By Nate Harrington, The Berkshire Eagle
LEE — Town first responders are about to get a major upgrade.
On Friday, a group of lawmakers and town officials broke ground with silver shovels on what will be a modern, 37,000-square-foot public safety complex at Railroad Street. It will house the town’s fire, emergency response, police and highway departments.
The updated complex will give those safety departments a more suitable space, as each department has outgrown its current space. The project is projected to be substantially completed by August 2027, said Chris Brittain, the town administrator.
“This is really a testament to the leadership, to the staff, to the people of this town, that really have put their heart and their money into caring for the future generations,” said state Rep. Leigh Davis, D-Great Barrington.
The planned public safety complex, located on Railroad Street behind the Lee Central Fire Station, is projected to be 37,661 square feet, which is the largest in Berkshire County, Brittain said.
The former Tri-Town Health and Highway Department buildings were demolished to make room for the new facility. The Department of Public Works, which was on the same lot, was moved to a new location, with the cost of demolition and the move accounting for about $7 million.
Departments are struggling to fit in their current spaces, including Lee’s Fire Department, which had to custom order smaller fire trucks in order to fit in the Central Fire Station built in 1911. The Police Department still occupies a floor in Town Hall, which was built in 1874, that has failing jail cells.
With new facilities needed, the town approved the financially burdensome project in 2023, which adds $340 in taxes per year for the average Lee family. The project is using a mix of funding, including $1 million in federal money secured by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and yearly interest from the General Electric PCB settlement that helps ease that tax burden while paying off the 25-year loan.
“There is no more fundamental responsibility at the local level of governance than the security of our people,” Neal said. “This is an example of the useful expenditure based on a long-term investment.”
The local support for the public safety complex, with the town voting to approve the project, encouraged the federal support the project received, Neal added.
The construction and labor costs came in about $4.6 million below budget, with J&J Contractors, a North Billerica-based construction company that has built public safety complexes across the state, contracted to build the complex. Labor and construction are slated to cost $24.4 million.
With the lowered construction cost, the town could refinance the loan at a lower-interest rate, lessening the tax burden, Brittain said. The project timeline is also slated to finish early, with the town budgeting for 18 months, while the current timeline is just 16.
The project also received state grants to build public parking on both sides of the planned complex, he said.
Plans for the complex accommodate growth “20 to 40 years out into the future,” Brittain said. “We have the ability to continue to expand these services as needed without having to add additions on.”
