State officials outline $7 million plan for new public safety field station, request FY27 funds

State officials told the Senate Committee on Institutions on April 17 that they are pursuing design and construction funding for a new public safety field station near the Rockland/Westminster area and are seeking initial capital in fiscal year 2027.

The project team estimated a total project cost of about $7,000,000 and said they are asking the Legislature for $4,000,000 in FY27 to begin construction cash flow, with additional funds to follow in later years. "Based on our estimates, we're looking at probably total cost of 7,000,000," said Joe Asia, director of design and construction, during the committee presentation. Asia said the agency already owns the site and has an RFP advertised for design work.

Why it matters: committee members and agency officials said the facility has been planned for more than a decade and that funding timing affects whether the agency can move to bid and construction quickly. "If our design gets done faster, we can go out to bid sooner," Asia said. Committee members pressed whether design funding is needed in FY26 or can be deferred; Asia said the schedule is not yet definite and the agency is planning for FY27 as the initial construction funding year.

Details and context: Asia described the field-station model as a repeatable design used in prior projects and noted the Williston facility as the largest built so far. The agency said the project will require review of sewer/septic capacity at the site; earlier rights-of-way to an off-site force main were relinquished and may need re-evaluation. Asia said the project team is considering on-site wastewater if allocation cannot be secured.

Committee discussion also addressed cash-versus-bonding for capital projects more broadly. Commissioner Wanda Manoli, who identified herself to the committee as commissioner, urged strategic use of available cash and discussed the administration’s preference to use cash funds for design and near-term projects where spending is likely within the fiscal year. "When we're setting the fee for space rates, we always go back two years," Manoli said when explaining how project costs and space charges are calculated. Manoli emphasized that cash is intended for projects expected to be spent quickly, and bonding is generally reserved for longer-lived capital assets.

Separate Shaftesbury planning: agency staff also said public safety intends to begin site-search work for a Shaftesbury field station. The agency requested $150,000 in FY27 to begin land acquisition or optioning and said design and construction would follow in future biennia (FY28–29) if suitable land is identified.

Operational notes and costs: during the discussion committee members asked about other state facilities, including a mothballed Windsor prison. Staff estimated ongoing minimal mothballing costs and identified an approximate annual operating cost of "plus or minus $250,000" to keep Windsor heated and maintained to avoid deterioration.

Outlook: the committee did not take a formal vote in the hearing. Staff said the administration supports the House-passed capital proposal as amended; funding timing and cash-versus-bonding decisions will continue in budget negotiations.

Ending: Committee members asked the agency to continue conversations with legislative fiscal staff about cash use and project timing. Agency staff said design work is under way for the Rockland/Westminster site and that the Shaftesbury land search will begin if the requested FY27 funds are appropriated.