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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1966-02-07-PWGC-rpt.pdf ? REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS GARAGE February 7, 1966 Article 13 of the Special Town Meeting held on November 24, 1964 authorized the Selectmen to obtain preliminary plans and specifications for alterations and additions to the Public Works Garage on Bedford Street The sum of $2,000. was appropriated in conjunction with the article. In the spring of 1965 the Selectmen appointed the following committee to assist the Board in carrying out the intent of the Town Meeting vote: Robert Cataldo, Selectmen - representing the Board John H. Blaisdell, representing the Appropriations Committee Hugh M. Chapin, representing the Capital Expenditures Coittee Albert Gray, Executive Assistant to the Board John J. Carroll, Supt. of Public Works and Town Engineer In order to keep the Town Meeting Members fully inforned as to the workings of the coa2ittee, it requested that the TMMA appoint an of2ieLal representative to attend all meetings. The appointee was Otis S. Bram, former Selectman. The first meeting of the committee was held on June 11, 1965, The first order of business was to elect a chairman, Selectman Cataldo was chosen, From the beginning the committee recognized that it was faced with a complex prohle2-0 It knew that the Public Worts Department was carrying out its day to day operations from a building that %vs becoming increasingly older, overcrowded and inefficient, Houever, it also felt that before it could make recommendations as to lww these problems of space and efficiency could be solved, it had to find the answers to many questions SPACE How much additional space was needed right no:77 What new services might the Public Works Department be called upon to perform non, or in the future 02® that might require additional space for men and equipment? Recognizing the fact that the department now uses two other buildings for storage of supplies, what could happen that might require this storage to be at the Public Works Garage? Were there any other departments which might want storage space at the garage now or in the future? LOCATION Should the Public Works Garage remain where it is? Maybe a better site could be found. If so, could the present land and building be sold for such a price and for such a use that the Town would greatly benefit by the move? OTHER RELATED PROBLEMS Could the present overcrowding in the Town Office Buildings be alleviated, or permanently solved, by moving m say the entire administrative and engineering operations of the department m to new quarters at the Public Works Garage? 0�o00R2[O6�Ooco mOaOC'4=4� To these and many other questions the Committee set out to find answers. With the blessing of the Selectmen, the scope of the study was broadened so that the Board would have the benefit of all the facts ip making any recommendation to the Town Meeting, SPACE Why do we need additional space? How much do we need? When is it needed? The most immediate reason for needing extra space, and the most obvious to those directly concerned, is that the present building is grossly inadequate in many ways, Vehicle Storage Area The total area for vehicle storage barely allows all the department's 70 pieces of equipment to be stored inside, and then only by jamming and crowding them together in a mish-mash that is extremely inefficient from an operating point of view. It°s also mighty irritating to the employee who has to to move three pieces of equipment in the middle of the night to get to the one he needs to do an emergency job, Mechanics Area This section is poorly located, far too small in area and is poorly laid out, The department has found itself with a heavy piece of equipment - such as a bulldozer - blocking the repair of another piece that is needed immediately, Other Areas The lunch room is too small; the toilet facilities are inadequate; there are no shower facilities; the office area is too smalle there are no private offices where supervisory personnel can work or talk; the mechanicsand general stock rooms are too small, (See diazeam) Effect of Town Growth It is fairly obvious that as the Town grows the need becomes greater for more men and more equipment to keep up with the demand for the increased volume of services now being offered, The consequence is the need for more space. Effect of New Services And as the Town grows it slowly becomes more urbanized (in spite of our wishes) and the demand for new types of services increases, More and more we hear talk about the possibility of municipal rubbish collection or combined rubbish and garbage collection, leaf pickup and so on, The Committee also felt thee the time was not too far hence when all Town vehicles would be serviced at the Public Works Garage, With this general idea of centralized vehicle maintenance in mind, the Committee contacted the School Committee to eel: about the possibility of the Toua ever eeming and maintaining ito own school buses, The reply stated that the chances of such a situation occuring within the next ten years were highly probable. If this did happen, the Committee felt that the logical place for storing the buses would be at the Public Works Garage (although probably outside) and that the Public Works Department would have to service them. Other Space Problems The Civil Defense Director was asked whether he could visualize a future need of his department that would make it necessary to store either equipment or supplies in the building. After considerable discussion with him, the Committee agreed that any addition should provide for a small amount of dead storage space for Civil Defense supplies, The Committee also felt that any addition should provide space for Park supplies which are now stored in an old wooden building on the Buckman Tavern grounds The Supt, of Public Works was then asked to estimate space requirements for a near saturation population of 45,000, taking into consideration that by that time the Public Works Department might be providing municipal rubbish collection .and servicing al/ Town vehicles. With al/ of the above information at band, on September 14, 1965 the Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Selectmen that approximately 26,000 square feet of additional space be added to the present 22,`00 square feat of useable area now available at the Public Works Garage. The recommendation was quite specific in stating that it did not mean that the entire 26,000 square feet should all be in new construction It felt that alteration and structural changes within the present building would provide some of the additional area needed. 