Committee approves hiring AV vendor under state contract; member objects to coordination and design process

The Police Station Building Committee approved engaging Valley Communications, a vendor on the Massachusetts state contract, to design and install the new police station’s audio-visual systems, but one committee member opposed the move, saying the committee had not been adequately consulted about design and coordination.

Taylor explained that state-contract vendors may be hired directly for AV work if the construction portion is under $10,000; the committee can award the design and installation to a vendor on the state contract without a separate competitive process. Valley Communications previously met with the department and provided preliminary design guidance. The estimated high-end all-in system for the training room and lobby — including a high-end projector, smart-display, televisions, speakers and microphones — could be about $100,000, Taylor said, though the committee could scale back the system.

Rich Le Camera objected strongly to proceeding without fuller committee involvement, saying “the coordination and the communication is very, very poor here” and urging more meetings and participation from Lake Cam, emergency‑operations staff and other stakeholders. Other members said they had reviewed prior designs and were generally satisfied; several suggested a short follow-up session with Tim Graybars or the design team to finalize a plan before installation. The committee passed the motion to proceed with Valley Communications; the roll call recorded one opposition from Rich Le Camera.

Committee members said a hired vendor will produce a design for approval before any installation, and that the scope can be revised if the committee requests changes. The committee recorded that the training room should serve both police training and town meeting functions and noted the need to consider emergency operations center (EOC) telephony and integration with Lake Cam for recording/broadcasting.