The Town proposes to build a new Public Safety Facility to house the Police Department, Fire Department, Volunteer Fire Department, EMS, and combined 911 Dispatch Center. It will be located at 36 Old Quarry Road on the Town-owned old Schlumberger property.

Both the Police and Fire headquarters have served us well for more than 100 years but are well beyond their useful lives and do not allow for sufficient renovation to meet the departments’ current needs. Mindful of our history and of taxpayer dollars, this building is designed to serve us now as well as for decades in the future. Building a combined Public Service facility will permit us to take advantage of the cost savings which come with designing and building a single building instead of two as well as the synergies which follow from having all of our First Responders in the same facility. The central location of the new site will also provide for safer and more efficient responses by our First Responders.

The Town will bond the expense over 20 or 25 years.

We are planning for 3.75%, however we will not have a final number until we go out to bid.

We are currently in the schematic phase of the project. The $85 million estimate was provided by a professional estimator. If and when we enter the construction phase, costs will be examined in closer detail and numbers finalized. Modular design was researched as an option for the Alternative High School/Transition Program building. The quote came in at $700 per square foot, which is $200 per square foot more than the non-modular option.

To move into the construction phase will cost another $2 million. If we were to move forward any further with the project and then it gets voted down, we would be wasting $2.5 million.

The initial $75 million estimate did not include architectural fees, Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E), construction management, and the updated communication system. The $85 million estimate is the total package.

The buildings are each over 100 years old with problems that mirror their age. There is no room to expand either the Fire Station on Catoonah Street or the Police Station on East Ridge Road. Residents are encouraged to take a tour of the current facilities for themselves.

There will be a public hearing and town meeting to determine either the repurpose or sale of each property. Any proceeds from the sale of either property would go toward the general fund to help pay down the interest on the loan for the project.

A large number of potential sites were considered and eventually narrowed down to six locations.

The Old Quarry Road site is more centrally located, has preferable for response times, and is large enough for a combined facility. Because the Town already owns the property, there is no acquisition cost, and it will not result in a loss from the Tax Rolls.

Particularly for the Fire Department and ambulances, vehicles will not have to be shuffled in and out of the current Fire Department headquarters and will not have to negotiate the increasingly congested downtown traffic. The more central location will improve response times to much of the Town, especially the growing north side. Vacating the Fire Station will also free up several much-needed parking spaces downtown.

We anticipate that there will be a benefit to the surrounding neighborhoods. Fire and Ambulance vehicles generally respond to 7-8 calls per day on average. A substantial percentage of those calls are to the Urgent Care location on South Street, Ridgefield Crossing on Old Quarry Road, or to Laurel Ridge on Danbury Road. Response times would improve due to the nearer proximity of the Public Safety building.

The traffic impact will be no different than on Main Street or any other street in the area.

By all means. We will be scheduling multiple Open Houses at each of the facilities and welcome folks to schedule individual or group tours at other times. If you can’t make it over personally, you can take the tour virtually by visiting our Public Safety Building Project website homepage and scrolling down.