City Considering Capital Improvement Projects
The Medford High School pool, currently closed and empty, is one of several proposed capital improvement projects.
– Allison Goldsberry
On Tuesday the Medford City Council will consider the next round in a series of capital improvement projects planned for the city.
The Council will consider several million dollars in projects to repair the high school pool, make improvements to city fire stations, and to demolish and reconstruct the Department of Public Works building.
At its January 23 meeting, the Medford School Committee approved a $2.5 million proposal to cover repair costs for the high school pool. Speaking during the meeting, Mayor Michael McGlynn said a 2007 report outlined all of the needed repairs, including work improving its structural integrity and replacement of the large windows above the pool that let in light but let out heat. Mayor McGlynn is asking the Council on Tuesday to approve the expenditure of $450,000 from insurance money to go toward pool repairs and a $1,925,000 loan order to cover the rest of the repairs.
The plans to repair the pool do not include renovation of the locker rooms and showers or improvements to handicapped accessibility and the bleachers. Mayor McGlynn said the repairs could “trigger” increased handicapped accessibility improvements.
The Council will consider the pool proposal during its regular meeting on Tuesday at 7:00PM. Prior to the regular meeting the Council will convene a Committee of the Whole to discuss the fire station repairs and DPW proposal. That meeting is taking place at 5:45PM in Room 207 at Medford City Hall.
Mayor McGlynn is asking for a $1,800,000 loan order to make improvements to the city’s fire stations. The repairs don’t include the Main Street headquarters, which is part of another capital improvement proposal.
The Mayor is also seeking a $6,429,000 loan order to tear down and reconstruct a DPW facility. Much of the current facility has been condemned, mainly due to a 2009 intentionally set fire that damaged the historic building. The city is in sore need of a safe, efficient facility for its DPW personnel and equipment, a point the Council witnessed first-hand in a tour of the building last fall.
The Council recently approved several of the proposed capital improvement projects, the largest of which was a $3.3 million bond to upgrade the school district’s technology. The Council also approved an $860,000 loan for the construction of a turf field at Hormel Stadium, part of which will be covered by a $500,000 grant from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. They also approved a $500,000 bond for sidewalk improvements and opted to appropriate $300,000 from free cash to upgrade the city’s fire alarm system. Finally, while agreeing a plan is needed to determine whether police headquarters should be replaced or renovated, the Council rejected a $250,000 bond to study the topic.
Upcoming capital improvement projects that will come before the Council include $2.5 million to refurbish the Brooks Estate and plans to upgrade the cemetery’s maintenance facilities.