PEABODY — Mayor Ted Bettencourt is set to seek the City Council’s support to move forward with a “Construction Manager at Risk” process for the proposed new public-safety building that would unify the city’s emergency services under one roof.
Bettencourt said he plans to go before the council on July 13 to seek approval to begin that process, which the city employed for the Welch School rebuilding project.
The process would see the city hire a construction firm or construction manager during the initial stages of the design and planning process to oversee the project’s construction and advise the design firm during the design and planning phases, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The construction manager “often acts” as the general contractor during the construction phase to “select, schedule, and sequence subcontractors to complete the required construction work.”
Beginning this process would represent a significant step forward in the multi-million dollar project, which Bettencourt has cited as a key priority.
The building will house a “full” police department, fire department headquarters, and an emergency-management center.
“We think we can consolidate and coordinate our emergency services,” Bettencourt told councilors earlier this year.
The new facility will be located next to the existing police station on the Higgins Middle School property, in the parking lot adjacent to the James Rice Memorial Fields. The existing police station will be torn down upon completion of the new building, with new parking and storage space added.
“I really think that the location is the right one to be at,” Bettencourt said, adding that the new public safety building is an “exciting and necessary” step forward for the city. “The building is more than 50 years old and we are spending a considerable amount on upkeep. It’s gotten to the point where we believe this is an appropriate step to take to have a real modern public-safety facility.”
The total project is estimated to cost $50 million.
