School bus garage options reviewed after December fire; board flags soils, wetlands and septic costs

The planning board heard a presentation on options to replace a school bus garage destroyed by fire last December. The presenter summarized potential locations and said the board could advise on site constraints; the discussion was explicitly framed as informational because the application was incomplete and therefore nonbinding.

"What we're looking at is replacement of a bus garage that burned down in December of last year," the presenter said. Board members raised due-diligence concerns including whether soils were designated wetlands, whether a wastewater system would be needed, and the potential cost of an engineered septic system. One member warned that poor soils could make on-site systems expensive: "...those those things will be figured out... you could figure that out when you do a a soil test... being, you know, a a 30 to $50,000 system."

Members recommended the applicant perform a soils/site evaluation and consult DEP or a site evaluator early in the process; they also noted that permitting and wastewater design will determine whether the project can reasonably proceed at a given site. The board stressed that any future approvals will require the complete submission of stormwater, fire marshal sign-offs and other technical items.