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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-05-26 ad Hoc Police Station Building Committee MinutesPOLICE STATION BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES May 26, 1995 Members Present: Lt. Bob Silva, Paul Peoples, Jim Cormier, Stephen Blewitt, Mike DeBrigard, Lauretta Raffi, Karol McLaughlin The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. Due to the apparent concern of the Selectmen at their meeting the previous Tuesday, we were unsure of whether to proceed with our meeting. A call was made to Chief Marchand, who was present at the Selectmen's meeting, and he suggested that we continue as planned, and a meeting with the Selectmen, this Committee, and architect Max Ferro will be scheduled in the near future. The subcommittees reported on the two alternative sites visited: the old Light Dept. building on Haven Street and the former Tree and Moth building off Walker's Brook Drive. It was reported that RMLD has 18,293 sq. ft. of land (plus 540 sq. ft. strip) and 6,840 sq. ft. in present building. This would not be enough room unless two additional floors were added. There also was concern about parking, heavily-travelled High Street and Haven Street, Green Street being one-way, and congestion with trains coming and going. The general feeling was that there is not enough area to work with. The Tree and Moth Dept. site has more potential, in that there are 33 acres of open land there--the majority being the landfill site, which the town wants left open for future use. For a new police station, two acres (close to the Exxon station) would be sufficient for the building, the parking spaces, and for future expansion, if need be. One drawback is that the capping material (ash) would have to be removed. Max spoke with us about the present Pleasant Street site and offered two sketches--a rear addition with three levels (one below ground) and room for 55 parking spaces; and a front addition, which would need an elevator to access the old building levels. This, also, leaves room for 55 parking spaces. In both cases, the present station also would be renovated. Draw- backs at present site are: narrow streets and, due to the way the present station is constructed, it would be very expensive to renovate. We talked about the fact that police stations are the 3rd most expensive buildings to construct. Cells and communication centers comprise almost half of a station, cost-wise. We discussed the legal need for separate cells for males, females, and juveniles. Also discussed were safety issues. Even though Reading's present cells have been updated, they still are dangerous (targets for lawsuits_,). -2- Costs were discussed, and it is estimated that, to stay at the present site would cost $3.2M (includes buying the land next door). If the Town is liable for the cost of moving the house next door, this figure would go up. If that property is not acquired, the present site would not be feasible. Estimated cost for a brand new building is $3.5M. Presently, only $1.5M is appropriated for a new police station. The committee unanimously feels this appropriation must be increased; anything which might be done for that amount of money would be a "band-aid approach", and ten years down the line, we would have the same problems. It was felt that the Selectmen (and the town in general) are not aware of the deplorable condition of the present police station. It was suggested that the Selectmen tour the station before we meet with them. We decided that our next step would be to develop plans for the present site, but that we would not meet until after we meet with the Selectmen. Bob Silva will speak with the Town Manager to set up a time and place. e pectfully submitted, ~ L of McLaughlin June 2, 1995