Committee presses for plan to replace deteriorating city garage and build salt shed

The City Operations Committee pressed city officials Jan. 21 to prioritize a plan to replace or substantially repair the aging city garage and to complete a salt shed project that has left a sidewalk blocked for years.

Committee members said a 2022 engineering report by E and M Engineers and Surveyors identified deterioration at the Public Works building on North Berry, and they recalled prior conversations about a $500,000 state grant earmarked for demolition and replacement planning. Members raised public-safety concerns about a blocked sidewalk alongside the condemned or restricted salt shed and said the city should stabilize or replace structures so sidewalks can be reopened.

Staff and committee members recounted earlier efforts to explore joint facilities with the county and to consider alternate locations for a new garage and salt shed, including a vacant parcel near the Times Herald property and the sewage treatment plant at Quest Street. Committee members discussed potential cost estimates mentioned in prior conversations — committee remarks recalled figures in the low millions to more than $10 million for a new facility — and suggested the salt shed be a near-term budget priority for fiscal 2025, while a longer-term strategic plan be developed for a new city garage.

The mayor said staff would follow up with the Department of Public Works director and community development staff, and the committee asked that the topic remain under unfinished business with a one-month follow-up. Committee members also discussed seeking grant funding and revisiting past remediation work needed to clear the site for any new construction. No procurement or final funding decision was made at the Jan. 21 meeting.