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09/15/2020 12:00 AMNew conversations arising from the report of the Facilities Committee are pushing town officials to look at possible large-scale changes around town properties as Guilford grapples with space and infrastructure issues.
Most notably, the town is potentially looking for a new, consolidated location for the Parks & Recreation and Public Works department, according to multiple officials.
Gary MacElhiney and Bob Hartman, two members of the now dormant Facilities Committee, discussed a variety of insights and recommendations stemming from their year-long work with the Board of Selectmen (BOS) last week, including conversations about ensuring volunteer committees and commissions are better qualified for their work.
After sending their final report to the BOS in early spring, the pandemic prevented any sort of workshop or more participatory event to discuss their conclusions, according to MacElhiney, though it seems the town is now ready to move and begin looking for ways to turn recommendations into action.
Other notable pieces in the committee’s report include paper storage across many or even most town departments, parking all throughout the town, the Friends of the Library’s book shed—which MacElhiney called “unsafe”—along with consolidation or expansion of some departments like Social Services and the Food Bank.
But maybe the largest and possibly most immediate and actionable item is the Public Works Department. Hartmann said Public Works Director Tom Fillion has already identified at least one potential location at a place that is “surprisingly high on the map”—presumably meaning in North Guilford.
Hartmann told the Courier that there was no specific property identified, but that it was more about being closer to Highway 80 rather than the town center, and getting the department out of a “six-acre site in a flood zone.”
Fillion told the committee that plowing and other regular work done by Public Works could simply be done more efficiently, with fewer miles driven from up there in the north.
Consolidating with Parks & Recreation “would simplify everything,” according to Hartmann, potentially even creating long-term savings by being able to more easily and regularly service vehicles and equipment owned by both departments, as well as “liberating” current properties to put back on the tax roll.
First Selectman Matt Hoey said he would like to begin conversations with the community regarding this “renewed interest in the Public Works facility.” The town was, at one point, solicited by “at least one developer” interested in purchasing the Public Works property, according to Hoey, and he anticipated “a domino effect” as Guilford shuffles its physical infrastructure.
“This is the time to start talking to the public and let them know what we are thinking and what the long term plans are,” Hoey said.
The overarching theme of the committee’s report and the identified needs of Guilford’s town departments and public properties were “oddly” reflective of a “growing town,” Hartmann said.
“We were concerned about losing population and demographics and now of course post-COVID, things seemed to be turning the other way and could be going that way for some time,” he said.
MacElhiney said he didn’t think the Facilities Committee was designed to be a building committee, but said some members would certainly be willing to serve on such a committee if the town chose to create one.
Selectman Charles Havrda said he would like to see some sort of “grid” or flow chart that could connect all the interrelated issues and parties, including school needs and buildings. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Freeman has been in touch regularly with the committee during its works, according to MacElhiney.
The town is already moving to a final design for a parking expansion near the Community Center at 52 Church Street, demolishing the structure there and possibly adding more storage, according to Hoey. That structure was deemed not serviceable for any sort of municipal use, he said.
Hartmann said that in his opinion, some of the identified issues created an opportunity to “dovetail beautifully” and allow the town to address multiple long-simmering issues with the reshuffle.
“In terms of good planning, it’s time to step back and just see how it all knits together,” Hartmann said.