Westwood Select Board, at its hybrid meeting of March 9, held both online and in person at Westwood Public Library, unanimously approved the use of unallocated funds of $200,000 from a Community Service Agreement with Dana Farber Cancer Institute to quickly proceed with plans to erect a sprung structure that would enable temporary operations from Fire Station 1, following the recent closure of the station after structural problems were discovered.
The temporary, large sprung structure would be capable of housing Westwood Fire Department apparatus and would enable operations that have been displaced since Thursday, February 26th, when an emergency structural evaluation of Fire Station 1 on High Street resulted in the overnight relocation of all FS1 equipment and operations to Fire Station 2 on Washington Street.
At the board’s March 9th meeting, Westwood Fire Chief Steven Lund noted that with all operations from FS1 moved to FS2 on the other side of town, there is a “dramatic increase” in response time to the areas usually more quickly served by the now-shuttered FS1. Whereas in the recent past, the fire department responded from FS1 to Highland Glen in three to four minutes, that response time from FS2 is now eight to nine minutes, he said. The increased response time is “well over guidelines for a safe response,” said Chief Lund.
Deputy Town Administrator Molly Fitzpatrick offered Select Board two possible solutions for improving response time to the High Street area of town. The first option she offered would involve making emergency repairs to the epoxy floor of the apparatus bay floor of FS1 and shoring up the floors. Adding floor support would result in the loss of storage space for vehicles and loss of mechanic work space. Along with contingency funds for unforeseen expenses, a reasonable cost estimate for repairs would be about $750,000, said Ms. Fitzpatrick.
A second option – the one Select Board ultimately approved – would entail erecting a temporary sprung structure with three apparatus bay doors along the front apron of FS1, bringing the large structure to within a few feet of the High Street sidewalk. Along with the costs for the apparatus bay doors, utilities, and contingency funds, the expected cost of the sprung structure would be about $400,000, said Ms. Fitzpatrick.
“We’re picking among a menu of bad choices and trying to pick which one is the least bad,” said Town Administrator Connor Read. He noted that the goal of these proposals was not to develop a good capital project, but to respond to an emergency and improve the fire department’s ability to respond to incidents in the area of FS1.
In recommending the sprung structure, Ms. Fitzpatrick noted that it represents a quicker, less costly solution than repairing the apparatus bay floor. The latter is a more costly solution that would require bringing the idea to Town Meeting for resident approval in order to secure funding. Although Westwood’s zoning bylaws for temporary structures provide that such structures cannot be in temporary use for more than three years, the structure could potentially be used for other purposes after serving the current immediate need, said Ms. Fitzpatrick.
"Given the limited choices and the dire need of getting a response up on this side of town, this is the responsible option,” said Town Administrator Read of the sprung structure proposal.
Select Board Chair Marianne LeBlanc Cummings agreed, as did Select Board Clerk Joe Previtera. They unanimously approved the expenditure of $200,000 from the town’s Community Service Agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to provide funding for proceeding with the sprung structure. The remaining $200,000 in estimated project cost is expected to be obtained from unspent facilities capital funding allocated to the Department of Public Works, said Mr. Read.
The town’s Finance Department has obtained an emergency procurement waiver from the state, said Ms. Fitzpatrick. The work on erecting the sprung structure is estimated to begin in four to eight weeks.
In introducing the topic for the board’s action, Ms. Fitzpatrick provided additional details regarding the events of Thursday, February 26th. She said it was after the “historic snowfall” that Assistant Fire Chief Colin McCarthy contacted her regarding an existing hole in the apparatus floor, which had been there “for a while” but which had grown. It appeared that “additional pieces” were “loosening up,” said Ms. Fitzpatrick, who arrived at FS1 and decided an emergency structural evaluation was necessary.
An engineer provided the assessment that same day. The engineer found that none of the FS1 apparatus bays could hold a ladder truck or engine, which were “too large,” said Ms. Fitzpatrick. Additionally, the middle bays - Bay 2 and Bay 3 - were deemed unsuitable to hold any equipment at all.
Ms. Fitzpatrick said that she, Chief Lund, Asst. Chief McCarthy, and firefighters discussed emergency plans and how to house trucks and ambulances inside to protect equipment and medication from the cold temperatures and weather exposure. They decided to move all staff and apparatus to FS2 on the other side of town, while providing a presence at FS1 only when temperatures allowed. Chief Lund contacted neighboring fire department heads to set up “automatic mutual aid” to help provide a faster response, she said.
The town’s Finance Department obtained an emergency procurement waiver from the states, Ms. Fitzpatrick added. Following the emergency relocation of operations and equipment to FS2, the town then turned to developing a short-term operating model for FS1, she said. It would focus on safety, response readiness and time, cost considerations, and availability of funding.
Select Board quickly adopted town staff's recommendation for a sprung structure. “This is a top priority for our citizens and it’s a top priority for us,” said Mr. Previtera. Ms. Cummings agreed.
FS1 Steering Committee Chair Ford Spalding presented a short update to the board regarding his group’s deliberations as it works to determine a preferred site for constructing a new FS1. He noted that the committee will be establishing a new website to explain its recommendations and deliberations to the public. Given the current circumstances, he stated that the committee will endeavor to not just educate, but also will advocate for a facility that meets all programmatic needs, and will emphasize the importance of getting the new station built.
Sunny, with a high of 69 and low of 35 degrees. Sunny for the morning, clear during the afternoon and evening,
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