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Foster council updates public on police building progress and phone-system upgrade
Summary
Council reported construction progress on the new police building (foundation work and a scheduled groundbreaking) and said a new IP‑based phone system for the police and town hall has reduced outages and will move with the department to the new station.
During the Nov. 13 meeting councilors updated residents on construction and technology work for town public safety.
On the police building, staff said bidding and buyouts increased the project’s contingency amount in a favorable way and confirmed foundation work is underway. A groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.; staff listed expected attendees, including U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, state senators and representatives and possibly the Speaker of the Rhode Island House. Council said the project will remain an agenda item in future meetings and staff will bring forward updates.
On communications, staff reported an IP‑based phone system has been in place for about two months for the police department and town hall and has reduced outages compared with legacy POTS lines. The system is expected to be portable and move with the police department into the new building on the Verizon backbone and to provide cost savings versus per‑line billing. Councilors said the new station will include a better backup system.
What’s next: Staff will continue to report on construction milestones at subsequent meetings and finalize communications set‑up when the department moves into the new building.
