Lower Gwynedd Township is designing a new Public Works facility that will bring the Township’s Public Works operations together in one centralized location. Over the years, the Public Works Department has grown to meet the needs of the community, but its facilities have expanded incrementally, with equipment, materials, and operations spread among several Township-owned properties.

Today, this arrangement creates challenges for both the efficiency of our operations and the effective use of Township facilities:

• Inefficient: Public Works equipment and materials are currently stored at five locations throughout the Township. Employees regularly travel between these sites to retrieve equipment and materials, which is estimated to take approximately 1.5 hours per day. Over the course of a year, that adds up to the equivalent of approximately 10 weeks of one employee’s time.
• Limited space: Existing facilities no longer provide enough room to accommodate the Township’s needs. Some equipment and vehicles must be stored outdoors, while indoor spaces are crowded. Space limitations have also prevented the Township from accommodating a Police Department need for secure, locked storage required for accreditation. Police vehicles are also currently stored outdoors.
• Aging facilities: Several of the Township’s existing facilities require significant maintenance and upgrades. The Township has addressed these needs through repairs and improvements over the years, but continued investment in aging facilities will eventually require increasingly significant expenditures. Developing a purpose-built facility provides an opportunity to address these needs in a more comprehensive and cost-effective way.

The proposed facility is intended to provide Public Works with the space, organization, and resources needed to serve the community effectively while making better use of Township-owned properties and facilities.