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2022 ATM,2022-1 STM APPROPRIATION COXMTTEE 21 MARCH 2022 Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations 2022-1 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING Article 2 Appropriate for 1575 Massachusetts Avenue / Police Station Replacement Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $32,400,000 GF Debt Approve (8-0) This article requests funds to cover construction costs for building a new Police Station. Plans call for a 34,000 sq ft building to be constructed on the Massachusetts Avenue site of the current station. The existing police station opened in 1956. It lacks many of the basic amenities found in modern police facilities, and does not comply with current building codes. For example, the building does not have an elevator nor does it have a sally port for secure access to the cellblock. The building lacks a fire sprinkler system and does not meet seismic safety requirements. The indoor firing range is obsolete, and the locker rooms, garage, equipment storage, evidence storage, and office spaces are inadequate. The bathrooms in the basement and the second floor levels are not ADA compliant. The heating and cooling systems are inefficient and the building, with electrical service via two separate systems, suffers from problems during power outages. The Police Department currently has 73 FTE's including 8 command officers, 34 patrol sergeants and officers, 8 detectives, 10 civilian dispatchers, school crossing guards, and administration staff(see Brown Book p. VI-5). The new building is designed to correct existing deficiencies, and to meet the current and future needs of the department. The plan includes properly sized locker rooms and evidence storage. The floor plan accommodates offices for social service and mental health service personnel who would form part of the police team. An indoor garage, a two-bay vehicle maintenance area, and appropriately sized and sited equipment storage areas will facilitate equipment maintenance and prolong equipment life. Additionally, the main entrance will feature a front desk situated in a spacious foyer with contiguous publically accessible meeting rooms and rest rooms, making it easier for the community to interact with the department. Funding for this project started with an appropriation of $65,000 for a Police Station Feasibility Study under Article 5 of the 2016 September Special Town Meeting. Article 14 of the 2018 Annual Town Meeting appropriated $1,862,622 for design and engineering of a new station at the current Massachusetts Avenue site. At that time, it was envisioned that a request for construction funds would be made late in 2019 or in 2020. However, the Select Board paused the work on the project in reaction to the nationwide discussion on police and policing that stemmed from the killing of George Floyd. The Select Board then led a community conversation on policing and on what changes may be desirable in the design of the proposed new station. Article 5 of the 2021-1 Special Town Meeting appropriated $614,100 of construction funds to convert 173 Bedford Street to a temporary Police Station, and $254,315 for a supplemental appropriation to pay for additional architectural work to incorporate the results of the community discussion into the final plan for the new station. Total costs, including the presently-requested appropriation,will exceed $35 million. While the Committee agrees that the current size, floor plan, and facilities meet the goals needed in a new Police Station, we are concerned that acute inflationary trends may result in bids that exceed the requested appropriation. We have been assured that the architect's cost estimate was completed very recently, and we hope that it incorporates factors driving the price volatility in the construction market. If this appropriation is approved by Town Meeting, the funding will be contingent on a successful town-wide referendum to approve the exclusion of the debt service from the usual limitations of Proposition 2'/2, anticipated to be held early in June of 2022. Requests for bids will not go out until after a successful vote. If all approvals are received, construction on the Police Station would begin in the fall of 2022. 6