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Supervisors agree to public work session on police headquarters study after debate over transparency
Summary
After a lengthy debate about whether to meet privately with state lawmakers or hold a public work session, Newtown supervisors agreed to schedule a public work session to review a police headquarters study and gather questions before pursuing grants or meetings with state officials.
Board members spent a lengthy portion of the April 9 meeting debating how to proceed on a proposed new police headquarters and agreed they will schedule a public work session to review the available building study and discuss next steps.
Chief Hearn said the township’s existing police facility, built in 1988 as an office building, is no longer adequate for modern operations and accreditation and that a study recommended considering a new facility. "The study . . . showed we do need a building because the building is built in 1988. . . . There are size and space concerns. There are accreditation concerns or safety concerns that have to be addressed," the chief said.
Several board members urged that the board hold an internal work session first to review the study and hear from the chief and administration — and possibly the architect who prepared the draft — before soliciting state elected officials for grant support. Other supervisors argued that contacting the state senator and representative to "keep an eye out" for grant opportunities is a reasonable early step. The board voiced concerns about transparency and about two-member meetings with state officials; members repeatedly said any substantive decisions or requests for commitments should be made in public.
At least one board member cited a rough project-order-of-magnitude: the study discussed previously had been described in the meeting as on the order of $20 million, though board members agreed cost estimates would require review and update. The group agreed the appropriate next step was a public work session to review the study’s conclusions, collect questions for the chief and administration, and identify what information would be needed before approaching state officials about grant options.
Township management said staff will coordinate available dates and bring the study and related materials (including the KCBA architects’ draft study) to the work session; if the senator or other elected officials can attend after the board’s discussion, the board said they would welcome them at a later public meeting to discuss grant opportunities.
The board did not take formal action on funding or project selection at the meeting; members instructed staff to schedule a work session and present materials for an open discussion.
