August 17, 2022 by Carol Britton Meyer
A communication/outreach plan is well underway to ensure that voters are fully informed prior to the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting.
At that time, they will be asked to approve full funding for a new Foster School and a new public safety facility. Voters will also be asked to approve the transfer of available reserve funds into a "Capital Project Cost & Debt Service Stabilization Fund" to help lessen the burden on taxpayers.
This outreach includes videos, public information sessions, tour dates, details about project costs and associated tax impacts, and the permitting status for each project, according to Town Administrator Tom Mayo.
As part of this effort, Tuesday's Select Board meeting included an in-depth presentation about the proposed public safety facility.
The current project budget estimate -- including furniture and equipment -- is $49.6 million, including a contingency. $3.4 million has been appropriated to date toward the project. Updated figures will be available soon.
Both Fire Chief Steve Murphy and Police Chief David Jones explained their reasons for why this project cannot be put off for any longer.
"This discussion has been going on very actively since 2014," Murphy said. "I went back through previous Town Meeting warrants, and in the 1970s, my predecessors were talking about the condition of the fire stations at that time and the need to upgrade them because they weren't meeting current needs. This is nothing new and something that has needed to be addressed for some time."
Issues for both departments at their current locations (North Street Fire Station and the Central Street police headquarters) include safety concerns, a lack of storage, meeting, and public space, inadequate locker rooms and parking, and the overall inadequacy of both buildings, among other issues.
"The current police department building is bursting at its seams," Jones said. "These are critical issues for our staff. This situation can't be put off for another day or another year."
Murphy explained that locating the new public safety facility on Lincoln Street off Rte. 3A makes sense due to the high density of housing in this area and the close proximity of assisted living and nursing facilities. "No part of any of the current service areas will be lost," he said.
Two local debt exclusion questions will be included on the Nov. 8 state election ballot regarding the proposed Foster School and public safety facility projects.
A debt exclusion is a temporary funding measure that excludes certain debt from counting against the Proposition 2-1/2 limit on year-to-year property tax levy increases.
In order to secure the requested funding for both projects, two-thirds of the voters at Town Meeting would have to vote favorably on both warrant articles, while the ballot questions would each have to pass by a majority vote.
If all goes as planned, the public safety facility project would go out to bid in December, with construction beginning in February 2023. The building could be occupied by both departments as early as October 2024, contingent on all necessary approvals. The North Street Fire Station would close as a result and the current police headquarters space repurposed.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us. We're rolling out a public information campaign," Select Board Chair William Ramsey reiterated.