Orleans Building Committee Votes 8-1 to Recommend Gable Roof for New Fire Station

ORLEANS — May 4, 2026 — Orleans fire station building committee recommends gable roof design in 8-1 vote. The committee voted Monday to forward a recommendation to the Select Board to proceed with the transitional gable roof design for the new fire rescue station, advancing a project whose hard construction costs are estimated between $44 million and $48 million, with total project costs — including land and prior appropriations — ranging from approximately $52 million to $59 million. Architects Ted Galante and his team presented solar analysis showing the gable design would accommodate roughly 22,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels, equal to the flat roof option but requiring a smaller solar canopy, due to what Galante called the "hypotenuse effect" of the sloped roof surface. Project manager Rick Pomeroy, joining by phone, cautioned that the roughly $4 million cost difference between the two roof types is based solely on cubic footage and "we're having a really hard time feeling that it's worth four million dollars." One member abstained; no member voted against. The Select Board was scheduled to take up the recommendation at its Wednesday meeting, with the committee's next gathering targeted for June 15.