050 LOCATION Should a New Public Works Garage be Constructed on Another Site? The Committee felt that if this question were to be answered affirmatively, the new site would have to serve the Town as well or better than the present one. It would have to be centrally located, must have approximately the same area (9 acres) as the present one and must be located on or near a major road of the Town, Furthermore the sale and subsequent tax revenue from future use of the land and buildings would have to clearly offset the cost of land acquisition, building construction and land development of the new site, Some eighteen potential areas within a mile and one-half radius of the center of Town were examined by the Coamittee, Of these, e nl.y three met the requirements for providing a good location for a Public Works Garege, and even these would require extensive site preparation in order to be acceptable, n the meantime the Committee asked the Planning Board what it felt would be the beet use of the land on which the present building is located, how it felt about the Public Works Garage being moved elsewhere and if this move did occur how it thought the land should be sone& In addition the Assessors were asked to determine the present value of the property based on current C-1 zoning and under two other possible zoning conditions, The Planning Board replied that it thought the present municipal use of the land should continue, However, it also said that if the garage were to be moved elsewhere that the area should be zoned residentially, with the future possibility of changing it to a "I'radeeme n Park", The Assessors reported that the present value of the property was appromimately $l&O,COJ, based on current C-1 zoning, If the zone were to change to residential, they felt it would be $ , and if it were to became a "Tradesmen's Park" it would be valued at $ After serious consideration, the Committee came to the conclusion that the cost of land acquisition, land development and new building con- struction reduced by the sale of the present property would exceed the cost of rebuilding and expanding the present Public Works Garage at the present site. On the basis of the foregoing, the Committee voted unanimously on September 14, 1965 to recommend to the Selectean that the Public Works Garage should remain in its present location, The basis for the recommendation may be summed up as follows: 1. ) The present Public Works Garage is structurally sound. 20) It can be expanded relatively easily, 3.) The land area of the present site is adequate, 4. ) The present site has been used for many years for the same purpose and meets with general public accept arse - 5. ) The present site is centrally located within the Town. 6.) Of the eighteen sites studied by the Cittec only three were found to be satisfactory and none were better all around than the present one, (See map) 7, ) to the light of information received from the Pl< ni=_ig Board and Assessors, the Colzeittee felt there %amid be a real fi .ancia? loss to the Faun if a new Public Works Garage were to be con^tructsd on another location. OTHER RELATED PROBLEMS Are the present Town Office Buildings adequate to meet the future needs of the Town? If they are not, could an addition to tis be postponed temporarily, -7- or permanently avoided, by moving - say the PTE??ie Works Administration and Engineering - to new quarters at the Public Works Garage? The Committee felt that these were important questions and ones to which answers must be found before it could proceed with any plans for altering or adding to the Public Works Garage, It therefore contacted ail Town Department (with the exception of the School Departmefnt) who now occupy, or who might in the future occupy space in the Town Office Buildings and it asked them to declare their immediate space needs and to estimate their space requirements for a saturation population of 45,000. All departments replied. The results of the survey showed that there is a need for Immediate additional space. Of importance is that the projected space requirements indicate approximately 8„000 square feet of floor space more than the 11,000 square feet now available should be provided within 10 years, The obvious next question is whether the problem of overcrowding in the Town Offices could be solved by moving Public Works Administration and Engineering to new quarters at the Public Works Garage. And if this shift did occur, would other Town departments and the public be so serioesly in- convenienced that the change would prove detrimental to the Town in the long run, The Committee therefore ran a month-long, daily survey to determine the possible effects of such a transfer. Every person entering the Town Office Building was counted and was asked whether hie trip ieeluded business with both the Public Works Department and come other Town department e In addition, a close check was kept in all departments on the nambee of business viait y (which could not have been made by telephone) that c7ployces made between all other