BUCKLAND — A week after special town meeting voters defeated a measure to spend up to $3.5 million to bring its steel-plant-turned-highway garage up to state code, selectmen have hired an architect to write an evaluation report that is to be submitted to the building inspector on April 1.
Also, selectmen are seeking residents to serve on a building committee for the needed garage renovations. Residents are asked to send emails or letters of interest to Town Administrator Andrea Llamas by Feb. 28, at: twnadmin@town.buckland.ma.us.
The board hopes to be able to form the building committee at its next meeting, on Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m.
Building Inspector James A. Cerrone of the Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program told the board the highway department cannot occupy the former Mayhew Steel plant indefinitely without bringing the building up to code and getting an occupancy permit.
“You have to understand that you’re not legally in that building,” he said. While the town has applied for a commercial building permit for a change of use, to convert the factory building into a municipal highway facility, the law requires an investigation and evaluation, done by a design professional, and based on the 2009 International Building Code.
Cerrone had given the town until April 1 to submit the report, and said he is still requiring the report by that date. Town officials had given Cerrone earlier reports that were done before the town spent $325,000 to buy the property — rather than paying $60,000 per year in rent, plus heat and utilities for the drafty building. Town officials knew the building required renovations for the highway department but wanted to own the building before investing a lot of money for renovations.
Cerrone said the earlier reports were “all over the place.”
“You have to have a definitive plan, for this to mean anything to me,” Cerrone said. “If you’re not ready to do this, then your only out is to get out. … The town has made the mistake of thinking they are allowed to occupy this building while figuring (this plan) out.”
Selectmen said the plan is to eventually tear down most of the buildings on the 4.7-acre site and use the metal building that was “newest,” built in 1993.
Architect and resident George Dole of Jones Whitsett Architects was hired to do the report, so that the town could get the building permit to do the work required for its occupancy permit. After completing the evaluation and report, he said he could give the board an estimate for “what is the minimum you would have to do to stay in the building.”