Engineers propose siting emergency building across stream to avoid blasting and utility relocation

Silas Canavan, a civil engineer with Canavan Civil Consultants, told attendees the design team has an alternative that places the building across the small stream behind the existing access road to avoid rebuilding the road and reduce expensive ledge blasting. "I picture it being, like, a maybe a 4 to 6 foot wide box culvert with possibly a buried invert," Canavan said, describing a culvert-and-fill crossing that would open more usable area on the parcel.

Canavan said the layout also avoids relocating overhead utilities and allows gentler site grades — roughly 2 percent rather than the 5 percent shown in the earlier concept — and gives room for parking and future pull‑through apparatus bays. He noted setback constraints the team is working with: "DP requires a 25 foot, no touch buffer and a 75 foot setback that you have to meet to the extent practical," which shaped the options the engineers presented. The team plans to refine the plan, take additional surveys and bring the design to the planning board in the coming months, aiming for permitting in late fall and winter and construction in the spring if schedules hold.

Why it matters: the alternate layout would reduce construction cost and complexity by limiting blasting and heavy utility work, improve vehicle circulation for emergency apparatus, and create more room for future expansion. The presenters said the configuration is the most economical and functional option identified so far and asked the town to allow follow-up site visits and regulatory checks.