Village leaders host open house for new $3 million modern garage
Cutting the ribbon
A host of local officials was on hand to cut the ceremonial ribbon Wednesday during an open house of the $3 million village garage off McLaughlin Ave. Actually cutting the ribbon were Mayor Paul Maroun and Deputy Mayor Leon LeBlanc, at center. From left were Scott Bova of the engineering and architectural firm, The MRB Group, Electric Department Superintendent Mike Dominie, McKayla Hall, project engineer for Murnane Contracting, the general contractor, Village Clerk Mary Casagrain, who purchased the ribbon and the refreshments for the event, Assemblyman Billy Jones, Town Councilman John Quinn, Village code officer Peter Edwards, retired electrical superintendent Marc Staves and deputy village treasurer Jackie St. Louis. (Dan McClelland photo)
by Dan McClelland
Village of Tupper Lake leaders hosted an open house Wednesday afternoon to show off some of the modern and spacious features of the new $3 million village garage that will be the headquarters for the electric department and department of public works. About 40 people attended the event.
The 10,000 square foot plus structure replaces and sits behind the old blue metal garage that served the village and those two departments for 53 years.
Mike Dominie, who now directs the Tupper Lake Electric Department, says the garage sports 10 full size bays, with doors high enough to permit the bucket trucks and other large vehicles the village owns to easily enter and exit. The garage was designed to permit easy drive-through. The majority of the bays with doors on the front and back of the building were designed to permit vehicles to drive in on the one side and exit on the other.
Four of the bays will be allocated to the DPW, including one with a smaller door where a lift will be installed and where the village mechanic will operate, according to Mr. Dominie.
The structure is roomy enough to permit the electric department to store all of its large trucks inside and there's room in the bays of the DPW section to store many of the department's backhoes, loaders and dump trucks. Mr. Dominie noted that some of the DPW's auxiliary equipment will still be parked outside.
The new building is heated by large propane furnaces with hang high in the corners of the mostly open interior.
He predicted the two departments would begin moving in this week, once a few minor things were completed.
The old garage will be razed once everything is moved into the new quarters.
The western end of the building hosts various modern offices for Mr. Dominie, DPW Superintendent Bob DeGrace and the electric department foreman. There are also restrooms, a lobby and a spacious staff room, naturally lit by large windows facing south.
The new garage is larger than the existing one, particularly with the office section if figured in.
Mr. Dominie said the new headquarters has more room for storage of materials both in rooms on the main floor and on a second floor mezzanine. In the old garage, all storage areas were crammed.
Many of the guests that afternoon joined Mayor Paul Maroun and other village leaders in the staff room where several people connected to the project spoke.
The mayor said in the old garage it was commonplace to see raindrops falling inside during rainstorms and in winter months to see steam escaping from the roof as there was little insulation. Ice build-up was a annual problem.
He introduced Scott Bova of the Rochester-based architectural and engineering firm which designed the building, The MRB Group. Also in attendance was McKayla Hall, the project manager representing the general contractor, Murnane Building Contractors of Plattsburgh.
McKayla has a solid Tupper Lake connection. She is the daughter of the former Julie Dechene of this village. She and the firm have moved on to the exterior renovation of the Lake Flower Apartments in Saranac Lake. New vinyl panels are being installed over the brick facade by the Murnane group.
McKayla who lives in Chateaugay has been with the large contractor for four years after graduating with a civil engineering degree from Clarkson.
Also among the guests was Assemblyman Billy Jones, also from Chateaugay.
“Safety here is the priority,” the mayor began, explaining the need for the new garage.
“This thing is all about safety right now.” He said some of the guests that day saw the old, crammed bays in the older garage where Brad Paige, the mechanic, and DPW Chief Bob DeGrace were working that day. “You saw how close everyone was in there.”
“This new garage will also protect the taxpayers as we are going to be able to work on more of our own equipment” in the roomier setting. He said the village will cut down the amount of machinery it has had to send out to private firms for repairs “which will save our taxpayers money.”
He also introduced retired Electrical Superintendent Marc Staves, who he said “started the planning process for the new garage” when he was still with the village. With Marc was his wife Cathy and grandson Caden.
“Marc figured out for us how we were going to do this project!” working with the New York State Power Authority.
Mayor Maroun said Mike Dominie ably took over the project when he succeeded Mr. Staves as superintendent.
The mayor was emphatic that taxpayers dollars haven't been spent on this new building. Instead, he explained, the bond payments have been built into the current rate structure of the department through the electric bills paid by electric customers here. The entire deal was approved by the New York Power Authority, which oversees the village municipal system.
He introduced the electric department's auditor, Bill Freitag, who does the electric department's accounting and who the mayor said “makes sure we have enough money to pay for all of this while keeping our rates as low as possible.”
Mayor Maroun said the preparation for the building would not have been possible without the many contributions of the village treasurer and village clerk, Mary Casagrain. “She doesn't like to have her picture in the paper,” he joked, pointing her out across the room. In this project she was instrumental in keeping constant communications between the engineers, the general contractors and the various subcontractors like Burns Brothers, ENI Mechanical (HVAC) and Weydman Electric. Mary also works with the village's bonding attorney and financial experts to chart the financing in every village project.
