The community gathered Thursday to celebrate the installation of the final piece of steel on the new public safety building with a “Topping Off” ceremony.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan said the idea of a new public safety facility has been discussed for some “20 to 30 years.”
He thanked residents for voting “to support firemen and police officers, dispatchers, EMTs and paramedics and the people who work in Town Hall to create a building with additional taxation that will not only be more enjoyable to work in but in a safe environment.”
Dolan thanked Select Board members Dick Dalton, Phil Crawford, and Alexis Leahy for supporting the project. He also thanked former board member Joe Connell for his contributions as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee in connection with not only the public safety project but the new Veterans Memorial, the recent expansion of the elementary schools, and the library renovation project. He also thanked Commodore Construction, Project Manager PMA and the work crews for “being wonderful partners” in the project.
Police Chief Nick Secatore thanked everyone for attending and said “Today, as Mr. Dolan said, is extraordinary.”
He thanked Connell and the Strategic Planning Committee for “putting this on the map,” the Select Board and the citizenry saying “It’s unbelievable to us. I know it may be hard to believe, but we’ve been talking about this for more than 30 years when I was a kid running around in the streets. It is a great step forward here and the Commodore team is on time to the day. The PMA team has been great partners, specifically Mr. Gould from Tappé Architects and Mr. Sheridan from PMA. We are very fortunate to be here today and very thankful and are very grateful for the support and everyone coming out today and seeing this move forward toward December 2025 when we move in.”
Commodore Vice President and Operations Manager Richard Lucht said raising the final beam is “one of his favorite milestones” in a construction project and thanked all of the project’s partners. In a previous statement, Commodore said the raising of the beam, which is adorned with an evergreen tree and American flag, “celebrates the construction process and is viewed as the first introduction of the building to the public and that it uniquely honors the accomplishments of the construction crew and is reminiscent of old-fashioned, barn-raising celebrations. The tree is the key symbol. In the steel trade, it signifies construction has reached the sky without loss of life or injury and it bodes well for the future inhabitants of the building.”
“It’s a culmination of everything that goes on with all of the parties,” Lucht said. “They’re here every day building it for you and they are proud to help Lynnfield move into the future with state-of-the-art facilities that they’re going to have when this is done.
Dolan invited everyone to sign the beam, joking that “Nick and Chris (DeCarlo) say it won’t be used against you in any future or past crime.”