departments and the Public Works Administration, -8- On the basis of the results of the survey, the Committee voted unanimously on September lop 1965 to recommend to the Selectmen that the Public Works Administration and Engineering sections Should remain is the Town Office Building. The basis for the recommendation may be summed up as follows” 1.) The extent to which the shift would inconvenience the public and other departments was not great enough so that it should be a major factor in making the decision, 2.) The efficiency of the Public Werke Department wonld not be greatly increased by the move. 3.) The shim: would not provide anywhere near a permanent solution to the space problem in the Tewn Office Buildiags, PRELIMINARY PLANS & SPECIFICATIONS On September 14, 1965 the Committee received permission to talk to architects for the purpose of preparing preliminary plans and npecificetieee, A total of fourteen were interviewed. On November Srh, the Beard of Selectmen accepted the Ccsmittee°s recommendation to hire WUIIau A, Halsey, Architect and Planner of 134 Noust Auburn Street, Cambridge, Development of Dss i ga From the beginning of the development of design phase, the Committee felt, and continues to feet, that the interests of the foetal neighborhood w uld be served best if there mere to be no elan lion of the facility toward Bedford Street. It also felt that all major vehicle movement within the comelen should be in the "bash yard". The Architect agreed that these requirements would not seriously affect his attempts at solution of the problem. Working closely with the Committee, he began analyzing the needs and program of the Public Works Garage facility, Analysis indicated that the program program contained five major functions: 1,) Vehicle Storage 2.) Mechanics' Work 3.) Stock and Storage 4.) Administrative and Employee Facilities In his initial attempt at solution, the Architect placed these functions in separate buildings, but it became evident in Cemmittee dis- cussions with the Supt, of Public Works that in order to maintain eald improve the efficiency of the operation of the departztent and to attain certain desired relationships both within and between the various functions, that consolidation of the facility was necessary. Except for showing an unheated outdoor storage shed, al/ subsequent layouts maintained this concept. The Architect presented many different deaigns - five of which reached the preliminary plan stage - before the Committee was satisfied that it had the boat solution to the problem, iz studying each scheme the Architect presented, the Caamittee con- tinuany found itself face to face with the problem of what to do ,Jlith the present building and it was constantly reminded of its previous thinking that alteration and structural changes would provide some of the needed additional space. Since in the final analysis this thinking was changed somewhat, a detailed report follows telling how and why the existing building was treated in the final plan. PROBLEM WITR UTILIZING THE PRESENT BUILDING The present structure is approximately 113 feet wide and 202 feet long. It has an existing column spacing of 20' - 0" x 22' - 6", It is structurally sound and in good condition. -10- Vehicle Stora e The first thought of the Committee and the Architect was to utilize the present building as much as possible for vehicle storage. However, careful analysis of both turning movements and space needs of existing vehicles proved that the column spacing was a major deterrent to an efficient use for vehicle storage. Furthermore, a structural analysis turned up the fact that while it was possible to remove every other column in the building in various combinations, it would have to be done at a minimum cost (due to substituting structural worh) of roughly $1000. per column. The analysis also proved that the removal of adjacent columns in any comb inat ion was entirely impractical, Since removing every other column would still not provide efficient vehicle storage, would be expensive, and would leave the Town with an old building, the Committee decided that it would not propose this as a permanent solution to this problem. Mechanics' Work Area The column spacing again, as well as the age of the structure became serious objections to using any part of the present building for a mech:►_icat work area that would be expected to provide the ultimate soluticu to the Towns needs, The Committee therefore felt that the space formechanics' work area should be provided by new construction, Stock and Storage It was obvious that that the present building could be used for storage of supplies and small equipment, However, its height does not afford efficient storage space and in order to maintain or attain certain functional relation- ships between Stack and Sterag;e areas and Administrative areas, the Committee felt that this space should be provided by new constr ctiono 0114 Administrative and Employee Facilities The pivotal important control area of the facility is the office employee facility area. The thinking of the Supt. of Public Works is that these areas must afford direct control to the three above. Because of site conditions, the Architect recommended that these offices be contained as rebuilt space within the existing building in the Bedford Street end. Summary The Committee concluded that the existing building could not be efficiently used for vehicle storage, that any remodelling of it by ej inineting columns would increase the efficiency of this function not enough to warrant the additional expenditure, that it could not be used economically or efficiently as mechanics° area and in the case of storage of supplies and equipment that it would not serve the purpose from a functional standpoint. However, the Committee did feel that an area about 35 feet deep across the front of the existing building