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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	October, 2006	Return to newsletter index

Factors in the Site Selection of the Public Works Department Facility

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Proposed facility as viewed from 195. Proposed facility as viewed from Route 112 - North Street. History of the Public Works Facility Carl Subler Trucking constructed the current Public Works garage in 1973. After Subler went out of business in the early 1980s, the City purchased the building. In 1986, the Public Works Department was moved from Front Street to our current facility. Over the years, the City has made a number of improvements including: Salt shed Recycling building (early 90s) Fueling station (early 90s) School bus facility (late 90s) Wastewater pumping station and other improvements to comply with new Stormwater regulations (early 00s)

The public works department developed a list of critical factors for a public works building site. Among the important considerations are:

• Is the cost of raw land or land with improvements a reasonable cost?
• Can permits be obtained without costly mitigation efforts?
• Is it in a location that will not make us a bad neighbor - preferably not in a residential neighborhood?
• Will the site meet our long term needs?
• Is it centrally located to minimize travel time to and from job sites?
• Does it have utilities like 3-phase power, sewer, cable and can stormwater be addressed reasonably?

Staff looked at alternate sites such as the NRG Barriers building on Lund Road, the Foss Road property owned by the City, Mill Brook Industrial Park owned by the City, and a number of privately owned undeveloped land sites. Based on our preliminary assessment with consultation with our engineers and architects, it was decided that the most cost effective alternative that met most of our needs was the existing site on North Street. A list of the advantages of this site:

• Centrally located
• Existing facility is permitted and in place, including fueling station.
• The existing facility will be reused and incorporated into the expanded project
• Utilities are available and in place
• Fueling station permitted and constructed