At a special meeting Wednesday, town leaders made a pitch for one of the most ambitious building projects Lee has undertaken since building a new elementary school in the 90s. The $36.7 million proposal would see Lee buy 41 Railroad Street for a new public safety facility as well as 1185 Pleasant Street to relocate the DPW to.
“We are currently faced with a workplace that's severely undersized, antiquated," said
Police Chief Craig DeSantis. "And we're dealing with significant operational liability, as well as some very real health, security, and safety issues that we deal with. In short, we are seeking a facility that meets the workload and needs of this community.”
Brian Humes of Jacunski Humes Architects – the team designing the new public safety facility – said the new structure would be built to last.
“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires us by code to label this an essential facility," he explained. "An essential facility is a facility that has to withstand natural disasters. The state recognizes public safety facilities as providing a vital service to the town during natural emergencies, floods, hurricanes, storms. In that we have to design this facility to a higher degree of wind load, snow load, seismic load, and all of the criteria within the structure has to withstand a very severe storm- The exterior and the entire structure.”
Bill Matthews is secretary of the Lee Historical Commission.
“I want to express my delight at seeing a public safety building graphic design that harmonizes architecturally with the buildings on our historic Main Street, all of which are more than 100 years old," he said. "And I also want to mention relief at my understanding that DPW will no longer have to work in squalor. As to the current firehouse, it is a historic treasure built from local Lee marble. Apparently, there will be a committee formed to recommend its productive reuse. From my recent visit during open house, I can say that it's already halfway toward becoming a decent town museum. We also very much need modestly sized public meeting rooms. Both venues, a museum and meeting space, are sorely lacking in this town.”
David Forrest, a 27-year veteran of Lee’s Board of Public Works, praised the inclusion of removing blighted properties in the proposal.
“When I first saw this plan come out, I was against it because of tax incentives," he said. "But the more I looked into it, the more I become favorable of it. The buildings that we’re taking down- Through the Board of Public Works, we spent a lot of town money trying to keep them things active.”
To offset the increase on taxes, Lee’s plan calls for the use of interest on funds it secured from a controversial environmental cleanup deal with General Electric, which dumped toxic chemicals into the Housatonic River running through Lee from a Pittsfield facility for decades in the 20th Century. Local dissatisfaction with the EPA-brokered settlement, which includes a new landfill being created in Lee, has not waned since the deal was unveiled in 2020.
“If we use the interest from the GE package, then it would be potentially around $340 a year increase in taxes," said resident Cornelia Kalisher. "And if we don't, then it would be like $640 per household increase in taxes.”
Meeting attendees approved the move with around 200 yes votes to under 30 nos. The $36.7 million spending plan will next go to the Lee town election’s ballot this spring.
