Brentwood committee votes to seek authorization to publish RFQ for municipal building study

Brentwood Town’s Municipal Complex Research Committee voted March 18 to seek authorization from the town administrator to publish a request for qualifications (RFQ) to hire a designer to produce cost estimates, preliminary plans and renderings for alternatives ranging from a standalone police facility to a combined police department/town‑hall building.

The RFQ is intended to select a qualifications‑based design firm that can evaluate a set of alternatives, provide preliminary costs (including a normalized price per square foot and discipline‑level breakdowns) and produce a package the committee can present to voters at a future town meeting. "We put the article fourth for $25 in the — I'll call it the municipal building fund — that passed," Chief Justin Doty said, describing the funding added at the town meeting to the municipal building reserve.

The committee emphasized the RFQ will be qualifications‑based rather than price‑driven: firms will be asked to describe relevant municipal and police‑facility experience, management approach and client references. Committee members said they prefer a design‑build path later in the process so a single entity can provide design, contractor coordination and a guaranteed maximum price if the town proceeds to construction.

Committee members discussed three principal alternatives for the RFQ: a standalone police department, a police facility designed for a later interior build‑out to accommodate town‑hall functions, and a combined police/town‑hall structure. Members identified the town recreation property as the target site for the new facility, saying that location offers better parking and access than potential sites behind the fire station.

The committee also reviewed background studies. Members said earlier concept work — including a campus concept from Norwich University and a needs assessment and cost study from Weston & Sampson — produced useful space‑planning information but that cost figures are dated and high because they predate recent market changes. "The floor plans and the space needs assessment... are valid. It's just the construction price were, you know, orders of magnitude higher," a committee member said during discussion of prior estimates.

On technical and regulatory issues, participants noted the RFQ should ask proposers to account for federal and state requirements that affect police facilities, including CJIS security requirements for records and server rooms and FEMA EOC standards if the town wants the building to serve as an emergency operations center. Committee members also raised sprinkler and life‑safety questions for a municipal building and discussed pursuing grants to offset specialized requirements.

Timetable discussed at the meeting: the RFQ would be posted for roughly 30–45 days, with an illustrative schedule discussed of posting around April 1, submission deadlines by May 2, and a notice of award by late May or June pending interviews and a short‑list. Committee members estimated a selected designer would take roughly three to six months to deliver the conceptual study and pricing, depending on the number of alternatives the committee asks to be evaluated.

Next steps: the chief and committee chair will incorporate edits to the draft RFQ, circulate a revised version to committee members by email for brief review, and ask the select board or the town administrator (Andrea) for authorization to release the RFQ. The committee planned targeted outreach to municipal‑architecture firms and municipal‑association channels once the RFQ is approved for release.

The committee also approved two routine items earlier in the meeting: acceptance of the Jan. 7 and Feb. 4 meeting minutes and the motion to seek release authority for the RFQ. Both motions passed by voice vote.

The committee left several matters for future work: updating the building appraisal for the existing town facility, cataloging required spaces from prior needs studies, and clarifying grant‑funding options and potential county/state coordination for emergency services related to nearby facilities.