Selectmen View Preliminary Fire and Police Station Building Plans

At its meeting Monday night, the Board of Selectmen reviewed a concept study report for replacement or renovation of the police and fire stations, undertaken after Town Meeting approved this initial design study.

Calling both stations "greatly undersized for their present occupancies and uses," the report recommends the Police Station be renovated and expanded, while Fire Headquarters on Bedford Street be demolished and replaced with a new building.

Preliminary cost estimates range from $11.2 to $12.9 million for a Police Station renovation and expansion, and $12.3 to $14 million to build a new Fire Headquarters.

Jon Himmel, chairman of the Permanent Building Committee, called the report a work in progress, and one that was created after space-needs analyses and interviews were done with department members about their needs, including Police Chief Mark Corr and Fire Chief Bill Middlemiss.

Jeff Shaw of Donham & Sweeney Architects, the firm contracted with to create the schematic design study for the stations, explained the report and preliminary floor plans, including two options for a new fire building.

The study identified a need to increase the Police Station from 13,060 square feet to 28,308 square feet, while the Fire Dept. has 11,800 square feet and has a need for 25,100 square feet.

Construction of a shared police-fire public safety building is not recommended because a large enough site to accommodate such a building – of about 48,500 square feet of floor space, on 5 1/2 acres – is not available.

The cost estimate for such a combined public safety building is $27.2 to $28.9 million, while renovation and expansion of the current fire station is estimated to cost $13.5 to $15.1 million. However those options are not recommended in the report.

Moving the fire station to another location as part of a combined public safety building is also not recommended because the current building is well-located and offers good response times to calls, the report states.  

The report also says that renovating the fire station would cost more than replacing the building, as extensive renovations would be required while being constrained by the current building's layout.

Selectmen Chairman Hank Manz said Monday night's presentation was a way to get basic information on what building designs could look like.

"In the near future, during a Board of Selectmen or special Board of Selectmen meeting, we'll have a chance to question where the program requirements for the new buildings came from," he said.

Work sessions were also previously conducted to look at the cost models with the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Carl Valente, Himmel said, and the next step is further work sessions with police and fire officials, and selectmen before potentially moving on.

Final design and construction funding would need Town Meeting appropriation before the projects could progress.