BEVERLY, MA — Renovations for a new HVAC system, electrical upgrades, replacement of the roof, doors, windows and other exterior masonry at the Central Fire Station will soon begin after the Beverly City Council on Monday night unanimously approved $1.5 million in grant funding for long-delayed work on the 50-year-old firehouse.
“I can’t tell you how excited we are to move forward with this project,” said Beverly Fire Chief Peter O’Connor. “The bottom line is that my people come to work every day, even with the building in this condition, and they take care of the building every day. They clean in the morning, eat, work, sleep, work, eat again. They deserve a beautiful, modern building and I’m really looking forward to seeing that come to fruition.”
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time.”
Michael Collins, Beverly’s engineering director, said the exterior renovations and subsequent interior renovations, which will include new bathroom fixtures, will significantly enhance the 1954 facility, which was built without air conditioning and with limited scope for electrical upgrades.
“Anyone who has ever been to this fire station will quickly realize that we could really use a new fire station,” Collins said. “That would be ideal. If we had a new fire station, it would probably be two to three times the size of the current one. That’s really not possible here. We don’t have the land, we don’t have the money, it’s just not going to happen.”
“We’re going to do the best we can. But that’s going to require a number of compromises to make sure it all works within the footprint we have available, the budget we have available, and around an active firehouse to make sure we’re not impacting operations.”
Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill requested that after council approval, council members also request a vote to immediately reject renegotiation so work can begin immediately.
“We are ready to sign the contract,” Cahill said, “for the building envelope, for the roof, for the additional masonry work that is required and for the windows. … How quickly will the funds be spent? The goal is to spend the lion’s share immediately and get the electrical/heating/ventilation/air conditioning system done as quickly as possible.”
Cahill said the city will continue to comply with the council’s requests and regularly update them on the status of all major projects, including work on the fire station.
In a letter to the City Council late last month, Cahill said the work would be funded with what he calls “free money” — or the city’s annual surpluses — but because the free money won’t be certified by the state until late fall, “loan approval” is needed to reach an agreement with the contractor to start work on time.
The $1.5 million would bring the total amount allocated for renovation, including funds already allocated, to $2.75 million.
(Scott Souza is Patch’s field editor for Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem, and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
