TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON— Township Council members requested Oct. 3 that its consulting architect provide additional renderings for a new DPW facility at town hall that incorporates design options that include the use of brick and mortar and steel buildings to house DPW employees, vehicles, and equipment hoping to lower an estimated $4.5 million price tag.
Mayor Peter Calamari said he would ask the architect for additional designs, after he tried to get council consensus on the number of storage bays that they wanted for vehicles/equipment in the proposed new DPW facility, which is proposed on the footprint of the now-demolished, former DPW building at town hall.
The next council meeting is Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
That building was razed following discovery of contaminated soil due to leaking underground oil and gas storage tanks in the 1980s, under orders from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Following its demolition, the contaminated soil was remediated to state standards. (For a full report, see “Odors are expected; DPW soil removal contract approved,” July 5, 2021, Pascack Press.)
A recent township effort to purchase 95 Linwood Ave. for $1.3 million to site a new DPW derailed when environmental concerns were found there.
Calamari said the architect wanted to put together designs based on the number of equipment bays that the council agreed upon. He said with that number, the architect could estimate the costs of brick and mortar versus a steel structure building.
However, council members told Calamari that they wanted to see more design renderings that incorporate uses of both brick and mortar structures and steel structures for a new DPW facility.
Calamari warned council members that expanding the footprint of the proposed DPW facility at town hall would further reduce available parking there, which is already in short supply. He again noted that all current DPW equipment could not be stored at the new DPW facility and alternate storage areas will need to be found.
He said that although the ambulance corps will eventually move to the new Emergency Services Building on Washington Avenue, the current building behind town hall will not be demolished until that move occurs, and its land area should be used for additional visitor parking.
Vice President Stacey Feeney suggested that Calamari invite the architect, Arcari Iovino, and DPW officials, to the next council meeting so that everyone could come to agreement on what might be best for a new facility.
During the nearly 25-minute discussion on options for a new DPW facility, Morgan said that all of the vehicles would be in steel constructed building, and office space in a brick and mortar construction building.
“So where would the steel go then? Sorry, I’m truly confused,” said Calamari, after Morgan explained that vehicles should be covered by a steel structure and that the remainder of the building be brick and mortar.
Replying to Calamari, Morgan said “that’s what the architect is for” and and Sears added, “That’s where an engineer was supposed to look into.”
Morgan added, “It’s almost like a smaller airplane hangar thing in my head,” then noted that she envisioned a brick and mortar building that butts up to a metal-framed structure.
When Calamari asked what Morgan’s idea would mean in relation to square footage or possibly two, one-story structures, she said she was “not sure what the DPW is going to need” and said she hoped the architect might “shed some light on several different options.”
Sears said they were hoping to cut the cost of the brick and mortar structure “in half by doing steel and then for the DPW people a brick and mortar building strictly for their use” that would include offices, sleeping space and a kitchen.
Calamari said that DPW “has signed off” on the number of bays, office space needed, and added, “The vehicles will not fit in the parking lot up here, they just won’t.”
He said it appeared council was talking about “cutting out the [visitor] parking” in the municipal lot for an expanded DPW structure, and noted some council members were “providing a mixed message” on what they wanted and what to tell the architect.
Calamari said the architect was initially instructed to design a new DPW facility in the prior building’s footprint, and if that space was now larger, he needed to confirm that with the council.
The council appeared to be in favor of leaving the new facility on the former DPW’s footprint, although designs featuring a second-story storage option and steel structures for covering equipment were requested.
Member Steven Cascio said he wanted to see a couple other renderings of options for steel and brick and mortar buildings, including second floor space for additional storage. “Let’s get our money’s worth. Give me two or three versions of what we can do on this property.”
Morgan also asked if the architect could attend the next public meeting. Instead, Calamari said, he could bring questions directly back to the architect rather than wait until the next meeting.
Sears asked whether the council should see the square footage of the existing property, adding he liked more bays on the grounds. Cascio said he was not looking for more bays, but “a different design … a different rendering” to consider.
Cascio said constructing a building with half from steel and half from brick and mortar “does not make building sense or financial sense, that’s all I have to say.”
Morgan said the council “has a responsibility to look at every single option and decide with what they (DPW) need, what we can do responsibly.” Morgan said she would like to see “multiple renderings” from the architect on possible DPW designs.
Feeney noted “we have been repeatedly told” by the administration and DPW that all the equipment DPW owns will not fit in a DPW facility built at the town hall property. “Regardless of how many bays we build, it’s not going to happen.”
Feeney said that the architect and DPW officials attend a council meeting to have DPW confirm what building design works best for DPW operations, including bays and equipment storage needs. “Without that, we’re not going to have the right answers.”
Member Daisy Velez said she wanted to see more renderings and that the architect’s DPW packet included renderings that she said showed that steel structures would “take away from the (municipal) parking situation.”
Morgan said she did not want to store DPW equipment “permanently” at the recently purchased 6.1-acre former swim club property and that council should not request more bays if it does not reduce the DPW equipment storage at the swim club.
Calamari asked if the council consensus was five bays at the new DPW facility, versus four or six bays. Morgan wondered if the architect could specify how many bays it would take to house all the current DPW equipment. Feeney said an email was sent to council describing what equipment could stay and not stay at the architect’s first-proposed DPW facility.
Calamari said he would ask the architect how much square footage was needed to house all DPW equipment, and translate that into number of bays.
Morgan asked that if all DPW equipment is not stored in the new DPW’s bays, and ends up left out in the weather, was there “another shed-like material” that can cover and protect it.
Calamari said they would need to look at the locations where excess equipment could be stored and then what could be done to protect it at those specific locations.
Calamari noted the Bergen County executive’s offer of temporary equipment storage was “short term in a pinch” and that the council “is looking for a 50-year solution.”
Sears said that one town stores its equipment on a steel structure’s second floor, which Feeney previously mentioned, noting that plows and generators are examples of what might be stored there.
Replying to resident Thomas Snee’s questions, Calamari said township engineer Boswell Engineering “will have some answers to us later this month as to what can and cannot be done at that [swim club] because of the topography.”
Calamari also said the possible purchase of 3.2 acres at 450 Pascack Road “was active and on our radar” and had been discussed in recent closed-session meetings. Snee advocated for 450’s purchase to add space for possible parking for major sports events at nearby Memorial Field.
The property had been previously recommended for additional township parking during prior council discussions. The council bid $430,000 last summer for 450 Pascack Road, under threat of eminent domain should negotiations not be successfully concluded.
Negotiations are ongoing, but little information is available due to such legal matters being exempt from public disclosure.