AMESBURY — When a toxic mold outbreak last March forced Fire Department staff into trailers set up on the back lot of the town's public safety complex, it was thought the temporary housing would last for about six months.
But coming up on the six-month mark, fire Chief Jonathan Brickett said he expects firefighters will be in the trailers through the winter, given that planned fixes to both the fire station and police station have not yet begun.
"I'm sure it will be in the next spring season before we're out of there," said Brickett Friday. "I think we'll be in there through the winter."
Though the mold was remediated several months ago, a rebuilding project appropriated in 2007 by the Municipal Council and slated to commence this summer has apparently stalled. And though Brickett thinks the town is close to putting out a request for proposals, he doesn't expect the work to get going before the snow falls.
"You can't be ripping roofs off during the winter," he said. "My best guess is we're not going to be out of there until the next construction season."
The sticking point appears to be related to a shortage of funds for the project.
Although the Municipal Council appropriated $600,000 to help make both the Police and Fire Department buildings water tight, among other things, more than a third of that money has already been spent by the town on replacing the heating and air conditioning system for the two stations, repairs to one of the building generators and on paying to relocate firefighters to the temporary trailer housing behind the station.
"There is $389,000 remaining in the project," said town Finance Director Michael Basque.
According to Chief of Staff Kendra Amaral, the mayor will be seeking additional monies from the council to complete the project, and plans to file the request at the council's Sept. 21 meeting. She wouldn't elaborate on how much Mayor Thatcher Kezer plans to ask for.
"The mayor is in the process of developing things," said Amaral. "He is supposed to have it filed for the September meeting."
Kezer did not return a call seeking comment on the project.
Amaral said she doesn't yet know how much the job will cost or whether the number will exceed the original $600,000 quote presented to the council in 2007.
"There's multiple factors," she said. "We'll be presenting that to the council when they do hearings on it."
Department of Public Works director Rob Desmarais said in late June that bids for the project came in much higher than expected, and the job that was to cost $600,000 including the HVAC work, is now expected to cost $694,109 not including the HVAC work, which has already been done.
That means the mayor will have to seek at least an additional $300,000 to complete the work, but considering the unforeseen cost to keep the firefighters in two trailers through the winter, that number will likely be higher.
The units were rented from Polk Industries out of Kingston, N.H., at a cost of $10,000 for both for a period of two months, then another $3,500 a month thereafter. If the Fire Department stays put in the trailers through next June, that will cost the town about $55,000, nearly double what was expected when the trailers were brought in last March.
