Committee directs design team to evaluate fabric salt‑shed after cost and maintenance review

The Wakefield Public Building Committee voted unanimously to ask Weston & Sampson to proceed with further evaluation of a fabric tensile structure for the town’s Department of Public Works salt shed. The motion followed a presentation comparing two primary designs — a fabric tensile structure and a timber‑frame building — and a roll‑call vote recorded as unanimous.

Designers told the committee both types would store roughly 5,000 tons of salt and allow covered dumping and loading. The fabric option was presented as about $440,000 cheaper on an upfront basis; the timber option was described as roughly $400,000 more expensive and more traditional in appearance. Committee presenters also said newer fabric systems come with a 25‑year warranty and can be repaired in panels; replacing the entire fabric was estimated at about $60,000 in today’s dollars.

“Both options do the same thing,” the presenter said, describing layouts that place the salt behind concrete perimeter walls with covered loading canopies. He added that fabric panels can typically be replaced quickly, that the metal frames are hot‑dip galvanized and corrosion‑resistant, and that both options can be designed to meet snow and wind loading requirements.

Members repeatedly pressed the design team about neighborhood impacts and permitting. Several asked whether nearby houses would see the structure and whether lights inside a fabric canopy would be visible; designers replied lights would normally be used only during snow events and that a timber structure would screen light more effectively. The committee also discussed wind and noise concerns and heard that the fabric design includes louvers and tensioning systems intended to prevent depressurization or uplift.

Committee members were told the contract for the project is about 52.8 percent complete and that remaining tasks include stormwater design and final environmental laboratory results from borings and test pits. Presenters said a building‑height variance will be required because proposed structure heights (fabric ~40 ft, timber ~45 ft) exceed a 35‑foot limit.

The committee agreed to push the fabric option forward for detailed evaluation, noting permitting steps that remain (Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission) and the timing implications for fall versus spring town meeting. The motion to ask Weston & Sampson to evaluate the fabric design passed on a unanimous roll‑call vote.