Selectmen Deem Washdown Bay Still Not Economically Feasible

Residents won't get a chance next March to vote on a scaled down version of a new public works facility designed to improve the longevity of all of Hampton's vehicles, as selectmen have elected not to place the article on the town meeting warrant. 

The board voted 3-2 Monday against bringing the estimated $300,000 washdown facility and sewer and drain garage project to next year's town meeting, opting to leave it on the table as a possible project for 2015.

Selectman Mary-Louise Woolsey had the issue put on Monday's agenda, asking her fellow selectmen to move the project, which she characterized as a dire need, from 2015 to 2014.

The 2015 capital improvement forecast is already crowded, and Woolsey said the facility has been "put off and put off and put off" despite the fact that town vehicles — a "huge investment" — continue to rust and deteriorate because they are left outside and aren't effectively washed after plowing and performing other punishing work. 

"I think this is very sad and we are tremendously neglecting our infrastructure," said Woolsey, who recently toured the Hampton Public Works Department complex with Norm Silberdick, a member of the group that puts out the Yellow Sheet, which was strongly opposed to a $500,000 version of the project earlier this year.

Selectmen Phil Bean, Dick Nichols and Mike Pierce voted against Woolsey's motion Monday to place the project on the 2014 ballot. Woolsey and Mike Plouffe voted in favor of the motion.

Pierce was the most outspoken against the project, stating that "it's absolutely incorrect" to think that a 60-foot-by-20-foot washdown bay and a 60-foot-by-80-foot storage garage with two heated truck bays is "gonna pay for itself" by minimizing current maintenance costs and increasing vehicle longevity.

"Show me the documentation and proof that any of this is actually true," said Pierce. "It's economically unfeasible, so I'm not supportive of this whatsoever."

Public Works Director Keith Noyes and department employees have talked at length in the past about the need for the facility, which is similar to others used by many neighboring communities with a public works, police, fire and highway vehicle fleet similar to the size and composition of Hampton's.

Article 11 at the 2013 town meeting would've funded a version of the project with a five-bay, 140-foot-by-60-foot storage garage, although the article failed. 

At the time, Tobey Spainhower, the foreman of the sewer and drain department, told Patch that the average yearly cost to maintain each of his department's non-garaged, plow-equipped dump trucks is $10,666. That estimated figure is significantly higher than the $6,400-per-year costs for the Hampton Highway Division vehicles, which are stored in a garage. 

Spainhower said his department's vehicles also have a shorter lifespan, as his are estimated to last 15 years due to their outdoor storage while highway's have a 25-year lifespan.

Most public works trucks and plows must be stored outside and cannot be properly washed in most weather conditions flowing plowing, sanding, infrastructure repair and other jobs. Spainhower has said these conditions exacerbate rust and deterioration on the vehicles, several of which he said have a degree of wear commonly found in vehicles 10 years their senior.

The facility would also ensure the department doesn't get hit with fines for not complying with state pollution and runoff standards. 

Other benefits, according to Spainhower, include improving the efficiency of the entire public works department, as the construction would add space for training, create a real space for the wastewater treatment plant supervisor's office because it's currently located in a control room that violates code, and allow for hand tools and important plans and documents to be stored in proper, ready-to-go locations rather than scattered around Hardardt's Way like they current are.

Public works officials said the larger version of the project was likely defeated in March due to false information and a feeling that the department is performing too many projects.

The too many projects mindset is one that Nichols used when explaining his decision to vote against Woolsey's motion Monday. Nichols said the town as a whole has many commitments planned in 2014, and that he said the facility would add another 11 cents to the tax rate during a year that is already headed toward a relatively large increase.

"I just can't support raising it to that level," said Nichols. "I'm opposed to it based on what it does to the bottom line."