Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Complex topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New Shoreham committee advances planning for public safety complex, sets next steps for RFQ
Summary
The Building Committee for Public Safety in New Shoreham reviewed preliminary layouts and an assessment plan for a proposed two-story public safety complex, approved minutes, and agreed to circulate an RFQ/RFP draft to the town manager for review before seeking architects and engineers.
The Building Committee for Public Safety in New Shoreham reviewed preliminary designs and an assessment plan for a proposed public safety complex and agreed to circulate a draft request for qualifications or request for proposals to the town manager for review.
Committee member (Speaker 1) opened the meeting at 12:02 p.m. and called for public input; none was offered. The committee approved minutes from the April 16, 2025 meeting after a motion by Committee member (Speaker 2) and a second by Committee member (Speaker 3).
The committee spent the bulk of the meeting discussing an assessment plan and early design options for a combined police, fire and rescue facility. Committee member (Speaker 1) said he, "met a couple weeks ago" with Chief Hovey and Scott Catell to map out essential spaces and how they should be laid out, and that the group has "a pretty good idea" of the required spaces.
Committee member (Speaker 3) described work on programming and square-footage estimates, saying one lower-floor module is "approximately 2,600 feet" and noting an upper-floor figure referenced in the discussion as roughly "4,620" square feet. The committee characterized these figures as preliminary and tied to further decisions about which functions — for example fire-related operations versus EMS and hybrid administrative offices — belong on each floor.
Members discussed two basic design approaches: a simple rectangular plan previously drafted by committee members and an alternate layout sketched by a local designer identified as Doug. Committee member (Speaker 1) said the plan should be refined in a meeting with Doug, Scott Catell and the chiefs, then forwarded to an architect or engineer once a firm is selected.
Speakers flagged site and engineering constraints that could affect final design and cost. Committee member (Speaker 1) said Doug raised concerns about "the steepness of the bank" and "the drop" on the site and noted foundation work may require reaching virgin soil and digging to frost depth in places. Committee member (Speaker 2) emphasized these are issues for engineers and architects to resolve.
On procurement, Committee member (Speaker 1) said he had forwarded a sample request for qualifications (RFQ) or request for proposals (RFP) draft to the chiefs for review and asked that those drafts be shared with Amy, the town manager, for her review and authorization to advertise or to bring to the town council, "depending on what the town's proper procedure are." Committee members agreed the next steps are a follow-up meeting with Doug and circulation of the RFQ/RFP so firms can respond.
No formal vote was taken on hiring an architect or awarding contracts during the meeting. The committee set a next meeting date (June 18) and adjourned after a motion by Committee member (Speaker 2) and a second by Committee member (Speaker 3).
