Police budget rises with move‑back to renovated station; dispatch cutover set for June 3

Police officials presented an FY26 operating request of $8,063,967 and updated the Board on completion of the renovated police station at South Avenue. The department said the temporary rental space will end June 30, and the dispatch cutover from the temporary facility to the renovated station is scheduled for June 3.

A department representative said operating increases reflect a placeholder 2% salary line for pending contract negotiations and restoration of a full‑time maintenance position to support the new building. The budget also moves some items previously recorded in capital into operating (service contracts), and staff noted uncertainty in the first‑year utility estimates for the renovated building because the town will not know actual consumption until it occupies the new facility.

Building committee senior engineer Joe Zagarenski provided a construction update and photo progress summary. He highlighted preservation of the 1926 building façade, a purpose‑built rear addition that includes prisoner processing, jail cells, locker rooms and two sally ports, and a canopy for patrol vehicles. He reported the interior finish work is wrapping up, dispatch consoles are scheduled for installation in the coming weeks, furniture delivery is planned for March and the project was still on schedule for an early summer move‑in.

Zagarenski said the original project budget and contingency planning provided $1.9 million in contingency and that the project now projects about $853,000 remaining in contingency. The committee said the project was expected to finish under the $29 million budget (presenters estimated about $800,000 under the full project budget, after accounting for soft costs and rent paid while operating offsite).

Board members asked about energy and utility assumptions for the new building. Engineers and staff said an energy model was used and that because the renovated building brings more outside air and modern HVAC systems into the historic structure, heating and cooling loads (and therefore first‑year utility costs) are likely higher than the prior, unconditioned 1926 building. The building is "solar ready," with conduit and canopy provisions that would permit future solar panels under a separate town decision.

Ending: The building committee and construction manager reported the project is on schedule for the June dispatch cutover; moving and final commissioning will follow, with final budget reconciliation to be presented as the project concludes.