Marion’s Capital Improvements Planning Committee saved the longest list for last, and the rundown of capital requests from the Department of Public Works is so deep that CIPC Chairman Paul Naiman suggested at the start of Monday night’s meeting that the committee field two categories from DPW Director Nathaniel Munafo and save the third for a later date.
Munafo presented his FY23 requests (and 10-year plan) for the Highway and Water departments. The Sewer Department will have its own meeting at a date to be determined, and that will push back the CIPC’s scoring meeting originally set for December 15 to January 5.
Town Administrator Jay McGrail pointed out that the DPW’s purview encompasses highway, water and sewer. “It’s like three different budgets,” he said.
The good news is the CIPC runs an efficient ship so pushing back a week does not threaten its ability to stay ahead of the town as it turns the page toward the spring’s annual Town Meeting.
In introducing his three Highway Department requests, Munafo made sure to thank DPW employees Becky Tilden and Megan Davis for their tireless work in preparing the information for the committee’s consumption.
The three requests are: $4,500,000 for design and construction of a new DPW headquarters at Benson Brook, $230,000 for a new street sweeper;and $85,000 to replace the fire alarm security system at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and DPW office.
Considered a “bare bones project,” the price tag on the new DPW is based on the last budget that architect Will Saltonstall presented on November 2. Preliminary design includes two mechanics’ bays, a bay to wash vehicles and some covered parking for vehicles to protect from the elements. On the site will be a small lunchroom and bathroom facilities, even in modest designs a significant upgrade over the current setup on Mill Street. The new facility would also be connected to town sewer and include a covered salt-storage structure to the water tower.
The new DPW would meet OSHA regulations that cannot be met at the current facility, along with the six control-measure requirements of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) permit.
The majority of cost would come out of the town’s general fund, but Town Administrator Jay McGrail said the cost might be reduced by dipping into free cash.
Select Board member John Waterman, sitting in on the meeting, said that during the recent public tour of existing facilities and project sites a gentleman offered to donate some money toward the new DPW.
Munafo told the CIPC he is budgeting eight months to achieve a detailed design, and that may include a net-zero energy consumption. McGrail said that construction will happen in 2023 with plans to go out to bid in March 2023 at the latest. The salt-storage structure is included in the same timeline.
McGrail said that the wooden buildings at the current DPW site would be demolished with a plan to repurpose the cinderblock building for winter boat work. Waterman said the lot would also be used for overflow parking from Old Landing in the summer.
If none of Munafo’s 10 Water Department requests were as expensive as a new DPW operations center, Marion’s longstanding infrastructural needs are equally daunting against a double-edged timeline of substantial residential developments planned for Route 6 and the state Department of Transportation’s plans to improve the road.
Munafo requested $165,000 to design the replacement of 5,700 feet of watermain pipe on Route 6 from Creek Road to River Road. He told the committee that his FY24 placeholder of $2,700,000 can be moved to another fiscal year.
A July 4 water leak on Jeri Lane led to a dig into a section of 6-inch steel watermain under Route 6 that is estimated to date back to the 1930s. “That was fun,” said Munafo. “We realized a lot of the infrastructure is very bad on this stretch of watermain. Any worse and we would have had to shut off all the way back to Front Street.”
Anticipating water and sewer needs of Ken Steen’s Heron Cove and Matt Zuker’s projects, Munafo said that once the Massachusetts DOT has done its work on Route 6, Marion would be locked out of excavation on the highway for a substantial period of time so it’s crucial that the town make any infrastructural upgrades ahead of those projects.
Two engineering firms, Weston & Sampson and Tata & Howard, are studying the situation, according to Munafo.
Munafo’s first Water Department request was $250,000 to repair 600 linear feet of pipe along Creek Road. Work on a culvert revealed a surprising fact that the stretch of pipe has been offline, and an effort to get it back online revealed pressure leaks. “It’s a mystery to all of us,” said Munafo, who noted that Tata and Howard is helping the town determine if the culvert is the cause.
A solution for that stretch of pipe, said Munafo, would definitely help circulate water to the Heron Cove site.
The Water Department requested $50,000 for emergency chlorine injection at the Perry Hill metering station and Wolf Island station. It is believed that Marion’s boil order outlasted Mattapoisett’s because Marion depended on the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District for chlorination. “By the time the MRV chlorine reached Marion, a large percentage had been used up. We ended up having to chlorinate our water tanks a couple of times,” said Munafo.
Marion and other MRV member towns do not chlorinate their water on a regular basis but only when needed. “I agree with that because I can taste the difference and it’s not as good,” said CIPC member Casey Barros.
Other requests included: a $75,000 Ford F350 pickup truck to replace an existing same model, $85,000 for an emergency towable/portable generator to provide power for Marion-owned pumping stations and to finish work on the generator at Perry Hill station, $20,000 to evaluate the main pumping station, $20,000 to evaluate the Perry Hill pumping station, $20,000 for security-based, risk and assessment recommendations, $15,000 to conduct an inventory on the watermain gates as to their operating capacity and $40,000 for a unidirectional flushing plan of watermains.
The next meeting of the Marion CIPC is anticipated by December 23, but a date has not been set.
Marion Capital Improvements Planning Committee
By Mick Colageo