Will Land Swap Cost Westbrook?
The land swap would allow the town to acquire the 5.05-acre DOT garage at 201 Horse Hill Road, also known as Route 145 in exchange for the 2-acre public works facility at 104 Norris Avenue located off Route 154 and accompanying train station parking lot.
The Norris Avenue site would be the future home of a renovated train station and increased parking while the public works department would receive a larger site and acquire a salt and sand storage facility.
Senator Eileen Daily, 33-D, said, “Continued inaction by Westbrook officials puts our town at risk of being the only one on the shoreline without a stop,” but DOT Spokesperson Kevin Nursick said such claims are not entirely true.
“From the DOT’s perspective, Westbrook is a viable commuter railroad station that needs to be kept open,” Nursick said, adding that Shoreline East’s goal is to have all station platforms four feet and two inches above the track to meet ADA requirements.
While the Westbrook station parking lot has only 40 spaces, Nursick said the department would like to provide commuters with at least 165 spaces.
Plans are in the works, Nursick said, to have the parking lot have as close to 200 parking spaces as possible since this is the average parking lot size for Shoreline East stations.
“The department has seen an increase in ridership at all new stations, and expects an increase of commuters at Westbrook when the new station is constructed and additional parking is provided,” Nursick said.
The report claims the need for a new train station was not studied because the commission was not authorized to conduct a train usage or demographic study.
Possible economic benefits of increased numbers of commuters using the station were not addressed in the report.
While Guilford, Clinton, and Branford have new railroad stations, Nursick said, Madison is currently under construction.
Plans call for a $3 million station, paid for by the DOT, with south side platforms and expanded parking, Nursick said.
There is the possibility that a $5 million pedestrian bridge and north side platforms would be built by the DOT in the future, Nursick said, allowing commuters to board trains on the north and south rail tracks.
If the land swap does not go through, Nursick said, the DOT will study possible ways to make the current platform ADA compliant.
“If we can’t achieve the high level platform we are potentially forced to close the station but our view is that closing the station is not an unacceptable option,” Nursick said.
Rather than looking at the benefits of a new train station, the committee’s report focused on costs to move the public works facility to a new location approximately three miles away near the Clinton town line.
“The Westbrook Public Works department is currently located in the geographical center of town. This allows easy access to a majority of road repair, snow removal, tree and lawn maintenance,” the report states, adding the department performs maintenance to centrally located town facilities such as Daisy Ingham Elementary School, Westbrook Middle/High School, and the Mulvey Center.
The committee assumed it will take an additional 10 minutes per road crew trip and 6 trips per day meaning one lost hour of labor per day.
It estimated it costs $36 per hour for the road crew staff, including wages and benefits, and work 240 hours a year, which means a cost of $8,640 per year.
“The committee feels due to its highly speculative nature this cost should carry very little weight in the final analysis,” the report states.
The committee explored financing for renovations to the Route 154 site citing
Public Act 05-1 Section 13 (4) which would provide $1,500,000 from the State Bonding Commission for “conversion of a new town garage”, contingent on town approval and commission authorization.
The Ad Hoc Committee is recommending the town request a letter from State Representative Brian O’Connor, 35-D, detailing the authorization and payment process.
The committee recommended the Route 145 property be improved for use as a public works garage through “construction of a dog pound building, an addition to the current existing structure (approximately 50×100), removal of asbestos material, heating system and interior improvements in the existing building for habitatability, new septic system, asphalt paving, water main extension, new out buildings, and fencing.”
Public Works Director John Riggio and Zoning Enforcement Officer Bud Beccia provided a “random order of magnitude estimate for these items would be approximately $1,250,000.”
The commission claims, “It is important to note that the cost for water, dog pound, and some other items included in the $1,250,000 may not be reimbursed because it could be argued that they are not costs for a town garage.”
The $1.5 million can be used for environmental remediation and all renovations to the Route 145 site that the town feels are necessary, Daily said.
