Consultants recommend 72 Albany Road as preferred site for West Stockbridge public-safety and DPW campus

West Stockbridge — Consultants from Weston & Sampson presented a feasibility study on June 8 recommending 72 Albany Road as the preferred site for a consolidated, resilient public-safety and Department of Public Works (DPW) campus that would house DPW, police and fire operations.

The study, funded through a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant, concluded the town’s existing DPW and fire facilities are undersized, fragmented and located in a floodplain, and the police department’s space in Town Hall is operationally constrained. "This has been and will be a long process," Curt Wilton, West Stockbridge director of public works, said as he introduced the consultant team and their findings.

Weston & Sampson identified 72 Albany Road as the "clear winner" in a multi-criteria screen of 26 municipally owned parcels, citing a large, relatively flat site footprint, minimal clearing, no floodplain in the proposed work area, minimal residential adjacency, and preliminary soil and groundwater conditions favorable for nature-based stormwater measures. The consultants recommended a two-building approach with a DPW facility of roughly 32,600–32,900 square feet and a combined police/fire building of roughly 15,400–17,700 square feet, with indoor apparatus bays, shared emergency support spaces and flexible areas for temporary sheltering and community use.

Permitting needs outlined by consultants include a Planning Board special permit to allow municipal use in the town’s R‑1 zoning district, Board of Health septic approvals, Conservation Commission permits where work intersects wetlands or buffers, a MassDOT access permit for work on a state route, MassDEP certifications for any underground garage waste holding tanks, and submission of a Project Notification Form to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for cultural- resource screening.

The team presented two water-service strategies: extending the town water main to the site (estimated $900,000–$1.3 million, with traffic and permitting impacts) or installing an on‑site well via horizontal directional drilling (estimated $235,000–$515,000, with testing, permitting and yield considerations). Consultants characterized the well option as more resilient to service interruption but noted additional technical and permitting work would be required.

Consultants provided multiple opinions of probable cost (OPPC) depending on scope and phasing. A detailed DPW-building estimate showed a standalone DPW scenario with building and site costs rounding to roughly $31.8 million (one presented OPPC), while a separate public-safety facility estimate produced building-and-site totals near $16.75 million and an alternate combined 2028 total-project-cost example of about $48.56 million (all figures presented as opinions of probable cost with contingencies and escalation). Weston & Sampson emphasized these are preliminary estimates for planning and will be refined during schematic design and geotechnical investigation.

Resilience measures the consultants recommended include elevating critical finished floors and mechanical systems where appropriate, providing backup power for critical systems, incorporating nature-based stormwater measures (bioretention, vegetated swales, native buffers and increased tree canopy), and exploring rooftop PV and parking canopies or geothermal concepts to support energy resilience. The team also highlighted the need for operational continuity planning—cross-trained staff, fuel and supply staging, and maintained emergency access routes—so the facility can function during storm, heat or power-outage events.

Community priorities voiced in focus groups and summarized by consultants included temporary overnight sheltering (a concept of about 25 cots), point‑of‑distribution capability for emergency supplies, a food pantry, flexible meeting spaces and universal-access design that remains resilient during outages. Regional partners such as the towns of Stockbridge and Richmond, the American Red Cross, Berkshire County ARC and Elder Services were identified as potential collaborators for sheltering and services.

Town Administrator Marie Y. Ryan recorded that the Select Board received the presentation; no formal vote on site selection or funding was taken at the meeting. Select Board members Toby Casey and Andy Krouss were present; Kathleen Keresey was absent. The meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m. after a motion by Casey and second by Krouss.

The consultants said next steps include a summer/fall site survey, wetlands delineation, geotechnical investigations, schematic design and continued public engagement and permitting work into FY27. Detailed cost estimates and decisions about water service and site-specific resilience measures will follow schematic design and site testing.