LONGMEADOW – The Select Board unanimously endorsed the Department of Public Works (DPW) Building Committee’s recommendation to create a new complex for the department at Grande Meadows Athletic Club.

The board’s decision took place at its Sept. 19 meeting, following a presentation by DPW Building Committee Chair Christopher Cove about the top ranked site.

Cove said the committee identified 29 public sites and seven private and vetted those down to three sites. The other two properties that didn’t make the cut include a west portion of Laurel Park and the water tower property.

“We purposely were very deliberate so that we could stand behind the recommendation that we’re giving the Select Board,” he explained. “We didn’t want to do this quickly … I think we’ve put the work in to come up with a recommendation we can all stand behind.”

Selectman William Low said he believes the committee’s work was “highly detailed.”

He added, “I noted, at least on the last matrix, that you heavily weighted social aspects of the project, which I think is very important to the town.”

Selectman Mark Gold said he supported the committee’s recommendation.

He added he was on a DPW task force to examine properties for a new complex about six years ago, which recommended the same site.

“From my perspective, this is a validation of that, but certainly a lot more detailed [and] clearly up to date,” he noted.

Selectman Richard Foster said studies investigating potential locations for the DPW project go back to 1986. There have been a half a dozen studies completed since that time.

Select Board Chair Marie Angelides said her only concern about the property is that it is commercially zoned taxable land and utilizing it for the project would result in it coming off the tax roll.

“I know that you have considered that and have put that in – what the additional cost will be that we are taking taxable land off,” she told Cove. “It’s an adjustment. There was pros and cons to everything and you had to settle on the good as well as the bad.”

 Town Manager Stephen Crane said the next step for the project would be to complete an appraisal on the property and have Town Meeting voters approve an appropriation to purchase the site.

However, he explained there would not be enough time to complete the appraisal prior to the Oct. 25 Special Town Meeting. He noted the board could choose to add a nonbinding article regarding the site on the warrant.

“The next immediate step is going to be continuing with the design now that we know the site and really having the building take shape and really narrowing down the costs of the project,” he added.  

Crane said residents would have to approve a debt exclusion vote to fund the project, which could only be placed on an election ballot after Town Meeting approval.

In other business, the board agreed to hold off on making a decision about the Adult Center Building Committee’s top site recommendation of Bliss Park and a request to create a warrant article calling for a $250,000 appropriation to create park and site improvement plans.

The board agreed to take a vote on this issue at its Oct. 3 meeting.

Crane said the parcel has no deed and due to that it is not subject to Article 97 status.

Article 97 of the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs states that open space protected by the article requires a unanimous vote from the Park Board and a two-thirds majority approval from Town Meeting and the Legislature in order to be used for construction purposes.

“It’s not under Article 97, but its also not free and clear, according to the draft opinion [of legal counsel] that I saw on [Sept. 16],” Crane noted.

He added the Park Board has unanimously supported Bliss Park for a new Adult Center.

The Board of Directors of the Council on Aging also endorsed the final site selection, according to a press release from the board.

Foster said during the meeting he believes not enough information is known about the property to justify placing it on the warrant.

He added neither of the two professional studies of sites for the project during the past three years yielded Bliss Park in the top tier of locations. He described the recommendation as “quantum leap” and noted that he couldn’t find a compelling reason in favor of Bliss Park.

Angelides, who is the liaison to the building committee, responded to Foster by stating the building committee utilized a different matrix than those professional firms utilized, including the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

She said the committee placed an emphasis on what would be best for the community in the long term.

Gold said he believes the request for the warrant article is “putting the cart before the horse.”

Crane said in his opinion the funds are substantially more than what is needed for the project at this time.