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Public safety director seeks $2.5 million for Public Safety Complex design and $250,000 for blue-light camera expansion
Summary
Stamford’s director of public safety asked the Planning Board for $2.5 million to fund architectural and engineering work on a proposed consolidated Public Safety Complex at 805 Bedford St., and separately a $250,000 request to expand the city’s Blue Light camera program; board sought documentation on offsets and future financing.
Lou de Rubis, Stamford’s director of public safety, presented a multi-part capital request on Nov. 5 that included $250,000 to expand the city’s Blue Light camera program and $2,500,000 to cover architectural and engineering fees for a proposed consolidated Public Safety Complex at 805 Bedford Street.
De Rubis said the Blue Light program — currently 19 towers citywide — would gain six additional towers placed in parks and on Bedford Street if funded. "We're requesting $250,000 to help expand this program," he told the board, citing recent infrastructure and fiber costs tied to connecting towers to the 911 center.
On the complex, De Rubis described a conceptual 78,000‑square‑foot facility that would consolidate emergency communications, an emergency operations center, fire and police co‑location, training space and regionally shared assets. He said the conceptual estimate for total construction is about $68.97 million and that the $2.5 million request would move the project through design and bid phases; the city would pursue a mix of grants, possible sale or repurposing of existing properties and bonding to address the remaining construction cost.
Board members questioned financing pathways and asked for supporting cost‑offset documentation — for example, estimates quantifying the renovation costs avoided at two firehouses if they were vacated — and for appraisal data on parcels the city might sell to offset costs. De Rubis said those analyses were in progress and should be available in coming weeks.
De Rubis also presented multiple equipment and vehicle requests — patrol vehicles, fire marshal cars, boat-motor replacements and drone program expansion — and prioritized frontline patrol vehicles for partial funding if resources are limited.
Next steps: the board requested written documentation of the complex's cost offsets, grant prospects and parcel appraisals, and noted the $2.5 million would cover design/engineering to prepare for future bond or construction requests.
