Assistant Town Administrator Seth MacLean reported at the Jan. 30 meeting of the Peterborough Select Board that the proposed new fire station project can meet the budgetary and programmatic goals set by the town, and that the Building Committee has unanimously agreed to advance the project forward to the annual budget process. 

In January, Harvey Construction delivered project estimates to the Building Committee, including information to assist in cutting costs to the original estimate, which came in at about 10% higher than the project cap of $12.1 determined by the Peterborough Select Board. Jason LaCombe of SMP Architects said cost-cutting measures include replacing individual offices with office suites, including shared desks; consolidating the dining and kitchen areas;  and using the old Motor Pool building to store some equipment, such as trailers, that do not need to be stored in a weather-tight facility.

LaCombe said the Fire Department, EMS and other town staff are working on the “FFE” or “furniture, fixtures and equipment” portion of the budget, which entails taking inventory at the existing fire station and determining what furnishings can be reused or repurposed, and what equipment will need to be replaced. 

Keith Kelley, director of pre-construction for Harvey Construction, said his team had presented “34 topics or areas we could target to save money that would not change the programmatic goals or the aesthetic feel of the project” to the Building Committee.

MacLean said he is pleased the Building Committee has been able to meet the financial parameters of the project.

“While a pathway to meeting the budgetary goals for this project exists, the Building Committee and team has a lot more work to do in the coming months to refine the design,” MacLean said. “There are many hundreds of decisions that have to be made to figure out what that final project will be. The aesthetic quality of the building is not likely to change very much, but there are many bits and pieces  and components that  go into these projects. The Building Committee has been tasked with making sense of that – with working with the design team and the construction manager to put together a package that meets the budget and programmatic goals of the facility.” 

Jim Hassinger of the Peterborough Energy Committee asked if solar panels and solar batteries were still included in the building plan. Kelley said that while solar equipment has been cut from the budget due to cost, the building is designed with the potential to install solar panels and batteries in the future. 

“The building is very close to having the potential to be a net-zero building in the future. We did allow space in the design for solar panels and batteries to be installed,” Kelley said. 

MacLean noted that the Building Committee followed the Peterborough Energy Committee’s recommendation to install an advanced geothermal heating system in the new fire station at a cost of $480,000. 

“We still have a lot of decisions to make, and we will be looking at ‘Is there a mechanism by which we can still do solar?’” MacLean said, adding that he looks forward to meeting with the Peterborough Energy Committee on Feb. 7.

The third and final public hearing on the design portion of the fire station project is tentatively set for March, in advance of Peterborough Town Meeting. 

“This hearing will give the public a detailed look at the process, the current design and the project’s budget, and will also provide the community an opportunity to ask questions  and provide ideas directly to the entire project team,” MacLean said.

MacLean encouraged all members of the Peterborough community to get involved with the project by participating in the online FAQ, watching videos of previous meetings, attending hearings or reaching out to him directly. Information about the project can be found at peterboroughnh.gov/government/boards_and_committees/fire_station_building_committee/index.php.