HOLDEN — “The sun has shined on this project,” Town Manager Peter Lukes said.
But he also said it was fitting that it was raining as officials held a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the new Public Works Facility at 18 Industrial Drive on Oct. 1.
The project was bookended by precipitation, with rain at the completion ceremony and snow during the groundbreaking in October 2020.
“Wow,” Dan Nason, the building committee chairman, said. “Just look at the building behind me.” From the first snowfall to the rain just short of two years later, Nason added, “it doesn’t matter the weather. The DPW is always ready.”
“It’s been an incredible success,” Lukes said of the project, with the almost $20 million building expected to come in under budget. He added that under budget and (pandemics aside) on time was a trend for Holden’s building projects.
Lukes said the Public Works Facility was close to the projected date for the completion, off relatively little in an age of supply chain issues that have kept many projects from meeting their budgets or deadlines.
As officials and residents gathered on the damp and somewhat chilly morning to mark the occasion, Lukes said that the successful project was “nothing short of a miracle.”
Jeff Alberti of Weston & Sampson noted the firm has long been designing such buildings, although he noted before the ceremony that Holden’s was possibly the best. He told those gathered outside that the building would provide essential services for the town “for the foreseeable future,” adding, “It was truly a team effort.”
Thanking the DPW staff, Selectmen Chairman Anthony Renzoni said that DPW workers “finally have a facility worthy of your efforts,” adding they are “truly the best.”
State Rep. Kimberly Ferguson said, “It’s about time” they had such a good facility, acknowledging “you work for us day in and day out.”
State Sen. Anne Gobi extended her compliments to the community for having “the foresight to put your money where your mouth is.”
She said the facility was important to the care and maintenance of equipment, referring to her father’s work in a minimal garage space. One cannot turn a wrench when they can’t feel their fingers, she noted, as often occurs when working on equipment in the middle of winter.
The two officials presented congratulatory citations from the state House and Senate.
Sheriff Lew Evangelidis said he likes “nothing better than an event in my hometown,” and recalled talking with his grandfather about the need for a better DPW facility years ago.
Lukes thanked the residents and taxpayers for supporting the facility before visitors got a tour of the new building, which is still waiting for some final tweaks before the move-in happens and it becomes the DPW’s new home.
