spring of 2018 at the annual or at a special town meeting. If all approvals are granted according to the anticipated schedule, the new Fire Headquarters station would likely be available for occupancy in late 2019 or early 2020. It is appropriate to describe the approximate impact on property taxes if this project moves forward. The estimate made here assumes that the cost of the land purchase is covered within the non-exempt tax levy, and that the overall cost of the facility replacement together with swing space, exclusive of the cost of acquiring the site and building at 173 Bedford St. and debt service interest,is approximately $22,000,000. The estimate assumes that the cost is funded through debt with a term of 30 years at an effective interest rate of 4%. With these assumptions, the principal payment would be about $730,000 per year and the interest cost would be, in the first full year of debt service, about $880,000. The sum of principal and interest payments in the first full year of debt service thus represents just under 1% of the non-exempt property tax revenue that will likely be raised in that year. The annual interest cost would decline over the 30-year term to about$30,000 in the final full year of debt service. This Committee agrees that it is important for the Town to proceed with this project so that Fire Department personnel will have a facility that allows them to efficiently carry out their responsibilities and to provide residents and businesses with high quality fire prevention and suppression services. The Committee recommends approval of this request(9-0-0). Article 2016-2.5: Appropriate for Temporary Fire Station Construction Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $2,140,000 Excluded Debt Approve(9-0-0) This article seeks an appropriation of$2,140,000 for design,engineering,and architectural services,includ- ing production of construction documents, and for the construction of a temporary fire station at 173 Bed- ford Street,including signalization and access improvement. Late in 2016,the Town purchased the Liberty Mutual land and building at 173 Bedford St.at the negotiated price of$4,300,000. The site and building were acquired for a temporary fire station that will be used while the current building is demolished and replaced with a new fire station(see Article 4 above for details). In addition to the amount of the purchase price, at the Special Town Meeting 2016-5 held in September,2016, $58,000 was appropriated for legal, survey, and environmental costs and $85,000 was appropriated for preliminary engineering studies in regard to the temporary facility. Under Article 3 of Special Town Meeting 2017-1 held on March 20, 2017, $50,000 was appropriated for the design development phase of the temporary fire headquarters at 173 Bedford Street location. The esti- mated total cost of the project at that time was $2,093,000.The design phase has been completed by Tecton 13