Foundation and footings in place for new Ashland town/fire hall
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| Workers from Gallo Construction set rebar for the footings and foundation of the new Ashland town hall/firehouse which is becoming a reality after nearly a year of planning, replacing the former facility lost to a fire last winter. (Michael Ryan/Windham Journal) |
By Michael Ryan
Windham Journal Staff Writer
ASHLAND — There is the semblance of a smile showing on the faces of government leaders again as the foundation and footings go up for the new town hall/firehouse in Ashland, replacing the facility lost to fire almost a year ago.
Nine workers from Gallo Construction were busy, all last week, setting what seemed like miles of rebar and hoping for a substantial snowfall to keep the frost from settling in more deeply than it already had in what, to that point, had been basically a snow-less winter.
A special demo-hammer was going to be brought to the site to “beat the frost out” of the turf if necessary, a crewman said, as one recently poured concrete wall on the north side of the building stayed warm and toasty, drying under a plastic blanket.
Heating the walls of what will form the basement for the town hall portion of the structure is proving to be a financial challenge, with cold weather showing no signs of letting up and the memory of long delays in getting started weighing heavily on the minds of local officials.
Blueprints were changed numerous times over the spring and summer as discussions took place between volunteer firefighters and government leaders related to the size of the building, which as one point in the planning process was nearly four times its original size.
Preliminary sketches also would have resulted in the town borrowing $1 million or more, giving firefighters and town employees a lot more room, which everyone agreed was necessary and long overdue, but putting Ashland in an unfamiliar spot.
Debt is not something government leaders like to accrue, and their annual budgets traditionally have zeroes all across line items having anything to do with interest payments on loans, with the town preferring to set aside money as it goes along.
Considerable cash had been put in the bank for an addition at the old town hall/firehouse, giving firefighters more space for trucks and equipment, before the blaze struck. Volunteers also had a cramped meeting room and no quarters for cleaning up after fires.
Municipal employees were similarly squeezed and the finished blueprints have been designed to address all those problems with a minimum of borrowing, or perhaps none, reducing the footprint from 16,600 square foot to 12,100 square feet.
A pre-engineered steel shell will be installed, hopefully by late March, atop the foundation and footings currently being constructed, allowing the town to begin its part in the process, using as much volunteer energy as possible to pour interior slabs for flooring.
Potential debt will be reduced significantly by letting Gallo Construction do its thing, laboring uninterrupted through the winter, and then setting volunteers loose, gradually finishing off the inside, including concrete slabs and rooms while sub-contracting out any undoable plumbing, electrical and heating.
It had been hoped the building would be enclosed by early January, rather than just getting underway, but local officials are pleased to see progress, not exactly beaming just yet but changing the topic of conversation from what wasn’t happening to a brighter future.
Shock was etched on the faces of all Ashland citizens, last January 10, when flames ripped through the old town hall/firehouse, destroying virtually all fire-fighting equipment, including fire trucks, as well as an ambulance.
The fire company, with the help of their volunteer brethren throughout Greene County and beyond, gradually got back on its feet, and municipal employees are making do with temporary quarters in two trailers, about 1/2 mile east of the original site.
When the project is completed, the fire district will have three truck bays, each one deep enough for two vehicles, along with significantly more storage space, a separate meeting room and bathroom/shower facilities. There will be one ambulance bay immediately next door, deep enough for two rigs.
Municipal workers will have six offices in which to spread out. The town clerk will have a secure file area and the judges chambers will be isolated from the rest, giving the judiciary added security. There will be a large community room, where the town council will meet, and a kitchen/breakroom.
While all this is going on, the new wastewater treatment system is steadily moving forward, on schedule. The sewer plant, on the west end of town, is nearly enclosed with overhead doors expected to arrive in mid-January.
Interior insulation will be done by then, according to a crewman at the site, setting the stage for the construction of the sewer plant’s machinery and network, aiming toward completion in May and startup next summer or fall. Installation of the collection line was wrapped up last week.
When the dust settles, Ashland will have a $7.7 million facility, financed by the Department of Environmental Protection. The small diameter, gravity sewer system will service 89 residences and businesses, primarily in the hamlet district.
In other business:
—Town board members, at a recent meeting, received a letter from town of Lexington resident Linda Van Etten, praising members of the Ashland Rescue Squad and Greene County Emergency Medical Services.
“My husband suffered a heart attack at his office in Ashland on August 24th...and the county emergency response paramedic responded within minutes,” Van Etten wrote. “The paramedic, with the assistance of the equally responsive Ashland Rescue Squad, professionally administered what was needed.
“Due to their fast and professional efforts, stents were in place [in an Albany hospital] within two hours of my husband’s cardiac episode. The fact that this could be accomplished is amazing,” Van Etten wrote.
