Debt Exclusion Question for Seekonk DPW Facility Approved

On Wednesday, the Seekonk Select Board approved a debt exclusion question regarding a new Department of Public Works facility for the Fall Town Meeting warrant.

A debt exclusion is a temporary tax increase which will pay the costs of the bond issued for the project. The price tag will be $40.7 million. The amount to be borrowed is $39.4 million at an interest rate of four percent annually over 30 years. The average single family tax bill impact would be $267 a year.

The proposed design is for a 61, 815 square-foot building. The garage will be 41, 850 square feet. The remaining space will be for maintenance and administration.

If the garage which is part of the building design is left out, the total amount which will be borrowed shrinks to $31.4 million. The average single family tax impact would be $213 a year. The DPW equipment savings by indoor storage is $9.7 million.

Brewster Thornton Architects came up with the designs for the facility. The complete building project timeline and architectural drawings can be viewed on the town web site – www.seekonk-ma.gov.

The project will go out to bid this month with a start date of January 2025. Construction is expected to be completed in April 2026.

On June 7, 2021, the Town voted to appropriate the sum of $1,500,000, to pay for the costs of designing, planning, and engineering for the construction of a DPW facility on land owned by the Town of Seekonk at 351 Fall River Avenue.

The planning, design and oversight of expenditures will be under the direction of the Select Board.