“Without Mary this project would not have been possible.”
Mary told him that afternoon kudos were also due to electric department bookkeeper and deputy treasurer Jackie St. Louis, who was in attendance that afternoon.
The mayor also credited the work of Trustee Clinton Hollingsworth, who oversees the electric department but who because of work was unable to attend the event that day.
McKayla Hall, representing Murnane, thanked all the players who worked on the new garage. “A project is only as good as the team” that does it. “We had a good team from all angles!”
She said the overall effort resulted in the completion of what she called “a great building” that will serve the village and its residents for many years.
The MRB Group's Scott Bova said his company's intention was to design a building “that will last for at least 60 or 70 years.”
He said in designing it he and his colleagues had “to think into the future.”
“Seeing the working conditions (in the old garage) you had before, it is very apparent that this building is well deserved.”
Mr. Bova applauded “the collaboration” his firm enjoyed with the village board and the village electric department.”
“We met with Marc a number of times at first and then later Mike.”
He said the various parties involved in the project met regularly and collaborated well which, he felt, contributed to the overall success of the project.
Assemblyman Billy Jones told the group “a lot of hard work” goes into projects like this one. “There are many tough days and tough evenings talking over what you want and how to best serve this community.” He said the final product is strong evidence it will serve the community well for many years.
“Anyone who has ever been involved in these sorts of projects knows they are a lot of work.”
He called the new garage a great collaborative effort between some of those in the room that day and the community at large.
“At the end of the day it's about what a beautiful product you have here!”
“-And it's all about serving the community!”
“All of you should be very proud of it...and it will service the community for many years,” he concluded.
When the mayor opened the session up for questions the Free Press publisher said the “main reason the old building failed was its lack of insulation” and a constant ice build-up on the roof over the bays each winter. “You are not anticipating any ice problems?” Mr. McClelland asked.
Mr. Bova said he wasn't. “This building was entirely designed and constructed with insulated metal panels which provide continuous insulation of all wall and roof sections.”
“We've been doing this building construction type for about eight years. We don't get ice. Our buildings are very tight. You also save operationally (heating costs) on these types of buildings.”
“This is a well insulated structure.”
Marc Staves noted that one of the things they discovered in their planning for the new building several years ago was “that the snow-load capacity of the old garage was much less than what is required for this climate.” He noted the old garage was designed for the snow load seen typically in warmer states, and joked: “Somewhere south of the Blue Line.”
Before moving outside for the cutting of a ribbon, Town Councilman John Quinn expressed his board's congratulations to the village on the new building and its contractors “for a job well done. It will be a welcome asset to the community!”
Mayor Maroun noted that both village and town electric customers in the local municipal electric system will pay for the new building through their electric rates in the years ahead.
There were trays of cookies and such for the guests to enjoy that day, after the ribbon-cutting.
Speaking afterwards Mr. Bova said the building had been designed into three sections by fire areas, each with independent sprinkler systems.
The bottom five feet or so of the exterior was done in decorative masonry block “to keep the insulated panels off the ground,” he told the small crowd. The blocks will make it easier to maintain the building over the years, he added.
Insulation was also installed behind the block.
The insulated panels were all completely connected right up to the ridge line on the roof and hung on the metal skeleton of the building's framework.
“The thicker panels can span wider distances,” Mr. Bova said, adding they were designed to “handle all the lateral loads. It's a nice system!”
He said the building was “sized three bays wide” for more room parking and servicing all the vehicles.
Mr. Bova said the cathedral-style ceilings in each of the bays gives a lot more height room for the often tall trucks and when they are lifted on hoists for repairs.
“With this roof it also afforded room for a mezzanine” in the DPW area with storage areas beneath it.
Mr. Bova said because all the bay areas of the new garage are all open without partitions so there is plenty of room for employees to work on the trucks. “That promotes employee safety.”
He also noted that windows in the bay doors and reflective materials used to decorate the interior add to the lighting in the building so everything is bright inside.
He expects the building will be very efficient to heat, despite the many doors.
His firm chose unit heaters hung from the ceilings, believing they were the best way to heat the building. “They are very efficient. We found that unit heaters are the most efficient way to bring the building up to temperature again when the doors are opened. It is a quicker recovery time.”
He said they did not propose in-floor heat for the building “because its heat recovery time is very slow.”
Mr. Bova said had in-floor heating been installed it would have been warmer for mechanics and other employees working on their trucks, “but the unit heaters are the best of both worlds.”
“When you have this many doors and when they are opened, all the heat goes out so you want to be able to recover quickly.”
“The trucks will enjoy the heating system. They will start easily.”
He said the entire concrete floor was treated with a special sealant to prevent oil and other materials from penetrating it.
The floors in each bay are sloped to a run in the center to a long drain which leads to a water separator in the building which he said was easy to maintain.
In all aspects of the building, most of the finishes on the walls and counters of the building, while they look elaborate in place, “were all conventional. We were very creative in using economical materials in a very creative ways!”
He said he thought Murnane Contracting did a very good job finding the right materials to produce the “finishes” in the building that the designers wanted.
“All in all I think it is going to be a very enjoyable building” for all who work there, he concluded.
The MRB Group is headquartered in Rochester but it has offices in Syracuse and Saratoga Springs too.