# DPW Building Committee Oct 21, 2026

The Town of Amherst DPW Building Committee met on October 21, 2026, to review the conceptual design, program, budget, and site options for a new DPW facility. The current reduced program is approximately 35,000 square feet, down from an earlier 53,000-square-foot concept. The preliminary project budget is about $35 million, including roughly $8 million in soft costs and an estimated $27 million for the building and site improvements. Demolition is included in that total, with a preliminary raw estimate of $160,000, or approximately $200,000 with escalation and contingencies. Weston & Sampson presented concepts for the South Pleasant Street and Pulpit Hill Road sites; discussion covered wetlands and contamination, geotechnical conditions, utilities, access, parking, operations, and future expansion. No site was selected, and the committee expects to consider site selection at its next meeting. Members requested a clearer breakdown of soft costs, assumptions, and site-related costs to inform that decision.

The committee approved two Weston & Sampson invoices by motion and roll-call vote. One invoice, received in September, was for $15,200; the amount of the second invoice, received October 13, was not stated in the transcript. The committee also approved the prior meeting minutes with a minor wording change. No construction contract award or bid approval occurred. Members were asked to submit additional site-selection questions by the end of the following week, and the committee discussed providing information to the Town Council about the potential site change before proceeding further.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure
**Published:** October 23, 2026

### Sources
- [DPW Building Committee Oct 21, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN_JFwRlD2A) - Town of Amherst, MA