Webster Planning Board:

Cutting into clay pipes, police station update

By Becky Harvey
Patriot correspondent

The Webster Town Planning Board convened on Monday night for their regular monthly meeting.  Following the call to order, Leo Shenette addressed the board regarding the sewer and water cut-ins for the South Main Street.  Concerns were raised about the fact that new buildings are cutting into clay pipes that were laid in the 1800s.  Suggestions were made that all companies looking to tie into town water and sewer ought to be required to provide fiberglass sleeve linings in the water main and sewer lines prior to cutting into them.  The town has never updated the lines since Main Street was built, meaning that the lines are old and, if not ready to fall apart, in danger of degrading when they are disrupted and modified by new construction.

Chuck Ceppitelli stated that from here on out, he plans to insist that all new businesses be required to install sleeves when breaking into town lines.  He also questioned why the town hasn’t insisted on that for all businesses up until this point.  Agreement seemed to be unanimous that this was a smart stance to take.

Long Subaru

Long Subaru sent representatives looking to add on to the existing property.  The showroom would be built under the current roofline.  There would be no impact to the property other than the housing of cars would be indoors instead of outdoors.  The parking area would not be affected at all.  Not even the exterior lighting would change.  The request is being made due to the fact that the parent company has set requirements for square footage for interior building space to be at a certain building size.  The new plan would comply with Subaru’s requirements, expanding the showroom while not changing anything with regards to the building’s existing footprint.  The board unanimously agreed to the plan to allow expansion.

New Police Station

Once again JimmyNayfeh, of Jimmy’s Convenience Store, appeared before the board.  Brian Perry, chairman for the town’s Police Station Building Committee, and Salim Ayas, Neyfeh’s engineer, stated that the land swap was agreed to. Ayas presented plans with “significant changes” to the original plans from earlier this year.  The changes were necessary after the proposed land swap with the new police station.  Ceppetelli voiced concerns over the spacing around the back of the building.  The proposed plan would require that deliveries be made after hours, due to the tightness of the parking area.  He also brought up the fact that the current plans call for a gravel area behind the building.  This could possibly cause dusting, and with the new police station directly adjacent to the convenience store, the cruisers and the new building itself might suffer.   It was suggested by the board members that this area be paved or “oiled” with asphalt or at the very least “washed, crushed stones.”    Perry whole-heartedly showed the support of the police department building committee.  The site plan revision was approved unanimously.

Jeff Squire of the Berkshire Design Group spoke at length about the challenges that faced the building committee.  These challenges included taking the parcels of land which create the new site and developing a plan to include ample parking and much needed design features like a sally port and a community room.  Also required are things like generators and radio towers, all of which needed to be included in the plans.  Squire presented plans, showing the inclusion of an area that could be used for future expansions.  He mentioned possible municipal parking as well as a possible future river walk along the French River.

Rick Lawrence explained the current philosophies of public architecture.  He expounded on the fact that newer public buildings are designed to invite the public, which is why they have rooms like the community room.  Webster’s plan for the new police station is designed with this in mind.  Additionally, he noted that the plans his company is submitting takes into account, the historical buildings in downtown Webster.  He and his colleagues have incorporated many elements found in the buildings, built at the turn of the last century, which can be seen in town.

The new plans include a drive-in sally port that allows officers to safely and in a contained manor, transport prisoners in custody into a lock-up area.  They also include a maintenance and wash bay for the police vehicles.  The entire building is built with an immense amount of security.

Perry said that they are looking to bring a finalized and shovel-ready plan to the town.  A slight error in calculations was made with the land swap agreement.  Perry and his planning group will ask the town, via warrant item at town meeting, to give a very small piece of land to Jimmy’s Convenience.  The land was originally intended to be part of the land swap, but a drawing error caused the issue.  Both parties agree that the land at issue is so minute that it is inconsequential to either party’s plans.

The Planning Board will meet on October 9^th at 7:15 in order to hold a public hearing.