LETTER: Save Parmenter School, We Will Need It!

To the Editor: 

Regarding the discussions about whether to put a police station at
Davis Thayer or Parmenter, this past spring and summer and fall, a
day would not go by where I didn’t see 2 or 3 new Moms and Dads and Grand Moms pushing their strollers
in town.

 I see the birth rate locally swinging upward,
homes sell new couples move in and families 
start and it spreads in the neighborhood. "Google
University" and AI will tell you
that Massachusetts school enrollments for the last 75 years are
Cyclical.

 To disrupt the potentially needed Parmenter
School and the fine Residential Neighborhood nearby for a police station 
is unfavorable from a need and zoning point of view. We
will need Parmenter again
for exactly what it was built for in the 50's.

Recently I compiled detailed facts on the
3.5 Acre, 100-year -old Davis Thayer site 
on West Central and Union Sts. It sits in exactly the geographic
center of Franklin's Land area There is excellent access
on main roads in all compass point directions.

 Here's some math: the building committee
spoke of 90 Parking Spaces, the
Franklin Elks Banquet Hall has 98 spaces.

The regulations are 9'x 19' for a space and 27' for backing in out.
this will compute to 14,580 sq ft. The Davis Thayer foot print is
146' long and 95' wide 
this is 13,870 sq ft combining the 2 and subtracting from 3.5
acres and adding 10% for walks leaves 2.81 ACRES LEFT OVER.
Certainly enough for 
Medical Copters for the Fire Station down the street and a Softball
field.

 To continue I visited the North Attleboro
Station: the building is  
32,600 sq ft with 50 Parking spaces that i counted for staff and the
public. 
It sits on 1.19 ACRES !!

Publicly we've been told to show our
wallets for $40 million. I disagree with 
telling bidders we have that much to spend. I served for 6 years on
the Keller Sullivan School Building Committe on Lincoln St. In the
end we turned back $775,000 in unspent funds. 

This committee
needs to exhibit a more prudent direction if they want a favorable
vote.

 
Best to All,

Joel D'Errico

3rd Gen Lifelong Resident

7 yrs FINCOM

10 Years Town Council

6 Years Keller Sullivan Bldg Committee