The Historic District Commission at their May 4 meeting approved three details proposed as part of the final plans for the ongoing police station renovation and expansion.
Indeed, the meeting was more like a neighborhood get-together, with member Alan Long thanking Facilities Director Taissir Alani “for being so assiduous for coming to us with these ideas.” And Alani returned the compliment, thanking the commission “for being so supportive.”
Since the property at 15 The Great Road is within the Bedford Center Historic District, the commission has to approve all exterior changes, ranging from architectural design to … well, benches.
The commission’s support this week was for the placement of two pairs of six-foot black metal benches on either side of the front lawn; removal of a set of concrete stairs; and a cement block retaining wall on the east side, replacing a current wall made of timber.
The commission also approved a granite base for the benches; Alani said these will prevent corrosion. The commission agreed that the benches should not feature a center armrest; “that’s normally put in place to stop people from sleeping on the bench,” said member Karl Winkler. It was noted that none of the other public benches in the town have an extra armrest.
In answer to a question from member William Moonan, Alani said there are no current plans to add memorial plaques to the benches. He said the Department of Public Works manages a list of requested memorials.
The exterior stairs from Mudge Way “serve no purpose,” Alani said. “We would like to replace them with green space.”
The commission approved a gray cement-block retaining wall. Zel Toncic, the project architect, said the blocks have a slight curvature and the planned wall will be “undulated.”
Alani also described in detail a planned concrete blast wall designed to protect an electric transformer from an outside generator. But since the wall would not be visible from The Great Road or Mudge Way, Long pointed out that “this is not even in our purview – go ahead and build it.”
Two members of the Arbor Resources Committee attended the virtual meeting, but it was announced early that there would be no discussion of tree removal.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Loading ...
Would love to see some type of board instead of all the various sandwich boards announcing town events