Renovation of a municipal facility in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Conceptual plans call for the renovation of a municipal facility.

The current public works facility was built around 1955. In March of 2019, the Department of Public Works contracted with Aharonian and Associates, Inc. of Smithfield, RI, to complete an assessment and Feasibility Study of the existing main garage at 3 Spragueville Road. The intent of this feasibility study was to evaluate the condition of the existing building and determine whether the existing structure can be utilized to provide the Town of Smithfield with a safe and cohesive space for staff, administration and the public. The goal is to make a safe working environment for the staff and visiting public, utilizing facilities such as recycling and administrative inquiries, while separating the Public Works daily operations and maintenance activities, providing a safer work site. There were a number of design and operational deficiencies identified during the study. The existing facility has inadequate ventilation, causing fumes and odors from the vehicle maintenance bays to permeate throughout the building during the day. The building currently does not meet ADA requirements. The maintenance staff does not have access to any vehicle lifts, making routine maintenance more time consuming and dangerous. The existing concrete floor in the work bays are starting to spall and erode from years of exposure to the salt and sand coming off the vehicles. There exists no clear separation between public access and operations space, allowing for potentially dangerous encounters between the visiting public and department vehicles and heavy machinery. An RFQ was advertised and awarded to Aharonian and Associates to design three phases of construction. Phase I design is completed and ready to be advertised for construction. Phase II design was awarded in 2021 and is underway now. Phase III funds were approved in the 2022 budget and will begin after Phase II design is complete. Phase I design addresses the deficiencies in the fleet maintenance area of the building by adding an additional bay with a higher ceiling so lifts can be used to work under the larger vehicles. The new bay will also handle the Fire Department vehicles which will increase the savings to the town. Phase II addresses the crews work area and upgrades to current code and Phase III will address the administrative issues. This project is in included in the Town of Smithfield FY 2023-2027 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). As of June 29, 2022, further details regarding design and construction have not been identified. *Project information has been obtained through a public capital improvement plan (CIP). A CIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the CIP often evolves based on funding availability and the project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.