Belmont Master Plan

Community Facilities Subcommittee Minutes

October 11, 2001

Present: Michael Cozort, Doralyn Harper, Frankie Pugh, Norma Patten and David Morse

This was the second meeting of the committee. The committee had a full day of activities by taking tours as a group of each of the town's major facilities. The facilities toured included the town garage, fire station, town hall, police station, mill and library. The next scheduled meeting will tour each of the four school facilities.

The committee's tour of the fore mentioned town facilities are summarized below.

Town Garage

The town garage is located on Hurricane Road on approximately 40 to 50 acres. The main facility was constructed and occupied on September 2000. It is a 100' by 80' building having 10 truck bays. A 20' by 80' portion of the structure holds the public works director's office, bathroom, spare parts and lounge. The 10 bays allow all the trucks and heavy equipment to be sheltered with one bay utilized for repairs. This one bay has a lift capable of repairing heavy equipment and trucks. Additional structures include a radio tower, oil collection shed, salt garage and a bay shed for suspending truck spreaders.

The interview with Bob Bennett (Public Works Director) denoted only one concern for the future of this facility. It was felt that the size and location of the current salt garage should be altered. Currently the salt garage is in good repair but the proximity to a residential property with only a six‑foot setback was causing problems. Problems included, noise, lighting and pollution. Mr. Bennett pointed to an alternative location on this large lot. He stated an increase in capacity from the current 100 tons to at least 200 tons may translate to cost savings in salt acquisitions and additional assurances in supply. Further, it was noted at this time that the current salt garage could then be utilized to hold other harsh road chemicals rather that than the old town garage off of Sargent Street. The Sargent Street property is in poor repair and within a congested residential area.

Finally, current improvements in the property under way include proper gating of the entrance and installation of an exhaust system for vehicles within the garage. The property is under ERISA and is in full compliance. The town garage services all of the town's vehicles except that of the fire department.

Fire Station

The current fire station is in close proximity to the town village district and major routes. It is located at 14 Gilmanton Road on 4.9 acres. The building has 10,550 sq ft and was occupied on June 1995. Additional information can be found on the attachment to this memo provided by the fire department.

Discussions of the future facility needs of the department were of a substation on Route 107, ladder truck and addition to the current station. The Route 107 substation would be a two bay building holding a pump truck and fire utility vehicle. Not much further discussion on this point was made beyond these points shared. Discussion on the need of a ladder truck was for concerns of not only fighting heights greater than current ladder systems, but was also with concerns of large area structures such as the Belknap Mall. The addition was to help with recent changes in working area due to the stations change to 24‑hour service and the accommodations necessary to staff for that service.

Town Hall

The committee toured all floors of town hall. The basement holds two small offices that are manned part time. It also serves as dry storage for files. The basement was dry but there was no ventilation. The main floor is where most of the town personnel operate. It is heavily congested and working space is at a premium throughout. Again, there is a lack of proper ventilation. The top floor is closed off and need of great repair. It originally served as a community center.

The town hall was built in the early 1900's. The building has a total of 9,780 square feet with approximately 3,400 square feet on the main floor. There are 11 full‑time and 5 part‑time personnel occupying this building.

Most of the departments operating in town hall are working in areas too small for their current needs. Solutions discussed were expanding to the top floor certain offices not requiring handicap accessibility or future acquisition of abutting property.

Police Department

The police department building is fairly new. It was built in 1995 with additional expansion in 1999 for evidence, storage and detention. It has 3,750 square feet as a single floor structure with a well laid out floor plan. The police station has 15 employees. The interview with the Chief of Police (David Nielsen) indicated little concern for any current or near future deficiencies with the physical facilities.

Corner Meeting House

The Corner Meeting House was recently acquired in 1999 when it served as a church. The property abuts the police station and is walking distance to town hall. Renovations were completed in 2000. The property serves as a community‑meeting house and is highly active nightly with various meetings. The buildings interior and exterior is in very good shape.

Belmont Mill

The Belmont Mill is a town owned property leased out to numerous tenants. The tenants are organizations that support the community. It includes a daycare facility (lst floor), senior center(2"d floor), medical offices(3rd floor) and an extension of the vocational technical school­culinary division (2°d and 4t' floor). The tenants have lease arrangements of five to ten years in length.

The property was restored with federal block grants around 1997. Because of shortage of funds during its restoration some faults have appeared and are being addressed annually. Problems of drainage, plumbing and heating have been incurred.

The town has additional lands abutting the mill. A portion of this land is a municipal parking lot. The mill powerhouse was recently demolished for safety concerns.

Belmont Public Library

The Belmont Library building was built in 1923 and is a registered historic building. There are two floors. The first floor is 900 square feet and houses most of the libraries collection of books. The lower floor has a 700 square foot meeting room and boiler room. The lower floor is shared between the library, historical society and acts as a community meeting room. Only the main floor has ADA accessibility. There is one fulltime librarian and one part‑time librarian.

The problem of the library is a lack of space. The libraries collection is limited to space without fully incorporating the downstairs. Utilizing the downstairs has its difficulties. These difficulties include a lack of ADA accessibility, staffing requirements and loss of other community purposes. The library trustees have been working on a long‑term plan to add an addition. Currently, there is $50,000 set aside under a capital reserve for the future purpose of an addition.

Old Fire Station Number #1

The town's original fire station is an old wooden structure off of Sargent Street. It is in very poor repair and poses safety concerns. It has been used as dry storage but is no longer in use. The committee did not go in the structure and is currently unaware of its contents. Further inquires will be made.

