Nearly 90 residents  attended a follow-up meeting about the design plans for the new Peterborough Fire and Ambulance station on Elm Street Thursday night at Peterborough Town Library.

After hearing presentations on the updated site plan and the floor plan, residents shared feedback and concerns, as well as praise for the design and the project. 

“The first thing I want to do is express my thanks to the volunteers who have put hundreds of hours into this project. The Fire and Ambulance Committee, the Building Committee, the Energy Committee – these are all volunteers and they have done an absolutely amazing job in the six months since the Town of Peterborough voted on this project,” said Seth MacLean, the town’s assistant town administrator and public works director.

Town Meeting voted in 2022 for design and engineering work on a new fire station, and last October, the Select Board approved a cap of $12.1 million for the overall project, or 70 percent of the town's projected total bond capacity in fiscal 2025. The goal is to bring a project to Town Meeting next year.

The project building committee was created in summer 2023. SMP Architecture was chosen to design the project, and Harvey Construction, which completed the reconstruction of the library, was chosen as construction manager. Jason Lacombe, principal of SMP Architects, introduced the session by noting that the design plans had been created in just 12 weeks.

“That’s lightning-fast for design,” he said. “Our primary focus is how can we design this fire station and keep people safe on the site.”

Marisa DiBiaso from Hoyle-Tanner, which created the site plan, said the location of the new fire station is challenging for a number of reasons.

“There are wetlands. There is a high water table, and it’s completely flat. It’s very challenging to get rid of stormwater at this site, and we are looking at different ways of dealing with that. There is some impact on wetlands buffer, and we are working with the Conservation Committee and the town,” she said.

DiBiaso acknowledged that tenants of the community center have expressed concerns about the proposed removal of the half-circle driveway in front of the Elm Street entrance.

“We know that the driveway is a sensitive subject and we are looking at that. It’s a safety issue where the driveway would come into the new parking lot and how the traffic would interact on Elm Street,” she said.

Lacombe presented an aerial view depicting the exterior of new building and pointed out that the design is inspired by the adjacent community center and “Motor Pool” buildings. Lacombe then reviewed the floor plan, which is one story except for a small, central mezzanine level.  The new building includes bays for existing fire and rescue apparatus, housing for first-responders, a training room, a fitness room, kitchen and offices.

Several residents had questions about plans to move the Fire Department’s Aquarius No.1 Fire Museum, which houses some of Peterborough’s first firefighting equipment, into the new building. The museum features a 1914 LaFrance fire truck, which according to the museum website, is believed to be “the best preserved original 1914 LaFrance in the world.” Resident Brian Field questioned whether the taxpayers should bear the cost of moving the museum,

“Why do we have the museum? Does the equipment belong to the town or not? Why are taxpayers paying to house this stuff? Every penny has to be accounted for. I don’t think it should be spent on entertainment,” Field said.

John Parker, the senior member of the Peterborough Fire Department, gave a brief history of the Aquarius No. 1 Museum, noting that the LaFrance truck was donated to the department to eliminate the risk of the equipment being sold at a future date.

“This museum tells the history of the Peterborough Fire Department. It honors all the men and women who have served the department over the years, and it shows appreciation for the Fire Department,” Parker said. “The current museum is not in great shape, and it’s in a flood plain.”

MacLean said that displaying historic equipment is typical of fire departments in New Hampshire.

“This summer, when our committee toured fire stations all over the state, we saw this a lot,” he said.

Resident David Baum, after expressing appreciation for the Fire Department as well as the volunteers working on the project, asked if private fundraising could cover the estimated $150,000 cost of moving the Aquarius museum to the new facility. MacLean answered that the issue had been raised, but that “there would be no private fundraising for the core of the facility, as this is a public safety facility, funded through a bond.” MacLean said the design plans are still in process.

Lacombe outlined the different options the Building Committee and Energy Committee have been weighing for mechanical systems, noting that “we just made some of these decisions today.”  Lacombe and the committees are leaning toward a water-source heat pump with a hybrid approach, which would connect to an underground well field.  Solar panels are also proposed for the building, which has the potential to be net zero for emissions. Anne Huberman of the Energy Committee explained that the system would also include a biomass boiler.

“We’re looking at what system will save the taxpayers the most money in the next 25 years. We’re getting estimates on systems. We need analysis and data to decide,” she said.

After several more residents expressed concerns about the cost of moving the museum, Peterborough Select Board member Bill Taylor spoke in support of incorporating the Aquarius No. 1 Museum into the new facility.

“When we rebuilt this library, everyone was very concerned about preserving the historic part of the library. When we rebuilt the bridge, everyone wanted the historical nature of the bridge to be preserved. It’s the same with the Town House. People in Peterborough really care about our history. Being able to proudly display the history of Peterborough is important; it’s important to me, ” Taylor said. “We should not value-engineer this museum out of the building. If we’re just trying to cut costs, we can do it somewhere else.”

Taylor’s remarks were met by applause from many of the group.

Gloria Morison, president of the Peterborough Food Pantry, and Francoise Bourdon, owner of Joseph’s Coat, both expressed concerns about the removal of the circular driveway in the front of the community center, as is currently depicted in the proposed site plan.

“We would like to advocate strongly for keeping the pull-through driveway,” Morison said. “Our numbers are up 70% since the beginning of the year; we are serving a lot more people. We have vans pull up that need to unload two tons of food. We have a lot of elderly people, people who who need accessibility to the front door. We’re hoping there can be a redesign that allows some type  of driveway to stay.”

Bourdon said the proposed site plan would eliminate a lot of green space that is currently used by the Peterborough Farmers’ Market every Wednesday afternoon in the summer months, as well as eliminate the bocce ball court.

“There is time and opportunity for more chances for discussion,” Lacombe said.

Peterborough residents are invited to give feedback on the project at peterborough-nh.civilspace.io/en/projects/peterborough-fire-ambulance-station-building-project.