should be rebuilt to provide administrative and employee facilities that would allow an excellent functional relationship to be attained between this area and the other major functions of the facility. Finally, the Committee felt that while the remainder of the present building could be used for vehicle storage on a temporary© although un- satisfactory basis, that the final solution in the second stage, should see the existing building torn deme and replaced with a new column-free structure which will be 60 feet longer than the present one. PROPOSED NEW FACILITY The design which the Committee finally approved,, and reccwmends that the Town should build (in two stages) shwa a builder whose core stands on the faea .datf. n. of the present building but which has wings on the a o:th and south sides and an addition in the rear. ail® The mechanics° work area for maintenance of all Town vehicles will be housed in the north wing. At the far end of this section will be the paint and sign shop, which will include a vehicle spray booth. The maim access to these areas is from within the "back yard", although overhead doors toward Bedford Street will provide a drive through wash rack and emergency access to the work area. Two lifts of 10 ton capacity will be installed at this time with provision for a third in the future. There will also be direct access to the vehicle storage area. Since this area will be rated as high fire hazard, a fire separation between it and other areas will be provided, The total area of this entire wing is 7200 square feet. Stock and Storage Area This area has been developed as a wing oaf 7200 square feet to the south. The stock roam will contain small items such as repair parts copper tubing, fittings, etc, that Kill be issued by the dispatcher, Storage Area This area will be used to store small equipment and acme materials and will provide en area for repair of equipment such as chains, barricades, etc. The water rester repair room has been placed is this wing. An interior street through this area will provide under cover direct loading and unloading of stock and equipment into and out of vehicles. Office - Employee Facility Area This area is located wfthln the boundaries of the present building at the Bedford Street end, The area in the southwest corner of the present building contains a general office,, as well as private offices for the Asst. Supt, of Public WorkaGeneral Foreman, Park Supervisor anis Tree Warden, Dispatcher, field office for the Supt. of Public Works and a conference room. -13- The dispatcher's office is located so he may have direct control of the stock area and vehicle storage area. The lunch room, adjacent to the office area, can be used additionally as an assembly place each morning for men to receive their assignments, and also serve as a general meeting place. Employee facilities include a locker room with space for 80 lockers, toilet, wash and shower facilities. A janitor's closet is provided within this area. The office of the Read Mechanic is within this area, as :.s the mechanics' stock room, but at the same time is adjacent to and overlooks the mechanics' work area, 1The full height of the present building is not necessary in t!te administration - employee facility areas, so a mezzanine level will be built over these, providing a space for mechanical equipment and additichal storage area - say for Civil Defense. At some future time, if the needs of the Town indicate that the recommendation of the Committee in regard to Town office space problems should be reversed, this second floor can easily be used for additional office space. The total area of the facility at the completion of State II will be 43,920 square feet - a total of 21,120 square feet greater than the present building, and about 5000 square feet less than the area originally thought to be needed. TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION Structurally, no changes are proposed within the existing building. The columns will remain. However, all existing walls, plumbing, etc. will be removed to provide an open area for vehicle storage. The structure of the two new wings will be steel beams or trusses, 14- 150 m 0" on center with wood joists over. Below the wood joists, fire-rated gypsum board will be applied. The exterior walls of the new wings and the front wall of the administrative a employee section will be brick masonry. The existing system of unit heaters in the present building will be retained. New gas fired unit heaters will be provided in the stock and storage areas, and the mechanics' work area. The administrative - employee areas will be heated by forced hot water. Existing lighting will be retained in the vehicle storage area of the present building and all new areas will have fluorescent lighting. STAGE I The cost of the first stage of construction which includes the mechanics' wing, stock and storage wingp and the administrative - employee facility section, site preparation, etc, will be approximately $325,000, The situation in regard to vehicle storage will be slightly better than it is now, but by no means will it be adequate. Vehicles will still have to be stored one behind the other although a more orderly arrangement will be possible. STAGE II In the second stage of construction the existing building beyond the administrative o employee facility area will be town down and a new column- free building will be built on the present foundation. This new construction will extend 60 feet beyond the end of the present structure. This second stage will cost $272,500, based on current prices. The completion of this stage should see a Public Works Garage that will serve the Town for many years to come. Most of the vehicles will have direct access to aisles and there will be some room for addition of vehicles caused by expansion of present services or addition of new ones,