New DPW facilities proposed in Marion to improve conditions called antiquated
Equipment is exposed to the elements at the current facility. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles 
The salt pile is unsightly, Town Administrator Jay McGrail said, and runs off onto Route 6 and Evergreen Cemetery. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles 
An illustration of the proposed salt storage building. Photo courtesy: Town of Marion 
The project would provide covered parking. Photo courtesy: Town of Marion
Equipment is exposed to the elements at the current facility. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles
The salt pile is unsightly, Town Administrator Jay McGrail said, and runs off onto Route 6 and Evergreen Cemetery. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles
An illustration of the proposed salt storage building. Photo courtesy: Town of Marion
The project would provide covered parking. Photo courtesy: Town of Marion
MARION — Road sand from uncovered piles running off into Route 6 and the nearby Evergreen Cemetery.
Plows and excavators, some just a few years old, exposed to the elements and vulnerable to rust.
Break rooms in buildings so dilapidated that some employees opt to eat in their cars.
These are some of the conditions at the Highway Barn on Route 6 that have prompted town officials to request the construction of a new facility on Benson Brook Road.
This would replace the current structure that has been described as antiquated, unsightly and creating potential environmental hazards.
“It’s hard to sugarcoat what’s going on here,’’ Town Manager Jay McGrail said. “It’s a horrible place for our employees to have to work. It’s not a tenable place for staff.’’
A request for the new facility will come before Town Meeting voters on May 9. The issue would require a supportive vote from Town Meeting voters, followed by approval of a debt exclusion ballot question at the town election on May 13.
The change would move the equipment and storage to Benson Brook Road, adjacent to the current DPW administrative offices and the wastewater treatment facility, and across the street from the transfer station. No residences are located in the immediate area.
The new project would include a salt storage facility and a covered parking structure where machinery would be kept. There will also be an operations center with a lunchroom, bathrooms, lockers and three work bays where equipment can be washed and repaired.
The work will cost $4.456 million. Free cash will cover $1.5 million of the cost, McGrail said. The remaining $3 million would be borrowed.
This would cost the taxpayer of a median-priced home about $60 a year for the first few years of the 20-year borrowing period, he said. When the Sippican School debt is paid off, he stated that the impact would drop to about $10.
This funding would allow the town to replace “substandard’’ facilities, McGrail said.
One issue, he added, is that the salt piles used to treat the roads are not covered, which is required by Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System regulations. “These things need to be addressed,’’ he said.
The exposed salt pile creates “one of the most unsightly parts of our community.’’
Another major concern, McGrail pointed out, is the area lacks covered storage facilities for town equipment. Instead, machinery is kept outside, vulnerable to rust and other deterioration, he said.
One example, he said, is a street sweeper that Town Meeting voters will be asked to fund at a cost of $330,000. This will replace a similar piece of equipment that was purchased in 2010 for $187,550, a piece that would have lasted “exponentially longer’’ with proper storage, McGrail said,.
These pieces of equipment, McGrail noted, “all cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the taxpayer has paid for all of it.’’
The project has been supported by the Select Board and the Finance Committee.
Voter approval, Munafo said, will “allow us to get the job done.’’
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