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Date: 8/8/2022
SOUTHAMPTON – The town of Southampton is continuing their pursuit of identifying properties in town suitable for a new senior center and public safety complex.
During a meeting on June 21, the town’s Select Board tasked Chair Christine Fowles with writing letters to five different locations on behalf of the town’s Ad Hoc Senior Center Feasibility Committee and Public Safety Building Committee after both committees identified several possible locations for the senior center and public safety complex.
During the Aug. 2 meeting, Fowles said that three of the locations responded to the town’s inquiry about whether or not they would have interest in selling or donating land to the town for these projects.
According to Fowles, the owners on 8 Fomer Rd. do not have an interest in speaking with the town about their property. Another letter, sent by Southampton resident Jim Labrie on behalf of Eugene Labrie, notes that they would consider a possible donation or sale regarding their land on College Highway for the future safety complex. A third property owner, Ryan Geeleher, has also shown interest in talking with the Select Board about his property, which is close to Conant Park.
Aside from private property, both committees are also exploring town-owned land. Select Board member Maureen Groden said that the Public Safety Committee proposed two potential town-owned sites for the future complex, including the current fire station and the highway barn on 8 Fomer Rd., while the Senior Center Feasibility Committee is exploring the existing Town Hall as well as the current police station.
“We have at least two individuals who are interested in talking to us [about their land], so we need to figure out how and when to do that,” said Fowles. “We need to talk about a process to entertain those discussions.”
The board eventually tasked Fowles with responding to the three owners who reached out to notify them that the town is moving into the next phase of these projects.
Reminder Publishing reported back in late June that both projects are on different timelines but follow similar steps. The senior center project will need to see quicker progress due to funding requirements. A former resident, David Parsons, passed away last year and bequeathed $2.5 million to the town for the new center. The project design must be completed by May 17, 2023, within two years of Parsons’ death.
The Senior Center Committee has already sent out Request for Qualifications (RFQ), which includes a list of basic elements of the senior center, which include a size of about 10,000 square feet, a café, quiet reading space, reception area with reduced height cabinetry, a room for health and wellness needs, a dining and great room, and a commercial kitchen with ventilation and equipment. Every feature listed may not be incorporated into the final design of the center.
The RFQ establishes minimum and comparative benchmarks for a design firm. The minimum criterion for consideration is a decade of experience, state registration as a professional, completion of five municipal projects, and the firm can complete the study by March 16, 2023. Firms had until Aug. 4 to respond to the committee’s RFQ.
The Public Safety Building Committee, meanwhile, is currently drafting their RFQ, according to Groden. They met on Aug. 8 to discuss it.
Celebrate Southampton
Celebrate Southampton will occur between Aug. 12 and 13. People can visit the Facebook page to see the full slate of events happening throughout both days: https://www.facebook.com/celebratesouthampton01073.