With an architect chosen and a building committee in place, work on the Elm Street fire station project is moving forward. 

The goal is still to present a project to voters at Town Meeting next year, which Assistant Town Administrator Seth MacLean said he is “very optimistic” of meeting.

On Tuesday, Select Board members approved entering into negotiations with SMP Architecture out of Concord as project architect. Of the 10 firms that responded to the request for qualifications and proposals, five of which were then interviewed, SMP was the unanimous choice of the team charged with finding a construction manager – Harvey Construction – and architect.

“They made the most sense for us based on where we’re at,” MacLean said.

During the architect interview process, MacLean said firms were asked questions that included their experience working on publicly funded projects of similar size and scale, thoughts and ideas about the Elm Street site, including the potential reuse of the “Motor Pool” building; strategies to incorporate alternative and green energy and accommodating the need for future growth and change of the community and the Fire Department.

Regarding the department’s growth, MacLean said Peterborough is changing, so the fire station will need to change in order to prevent coming back in 20 to 30 years. He also said it is important for the architect to lead a public input and outreach program, something he said SMP emphasized.

Part of that outreach program will come in August, when the SMP and Harvey Construction teams are scheduled to meet with the Select Board to formally kick off the next phase of the project.

After approving SMP as the architect, Select Board members voted to name the team that recommended the firm as the building committee for the project. The members are MacLean as project manager, Select Board project liaison Bill Taylor, Fire Chief Ed Walker, Budget Committee Chair Carl Mabbs-Zeno, Planning Board member Sarah Steinberg-Heller, Community Power Committee Co-Chair Tony Cassady, town Treasurer Budget Committee member Mandy Sliver and co-Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee Carol Nelson.

“We've been way in the weeds trying to get his right on behalf of the community,” MacLean said.

Code Enforcement Officer Tim Herlihy has been on the team, but his role will shift to providing staff support, along with Town Planner Danica Melone, Deputy Fire Chiefs Brad Winters and John Fahey, DPW Business Manager Gretchen Rae and Finance Director Lilli Gilligan.

MacLean said the building committee members and staff are among the numerous town officials and volunteers who have worked on the project since 2021.

“If you know some of these people, thank them, because they’ve put a lot of work into this over the past couple years,” he said.

Select Board member Bill Taylor joked that normally, the thought of establishing a new committee would give him nausea, but that the process of choosing a construction manager and architect has been “pretty incredible.”

“This team, I can't imagine it going any better,” he said.

The building committee’s role will include advising and assisting with outside funding and fundraising efforts, consulting with green-energy groups, supporting and advising on public input strategy and sessions, receiving staff updates and advice on project milestones and budgets, assisting with messaging and public outreach and meeting with professional service providers as needed.

After Budget Committee members and residents balked at a proposed $23 million municipal campus last year – a project town officials later discovered would have put the town over its $27 million debt limit – Town Meeting last year approved $1.3 million in bonding and $700,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for design and engineering.

Last October, the Select Board approved a target for the project to not surpass 70 percent of the town's total bond capacity, projected to be approximately $12.15 million in fiscal 2025.

“It needs to meet our needs, but we also need to be able to afford it," MacLean said.

The committee's duties will also include advising the Select Board on project timing, so MacLean said they will ultimately decide if it makes makes next year’s Town Meeting.

“If the building committee isn’t satisfied, I can’t imagine the community will be satisfied,” he said.