City Considers New Public Works Building

Mayor Wants To Sell Current Public Works Building

FARMINGTON — Farmington Mayor Ernie Penn is proposing the city build a new public works building on vacant land located on the west side of Broyles Street in Creekside Park.

Penn presented a rendering of the proposed building during a work session Aug. 29 with Farmington City Council. The metal building would be 80- feet by 120-feet, or 9,600 square feet, and include a wash bay, office space, restrooms and break room.

The City Council will consider a request at its Oct. 12 meeting to

authorize city staff to advertise for proposals from architectural and engineering firms so the project can move forward.

The project is estimated to cost $500,000 but at the same time, Penn is asking permission to sell the current public works building and former library building, located across the street from each other on Rheas Mill Road.

This would help offset the cost of a new facility. Penn said he has received calls from people interested in the buildings, possibly for a yard business or an antique store.

“I think we need to go to the next level,” Penn said. “Let’s see how much it will cost and look at the finances. I think it’s the right thing to do.

The new building would be located about 200-300 feet away from Broyles Street and would be partly buffered by a treeline already in place. The rendering shows a driveway to the building from Broyles Street. A large paved area would be located behind the building for equipment and material storage.

A thicket of trees will hide the facility from most houses in the area.

Penn said he does not want the facility to have a negative impact on the neighborhood but noted the location of the building probably would not make everyone happy.

The project will go through large scale development and adjacent owners will be notified about the project and given an opportunity to comment on the proposal before final approval, Penn said.

Presently, the public works department is located in the former fire station and has about 4,000 square feet. Some of this space is taken up by an office and restrooms so actually, the department only has about two-thirds of the floor space for its work, said Floyd Shel- ley, public works director.

Shelley said a new facility will provide enough room to store the department’s equipment to protect it from the weather. Large equipment used by the department includes four lawn mowers, a back hoe, two tractors, dump truck, snowplow, stump grinder and a street sweeper.

The location of the facility also will be more convenient and productive for maintaining the city park, Shelley said.

If the project is approved, it will be included in the 2017 city budget and come out of the city’s general reserve fund, which now has a balance of $2.7 million.