“The long term effects of this heart attack were definitely minimized and [my husband’s] life extended,” Van Etten wrote. “On behalf of my husband and myself, I thank you for your service to us, Greene County and the rural mountaintop area.”
Nine workers from Gallo Construction were busy, all last week, setting what seemed like miles of rebar and hoping for a substantial snowfall to keep the frost from settling in more deeply than it already had in what, to that point, had been basically a snow-less winter.
A special demo-hammer was going to be brought to the site to “beat the frost out” of the turf if necessary, a crewman said, as one recently poured concrete wall on the north side of the building stayed warm and toasty, drying under a plastic blanket.
Heating the walls of what will form the basement for the town hall portion of the structure is proving to be a financial challenge, with cold weather showing no signs of letting up and the memory of long delays in getting started weighing heavily on the minds of local officials.
Blueprints were changed numerous times over the spring and summer as discussions took place between volunteer firefighters and government leaders related to the size of the building, which as one point in the planning process was nearly four times its original size.
Preliminary sketches also would have resulted in the town borrowing $1 million or more, giving firefighters and town employees a lot more room, which everyone agreed was necessary and long overdue, but putting Ashland in an unfamiliar spot.
Debt is not something government leaders like to accrue, and their annual budgets traditionally have zeroes all across line items having anything to do with interest payments on loans, with the town preferring to set aside money as it goes along.
Considerable cash had been put in the bank for an addition at the old town hall/firehouse, giving firefighters more space for trucks and equipment, before the blaze struck. Volunteers also had a cramped meeting room and no quarters for cleaning up after fires.
Municipal employees were similarly squeezed and the finished blueprints have been designed to address all those problems with a minimum of borrowing, or perhaps none, reducing the footprint from 16,600 square foot to 12,100 square feet.
A pre-engineered steel shell will be installed, hopefully by late March, atop the foundation and footings currently being constructed, allowing the town to begin its part in the process, using as much volunteer energy as possible to pour interior slabs for flooring.
Potential debt will be reduced significantly by letting Gallo Construction do its thing, laboring uninterrupted through the winter, and then setting volunteers loose, gradually finishing off the inside, including concrete slabs and rooms while sub-contracting out any undoable plumbing, electrical and heating.
It had been hoped the building would be enclosed by early January, rather than just getting underway, but local officials are pleased to see progress, not exactly beaming just yet but changing the topic of conversation from what wasn’t happening to a brighter future.
Shock was etched on the faces of all Ashland citizens, last January 10, when flames ripped through the old town hall/firehouse, destroying virtually all fire-fighting equipment, including fire trucks, as well as an ambulance.
The fire company, with the help of their volunteer brethren throughout Greene County and beyond, gradually got back on its feet, and municipal employees are making do with temporary quarters in two trailers, about 1/2 mile east of the original site.
When the project is completed, the fire district will have three truck bays, each one deep enough for two vehicles, along with significantly more storage space, a separate meeting room and bathroom/shower facilities. There will be one ambulance bay immediately next door, deep enough for two rigs.
Municipal workers will have six offices in which to spread out. The town clerk will have a secure file area and the judges chambers will be isolated from the rest, giving the judiciary added security. There will be a large community room, where the town council will meet, and a kitchen/breakroom.
While all this is going on, the new wastewater treatment system is steadily moving forward, on schedule. The sewer plant, on the west end of town, is nearly enclosed with overhead doors expected to arrive in mid-January.
Interior insulation will be done by then, according to a crewman at the site, setting the stage for the construction of the sewer plant’s machinery and network, aiming toward completion in May and startup next summer or fall. Installation of the collection line was wrapped up last week.
When the dust settles, Ashland will have a $7.7 million facility, financed by the Department of Environmental Protection. The small diameter, gravity sewer system will service 89 residences and businesses, primarily in the hamlet district.
In other business:
—Town board members, at a recent meeting, received a letter from town of Lexington resident Linda Van Etten, praising members of the Ashland Rescue Squad and Greene County Emergency Medical Services.
“My husband suffered a heart attack at his office in Ashland on August 24th...and the county emergency response paramedic responded within minutes,” Van Etten wrote. “The paramedic, with the assistance of the equally responsive Ashland Rescue Squad, professionally administered what was needed.
“Due to their fast and professional efforts, stents were in place [in an Albany hospital] within two hours of my husband’s cardiac episode. The fact that this could be accomplished is amazing,” Van Etten wrote.
“The long term effects of this heart attack were definitely minimized and [my husband’s] life extended,” Van Etten wrote. “On behalf of my husband and myself, I thank you for your service to us, Greene County and the rural mountaintop area.”
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