March 29, 2024

Rehoboth’s Proposed New Municipal Complex

Part 2: What it will include & how much it will cost

Posted

Voters at the Special Town Meeting on January 23 will be asked to approve construction of a new Municipal Complex, which will include facilities for the Town Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, Ambulance and Emergency Services all in one location. The new municipal building will be located at the site of the current public safety headquarters on Anawan Street.

Town officials say a new facility is desperately needed. The current buildings are in disrepair and lack adequate space. The buildings are not compliant with regulations, have leaking roofs, poor wiring and safety issues. At the Town Hall, the water is contaminated and there is asbestos in the floor tiles, which are cracked in many spots.

The town spends thousands every year to repair the buildings.  If the project isn’t approved, work still needs to be done on the buildings. The cost to fix the major problems and bring the buildings up to code could be more than a million dollars and there would still be issues with lack of space, privacy, and outdated technology, wiring, HVAC and electrical systems. The money would have to come from the operating budget which will mean less money available for police, fire and schools, according to town officials.

The vote at town meeting will determine if the project will be put on the ballot for the April election. The January vote does not approve funding for the project. Voters will approve the funding at the polls on April 3.

In a two-part series, the Reporter is providing information on the Proposed Municipal Complex. Part 1 in December looked at the current conditions of these buildings, why a new facility is needed and how residents will benefit from the new municipal complex. Part 2 in this issue will look at what the facility will include and the cost of the project for residents.

The Municipal Complex Building
The new municipal complex will be 19.485 sq. ft, with the Town Hall making up 11,947 sq. feet. The current Town Hall is 6,935 sq. feet. Edward Rowse donated his services in creating the architectural designs for the new building and they are available on the town’s website at www.town.rehoboth.ma.us and the drawings are on display at the Town Hall.

The Town Hall will include offices for all the town departments, several conference rooms, a records vault, a kitchen/break room and a large meeting room. The offices will have enough space for department heads, such as the Veterans Agent and Tax Collector, to be able to have confidential discussions with residents, which is not possible in the current space. Frequently these discussions now have to take place in the hallways due to the lack of privacy.

The Fire Department includes four apparatus bays, offices for the Fire Chief, Ambulance Chief, Emergency Management Agency, training rooms, a day room, storage space for gear and equipment, and men’s and women’s locker rooms. It will be approximately 11,000 sq. ft. Apparatus will no longer have to be moved out of the way to get to other trucks. There will be rooms for training instead of using the bays and supplies will be stored on shelves in a supply room instead of around the perimeter of the bays as they are now.

The Police Department will increase from 2,616 sq. ft. currently to a proposed 8,348 sq. ft, mostly due to the addition of a regulation prisoner processing area and men’s and women’s showers. The Department will include an office for the Police Chief, a Sergeants room, a roll call/meeting room, a dispatch area, lockers and showers, evidence room, the prisoner processing area with holding cells and more. Sergeants and detectives will have enough space to walk around their desks and they will have a private room to interview people. Officers will have adequate locker room space and a place to shower. The holding cell area will be compliant with state regulations, which the current cells are not.  “This is a design for our needs for the next 40-50 years,” said Selectman Gerry Schwall.

Cost of the New Municipal Complex
The projected cost of the new municipal complex is $9.3 million. If the project is approved at town meeting in January, voters will be asked to okay the funding through a ballot question at the April Election. It will be paid through a debt exclusion, or temporary tax increase. A debt exclusion is a temporary override of Proposition 2 ½ in order to fund a specific capital project. The temporary tax increase is eliminated once the debt associated with the project is retired.

The estimated tax increase is expected to be $40 per $100,000 of assessed home value, or approximately $140 per year on an average $350,000 home.  While no one wants to have their taxes increase, it will probably cost less in the long run than spending the money necessary to repair and upgrade the current major problems that exist in these buildings, say officials. “Much like repairing the roof or replacing the septic system in your house, the municipal complex is something we can no longer ignore. The fact is our current public safety building and town hall have served us well, but are beyond the point of repairing and expanding to address the current and future needs of our town,” Schwall said. The town has not yet determined the length of the bond, whether it will be 20, 25 or 30 years. Several scenarios are presently being evaluated. “We are still working with our advisors to determine the most beneficial debt facility to use and will provide a definitive point of view before Special Town Meeting,” Schwall said. The actual cost may be less than the estimated $40 per $100,000 valuation, according to Schwall.

The final amount will be determined by several factors, such as available funds from existing accounts which could be applied to the project and using recurring income to offset yearly debt service. One example is the PILOT account for revenue from solar farm agreements. The town intends to utilize these funds to offset the debt service.

The town is also researching grant opportunities and alternative building methods to reduce the construction costs. Another consideration is that this is the last year that residents will be paying the debt for the Council of Aging building project. The last payment on that project will be made in April 2017.  The committee is also working with local and state representatives to determine if there is any support available from the state.
Schwall says that the committee remains committed to delivering the best project, at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. Taxpayers will decide whether or not to move forward with the proposed municipal center in a few weeks at the Special Town Meeting on Jan. 23. A short video outlining the specifics of the financing of the project is expected to run on Rehoboth Community TV Ch. 9 prior to the Town Meeting.

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