Town hires municipal building architect

Mansfield to convert building into multiple-use municipal headquarters

By: Scott Morgan
   MANSFIELD — As the township grows, so does its government’s need for space. Last week, township officials took the next step in ensuring they’d have it.
   Two months after sealing the deal to buy a 29-acre property on Route 206, the Township Committee last week hired architect and engineer Robbie Conley of Woodbury Heights to convert an existing building on the New Millenium property near Hedding Road into the future home of Mansfield’s police, fire and municipal offices. The move, which came during the committee’s April 12 meeting, is intended to use 40,000 of the building’s 60,000 square feet for municipal purposes while the remaining space is rented as office space, according to Township Administrator Joe Broski.
   Township officials recently closed on the contract to acquire the property, which came after five months of price wrangling. In February, officials tentatively signed the $4.75 million contract for the site. With the deal in place, officials last week were finally able to hire someone to design a new municipal complex.
   According to Mayor Art Puglia, the two-story brick building would provide a central location for all township services that are currently spread across four separate buildings around East Main Street and Atlantic Avenue, and create a new home for the volunteer Franklin Fire Company, ending the members’ six-year search for modern facilities.
   The new Municipal Complex should also provide space. According to Mr. Broski, space for storing files, space for equipment and even space for people has been pushed to the breaking point.
   "We’re almost at the point … where we can’t hire any new people," Mr. Broski said. That, despite the fact the township is growing steadily and there is a need for expanded municipal services.
   Much of the case can be made at the Police Department, which has added three new officers and replaced retired Chief James Humble with Public Safety Director Rich Bendel in the past eight months. Mr. Broski said the Police Department needs new locker facilities, new holding cells and needs to meet the federal Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for access.
   "The Police Department has just completely outgrown (their current space)," he said.
   Designing municipal space in existing buildings is nothing new to Mansfield. Today’s Municipal Building was once a church recreation center and today’s Police Department building once was the Municipal Building. Such examples, Mr. Broski said, highlight the fact that today’s municipal space exists in buildings not designed for such use. The new complex, though it too will be headquartered in an existing building, will be designed specifically for municipal purposes, he said.
   Preliminary walkthroughs at the site are expected within the next few weeks, he said. Township officials plan to eventually sell buildings housing their current facilities.