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Date: 3/24/2021
BLANDFORD – At a Special Town Meeting on March 22, two dozen residents gathered at Town Hall and voted unanimously to transfer $120,000 from the Building Stabilization Fund to pay for an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) who will assist in finalizing the project scope and cost for a new highway garage and rehabilitation of the existing garage for the Fire Department.
Before the meeting, Town Administrator Joshua A. Garcia said the town has decided to build a new highway garage in the existing town-owned space and retrofit the existing highway garage for the Fire Department.
“We’re in a position currently where the Highway Department has outgrown their space, and the Fire Department has outgrown their space. The town has been exploring the best way to mitigate this issue,” Garcia said.
Garcia said the town has significantly invested in equipment for the Highway Department, all of which does not fit in the garage. The Fire Department garage is very substandard, he said, adding that the truck fits in within an inch or two, and drivers have to be very skilled to enter and exit. “We’re in the process of waiting for a new tanker for the Fire Department approved at the last town meeting. The only space to put it in is in the Highway Department,” he said.
Garcia said the town’s building advisory group contracted with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments to guide them through the procurement process for a project manager (OPM).
“Any project over $1.5 million has to hire an OPM. Even if the project was $1 million or $900,000, it’s good to have an OPM even if not required, because the OPM is looking out for the interests of the community,” Garcia said, adding that the project manager makes sure the contractors hired are being responsible and reducing liabilities and overruns for the town. “They’re good to have,” he added.
The advisory group already put the OPM out to bid and ranked the candidates. He said they identified three potential candidates, with the top choice being City Point Partners of Boston, which has a satellite office in Western Massachusetts. “They have worked on a number of projects very similar to what we’re looking to do, in communities like Blandford,” he said.
The existing Highway Department garage is at the top of the hill on Otis Stage Road (Route 23) and North Blandford, which Garcia said is the perfect location for the Fire Department. The new Highway Department garage will go where the salt shed is, off of Chester Road.
Blandford has also begun a search for a new highway superintendent to replace Rene Senecal, who is retiring June 30. Garcia said it is always a challenge for small towns to secure capable and qualified folks. He said there will be a robust search process, with the top three qualified candidates going to the Select Board for the hire.
The other warrant items at the Special Town Meeting included transfers to pay for prior year bills and funds transfers, and a series of bylaw changes that had previously been presented to residents in a public hearing. There was no discussion on any of the articles, which all passed unanimously.
After the last article passed, Moderator David B. Hopson asked for an update on broadband from Municipal Light Board chair Peter Langmore.
Langmore said to date 73 percent of residents have signed up to be connected to Whip City Fiber, the town’s internet service provider. “Seventy-three percent is good, but I’d love to see it above 90 percent,” he said.
Langmore said that thanks to the town administrator and the Council on Aging, Blandford has received a grant to pay the $99 signup fee for seniors 65 and older, which appears on the first bill along with the $85 monthly fee from Whip City Fiber.
Garcia later said the grant of $200,000 is from the Massachusetts Councils on Aging, a private, non-profit. He said they submitted the proposal after receiving another grant from Baystate Health that will enable the town to purchase computers for seniors without access.
Hopson, who is the superintendent at Gateway Regional, said another grant is available from Broadband Connector, which has an agreement with several cities in Massachusetts to help to pay for families with children that don’t have connectivity, to ensure that all students have access to the internet.
Selectman Eric McVey asked Langmore if there is a communication plan in place to connect with residents who have not subscribed, to make sure they know that the hookup will cost $650 once the construction is completed. The town is paying for the cost of connecting homes to the fiber during the construction phase.
Langmore said Whip City Fiber will provide mailings to residents during construction in the five fiber service areas. He said that Tri-Star, who is laying the fiber, will continue to do installation for residents until they leave town in September, when the construction will be completed.