Council moves request for $125K to fix public works garage floor to public hearing

LACONIA — Council discussed a request to spend up to $125,000 for emergency floor repairs at the public works building on Bisson Avenue, as well as progress toward a new building, during their meeting on Sept. 28, and decided to gather public input on the matter.

“Essentially, the floor undermined, it sunk down, cracked and broke where the apparatus goes and into some of the office area," said City Manager Kirk Beattie. "This is going to fill and stabilize that area. I'm not going to begin to tell you what the material is that they got in there, but it's going to fill, level, and we'll have to add some concrete on the top of it and it's going to make all the apparatus be useful again, and safe.”

Beattie clarified the apparatus refers to large vehicles, such as dump trucks, in the parking section of the public works building.

“I visited the site shortly after we had the floor fail, and it's become a life safety issue really, and the big component to this also is, eventually, when we do a new DPW?" asked Councilor Mike Conant (Ward 6). "We'll be looking to sell that real estate, and if we can stabilize it and make it usable, it just increases our ability to offload that property.”

“Kirk, can you tell us if they’re going to be adding steel to this, or maybe they can tell us?” Councilor Jon Hildreth (Ward 1) asked.

Tyler Carmichael, assistant planning director, said they are going to add some steel to the concrete to fill it back up to standards. Carmichael said otherwise, they are adding a cementitious grout, which is a mix of very lightweight concrete, graded aggregate, and water.

After test pits were dug and engineers evaluated options, the city settled on the cementitious grout mixture to level the floor without causing further settlement.

“We explored three different options for fill material, and this was about the most cost effective, getting into all the spaces with confidence, and working long-term, as well,” Carmichael said.

Councilors voiced concerns over the temporary fix and the $125,000 cost.

“I guess I just have a concern. I just don't want us to drag our feet on it any more than we have to, because this building's going to be a money pit,” Ward 3 Councilor Eric Hoffman.

“Absolutely," Beattie replied. "This is not designed to drag our feet, this isn’t to kick it down the road. This is to be able to use it, and use it safely, until we can get this done.”

“I just want to say that no one, I’m sure, is happy with spending $125,000 for a bandaid fix. So, that just shows the urgency that we really need to get this project moving,” Hildreth said.

Beattie said action is underway. The Land & Buildings Committee met to discuss a new building, and there some plans designed for the project.

“They're certainly not architectural design. They are engineered designs,” Beattie said. “So, we can get a rough cost estimate for building, and we're trying to work on finding and securing some land. And the public works director and I have been working on that, to try to secure land.”

Beattie said the biggest problem is being able to afford the entire project, and securing the needed land.

“The city doesn't own a lot of land, like, that’s just wide open. So, it's still moving forward. Again, it's on one of the lists for subcommittees to get back and have those conversations,” Beattie said.

“I think it's also just important to say this is not us coming up with this plan. It's had multiple engineers come through here. There were test pits dug, there's been a lot of work done to make sure that this was going to be the right move. It wasn't us saying this might work.”

The council voted unanimously to gather public input on the matter at a hearing scheduled for the council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13, moved from Monday due to the holiday.