Palmer ‘Blesses’ new Public Works Building

Tom Adams' New Year’s wish as public works director of is to get a new facilities building that would bring public works, utilities and sewer under one roof.

Adams presented plans to the Monday night for a more than 40,000-square-foot building to be built on about 20 acres along , where the township currently has a small building.

“So, you’re just looking for the board’s blessing, so you can put it out to bid,” David Colver, chairman of the board of supervisors, said to Adams.

That’s what Adams wanted.

The building will actually measure 105 feet by 393 feet, he said. It will house offices for the public works, sewer authority and superintendent, as well as the kennel, a truck wash, a training room, a service center, 12 double-door truck bays and 14 single-door truck bays.

The cost is estimated to be $2.76 million.

Adams received unanimous support from the board on the plans.

The township’s trucks and other equipment will be able to access the truck bays from the east and west sides of the building. A 35-foot aisle will run between the two bay entrances. This space will be used to park seasonal equipment like leaf collectors, pavers and street sweepers, Adams said.

 “We want to put every possible [piece of equipment the township] owns inside, and have room for the future,” Colver said.

Because the building is designed with double bay doors, instead of all single-bay doors, the architecture firm, Portner and Hetke in Emmaus, was able to create an expandable space that will accommodate six more truck bays. Having all single-bay doors would have made the building too long, Adams said.

In addition to truck and equipment space, the center of the building will be 30-feet high with a second floor for an additional 3,000 square feet of storage space. Both the Public Works department and Sewer Authority will be able to use the storage area, he said.

One cool feature – the radiant floor heating system will extend beyond the bay doors in a four-foot concrete section that will include a sensor that only activates when it detects snow. The system melts the snow, so that when the bay doors open there isn’t any snow to fall into the garage.

 “We are finally to a point where we have a plan that will work for everyone,” Colver said.

Plans were first last year, but have been tweaked until now.

The township borrowed $2 million from the state for the new facility, with the remaining $500,000 to $750,000 to come from the sewer fund.