Old Town Garage

The old town garage is on Sargent Street. It is still used by the highway department. It was built around 1900 and has 3,480 square feet. The highway department uses this for dry storage of chemicals and of the towns Bobcat for sidewalk winter maintenance. The committee has not toured this property and will do so in the near future.

Respectfully submitted,

David F. Morse, Subcommittee Transcriber

BELMONT FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Belmont Fire Station located at 14 Gilmanton Road has 10,550 Square feet of total floor space.

The first year we went for a new Life Safety building at a cost of $1,200,000.00 we lost by 3 votes. The following year the economy had dropped again the article for a new building was defeated by 150 votes. In 1991 the fire department decided to take on the project of constructing a new building through donations of money and labor. Construction was started in June of 1994 and we occupied the building June 0, f 1995. The total cost of the building was $166,000.00 of which the town portion was $20,000. Over 50,000 hours of donated time was put into the constructing the building.

The office area is 100 feet by 38 feet and consists of 3,800 square feet and has the following rooms:

Front Office/Dispatch Area (Administrative Secretary, Reception area, Main Telephone Radios, Fax machine, Door controls. 50 Phone lines for EOC use.)

Fire Prevention Office ( Used to keep information on fire inspections and all Fire Prevention material. Will also be set up for plans review.)

Deputy Chief's Office (Training materials, Code books and Run reports stored here)

Chief’s Office  ( Personnel Records area, other related info to operation of Department

Kitchen Facility

Bunk Room I & 2

Training Room  (Used for all training in the dept and for general public CPR Courses and small meetings. Also 50 phone lines in ceiling to be used as EOC

Mens and Ladies Bathrooms

Utility Room All electrical panels in this room along with emergency power Panel which will provide power to the entire station in the event of a power failure. Generator runs off 2 1000 gallon propane tanks buried in rear of station. Water heater, Washer and dryer and 2 furnaces located in this room.)

The apparatus floor is 90 feet by 75 feet and has 6,750 feet of floor area. The following apparatus is housed in the station

3-ENGINE-4         1983 Pierce Dash Pumper 6V92TA Detroit Diesel, Allison HD 740 Automatic Transmission, 1,250 GPM Single Stage Waterous Pump, Top Mount, 1,000 Gallon water tank, 1,300 feet of 4 inch supply line

3-ENGINE-1  1988 Pierce Dash Pumper 6V92TA Detroit Diesel, Allison HD 740 Automatic Transmission, 1,500 GPM Single Stage Waterous Pump Top Mount, 1,000 Gallon water tank, 1,300 feet of 4 inch supply line.  400 GPM Fecon Foam System with 30 Gallon Foam Tank.

3-ENGINE-2 1997 Pierce Saber Pumper Series 40 Detroit Diesel 320 HP Engine, Allison MD 3060 Automatic Transmission 5 speed, 1,500 GPM Single Stage Waterous Pump, Top Mount, 1,000 Gallon water tank, 3,000 feet 4 inch supply line split load,

3-TANKER-1         2001 Mack/Pierce Tanker/Pumper, R model Mack Iwith Tandem Rear End, E7-400 Mack engine HD 4060 P Allison 5 speed transmission 1,250 GPM single stage Waterous Pump, Side Mount 2,500 gallon Poly Tank with Mirror Stainless Steel Finish. 300 4 inch supply line.

3-AMB-2  1998 Ford/Horton type 3 ALS Ambulance Full ALS Equipment. 2 cold water rescue suits with 300, foot rope bag for each suit. Hurst Omni tool, Battery Saws-All, 2 SCBA units.

3-AMB-1 1987 Ford/Wheeled Coach type 3 ALS Ambulance, Full ALS Equipment, Hurst Omni tool.

3-RESCUE-1 1993 Ford/Specialty Vehicles, 138 inch Rescue Box. Hurst twin pump power unit, 32 B Jaws, Omni Tool, Maverick tool, 2-60 in. Rams 2-30 in Rams 1-15in. Ram 2- Accessory Kits for tools, Chain Package For 32-B and Omni tools, 2- 130 foot pre connected hydraulic lines for Tools, 10 kw diesel generator, 2-200 foot electrical reels, 4-bottle 4,500 psi Cascade system. 140 feet preconnected air line. 6,000 watt Extendable light tower, 12,000 lb electric winch with 150 feet of Cable

3-FORESTRY      150 Gallon water tanks with pump and 1,000 feet of 1 forestry hose. Hand tools for 15  person crew

3-UTILITY-1      150 Gallon water tanks with pump and 1,000 feet of 1 forestry hose. Hand tools for 15 person crew

BELMONT FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFFING

Full Time personnel consist of the following with their work schedule;

Fire Chief                       Albert Akerstrom                        Monday to Friday 6:00 AM to. 2:00 PM

Deputy Chief                  Richard Siegel                           Monday to Friday 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM

FF/EMT/Mechanic        James Davis                               Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM

Admin Secretary           Renee Jesseman                       Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM

The following personnel work 24 hours on duty then have 72 hours off duty This works out to be average of 42 hours per week.

FF/EMT-I                    Fred Greene

FF/Paramedic           Mike Newhall

FF/EMT-I                    Sean McCarty

FF/EMT-I                    Tom Murphy

FF/Paramedic           Robert Ferris

FF/EMT-I                    Loring Child

FF/Paramedic           Tim Robbins

FF/Paramedic           Robert Laraway

We have 20 call firefighters on the department with the following training:

2              Firefighter/Paramedics

4              Firefighter/EMT-I's

8              Firefighter/EMT's

6              Firefighters

Future plans (1 to 10 ) years for the Belmont Fire Department.

Replace 3A1 a 1987 Ambulance

Build a second station in the area of Rt 107 as that area is beginning to grow