When the news broke that the building at 150 Cordaville Road was up for sale and town officials were eying it as a potential public safety building, many of you on this blog were excited about the prospect.
But while selectmen have asked the Municipal Facilities Committee to evaluate the feasibility of purchasing 150 Cordaville Road — and selling some existing town properties to offset costs — they caution it may not be the panacea it appears to be.
‘Real limitations’
At a meeting earlier this month, selectwoman Bonnie Phaneuf said much about the building is unknown. She said the property has been subdivided multiple times. It abutts MDC property and is close to a water source that could impact future development. “There are real limitations people aren’t considering,” she said.
Selectman Sal Giorlandino said the property “sounds great in theory,” but noted the town has already spent $100K looking into how to build a new police station. “A lot of time and energy has been spent exploring other options. This has come in at the last minute. Why would we change course now?”
Location, location, location
While many consider the location more central and better able to serve the south side of town, Phaneuf said relocating the fire department to 150 Cordaville Road could necessitate substations in other corners of town.
Fire Chief John Mauro Jr. said more analysis of response times would be required. “If we move to 150 Cordaville, all you’re doing is moving the response circle south a bit,” he told selectmen at a meeting in July. “Some areas will take even longer to get to.”
Mauro gave the example of Pine Hill Road as an area that would likely see longer response times. He said it currently takes fire crews ten minutes to reach the Pine Hill Road area “in the best case.” The town’s response guideline is four minutes or less.
Still, Mauro said the town would be “remiss” if they didn’t consider the opportunity.
Historical Commission member and Southborough firefighter Joe Hubley said purchasing 150 Cordaville Road and selling other town properties “would save taxpayers millions.”
“We need to be bold enough to think big,” he said.
Could we have a list of these “real limitations.” Without a doubt 150 Cordaville Rd. is the best location,
The current locations response time serves 2 private schools, 1 public school, library, Town Hall a place of worship. This does not serve the people paying the bills very well.
I recall at a town meeting one of our former chiefs being sarcastical asked “What are you going to want next?” He replied a substation on Pine Hill.
Lets put all options on the table
So $100K has already been spent on how to build a new police station and yet there is still no decision on whether anything is going to be built, what we should build, and where it should be? Classic. No wonder the town is focused on bumping up those PILOT “donations.”
It would appear the most central location would be the old Dielbold land across Rt 85 from the DPW facility.
As for the $100 which has already been spent looking into how to build a new police station, I had to chuckle when I read Giorlandino’s comment “Why would we change course now?” I believe those words were first uttered in1912 by none other than Capt Edward John Smith as RMS Titanic approached the fateful iceberg.