Page 30 - Middleborough 2024 Town Report

FACILITIES
DEPARTMENT
Council on Aging building continued with
improvements, most notably the phased approach of
replacing aged and worn-out HVAC equipment. This
project took some planning as activities and food
service cannot be interrupted. Units were replaced
systematically to minimize disruption to services. Four
systems were completely replaced both outside and in
the attic, while two remain for calendar year 2025.
Ongoing improvements to concrete sidewalks and
interior looring continued through the year as well.
Central Fire Station received an urgent repair to the
concrete apron just outside the main apparatus bay. A
sunken portion of cement caused alarm for the
extremely heavy firefighting equipment that is
required to pass over this threshold daily. Repairs were
made on time, under budget and without incident. The
remaining portion of the concrete driveway will need
some attention in the near future, however the cement
repairs during this phase is safe for the ladder trucks
and engines to pass. Outside lighting was repaired at
Central Fire. Hot water system issues arose and were
addressed with failsafe in place should we sufer pump
or system failure in the future.
The “Peirce Store” aka the old
police station was painted
finally along with
improvements to the
underlying woodwork. It
looks great and was long
overdue. New gutters were
added to alleviate some of
the rain runof that
contributed to the wood
work failure.
Facilities worked with Energy New England on energy
audits to identify cost saving areas of improvements in
Town Buildings. We also worked on a Town wide ADA
improvements plan that was grant funded. These projects
are still in progress.
South Fire Station. The Town Manager and Fire Chief
asked me to do a “mini remodel” of the living quarters at
South Fire Station. The last iteration of this space had two
rooms for overnight stafing level and Chief Thompson
indicated he can open the station with a minimum 3
person stafing level for each shit which is funded for
stafing for the next 3 years beginning early 2025. October
Town Meeting approved a renovation budget of $30K and
I was given a deadline of January 1 for completion which
was not a lot of time. Working with local vendors
for framing, electrical, looring, HVAC, plumbing
and painting we were able to redesign, demo and
construct a 3-bedroom area with living space and
improvements to the kitchen and bathrooms. This was
another satisfying project for this department and one I
very happy with the results.
The library was awarded 1.5 million for long overdue HVAC
replacement and upgrades. Changes to industry
equipment and budget overruns in equipment costs and
layout and design demanded a second look to fall within
our budget allowance. The Town Manager charged me
with coming up with ways to redesign the library project
while staying within the initial budget. Facilities is
working currently on resolving
budgeting shortfalls and redesign
with input from both Library staf and
the design engineer in a way that still
includes redundancy of equipment
for warming shelter and public place
of gathering, as well as NOT
compromising on the ability to
properly dehumidify the space and
properly comfort cool its occupants
and books. Project ongoing.
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