At its December meeting the Brentwood Municipal Complex Research Committee voted to recommend Option 1 — a standalone police department — to the Select Board and set a public information session for Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the municipal building.

The committee’s recommendation follows a presentation of three site and building options by project representatives. Doug (identified only by his first name in the transcript) reviewed CAD plans and said Option 1 is approximately 7,500 square feet with the program-level budget shown alongside the plan. Barry Beauregard of Bonnet, Page and Stone, the construction management firm providing estimates, told the committee the contingency they were carrying "is just about 4%" and that the project budget figure presented is a program-level number that will be refined to a guaranteed maximum price after a positive vote.

The committee discussed program details including a dedicated training room, a fitness area for mandated officer physical training and wellness, and evidence and security features. Presenters described security measures focused on hardening the visitor vestibule and transaction window while treating typical exterior glazing as intrusion-resistant rather than fully bullet-resistant to manage cost. Barry noted remaining site unknowns — including the need for geotechnical exploration to check for ledge or unsuitable materials — and said contingencies are layered to account for those risks.

Committee members weighed three options: Option 1 (police department only), Option 2 (concurrent build of police department plus an attached town hall), and Option 3 (renovation of the existing municipal building). Presenters said the combined-build option’s all-in cost was presented to the committee as about $9.7 million; the police-only option was shown at roughly $5.6 million; a renovation estimate for the existing building was discussed in the $3.06 million range. Several members warned that delaying a town-hall build could increase costs over time and that cost escalation of roughly 5% per year should be considered as a planning estimate.

Following discussion, an unidentified committee member moved to recommend Option 1 and a second was recorded. The chair conducted a voice vote; members responded “Aye,” and the chair announced the committee had voted to recommend Option 1 as the preferred project to the Select Board. A committee member asked the Select Board to remember that vacating the police department from the existing municipal building would not by itself address other deficiencies in that building and suggested follow-up work on the town-hall space.

Public commenters at the meeting echoed cost concerns. Chad Miller of Dudley Road noted the proportion of program space devoted to police support areas and urged the committee to pursue potential savings. Jack Mitchell of Sherman Avenue asked for clarity on the combined-build savings and warned that postponing construction could push costs into seven-figure escalation territory.

The next procedural step is for the Select Board to consider the committee’s recommendation and determine what to present at the town meeting and to voters. The committee invited the public to the information session on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. to review plans and ask questions.