Selectmen Voice Concerns with Public Safety/DPW Complex

MANSFIELD, MA — The town is ready to go to bid on the $35 million public safety and public works building, but the selectmen are worried about how some funds will be spent.

During last week’s selectmen meeting, representatives from Kaestle Boos Associates and Weston and Sampson updated the board on the project. Included in the update was a proposal to potentially use $350,000 from state funds to pay for improvements near the East Street intersection.

“We have a lot of roads in Mansfield that have issues and they need attention also. That wasn’t part of the initial deal in my mind,” Selectmen Chairman Jess Aptowitz said. “That $350,000 could go to fix roads. I got residents calling me for 10 years telling me their roads need to be fixed.”

Town Manager Bill Ross said the work for a traffic light at the nearby intersection was originally part of the project but could come from state funds, but added that it could go back into the project costs if the bids come back as expected.

Other board members were worried that the building could run over costs with little effort to save money.

“I have this impression we’re trying to spend up to 35 million instead of trying to save as much money as we can,” Selectman Steve Schoonveld said.

“If I was a betting man I would say this is going to reach $40 million,” Selectman George Dentino said later in the meeting.

Project representatives insisted that the project will cost about $34,8 million.

Last year, Town Meeting approved the project, with a debt exclusion vote last September narrowly passing. If everything remains on schedule, the DPW building will be completed late next year with the public safety building to follow in 2019.