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Cohasset officials present $26.8 million public safety facility plan, to seek $20.8 million debt exclusion
Summary
Town officials presented a $26,765,845 proposal for a combined police facility with space to add a future fire station; presenters said $6 million of prior appropriation is available and Annual Town Meeting will be asked to approve a $20,765,845 debt exclusion. Committee members requested operating-cost estimates before further action.
Cohasset officials on March 19 reviewed a proposed combined public safety facility on the Route 3A site that would consolidate police operations and leave room to add a fire station later, with a total projected cost of $26,765,845.
The Public Safety Facilities Committee chair said the plan “meets the future needs of the Police Department” and accommodates the Fire Department’s current needs while allowing future expansion. Committee presenters estimated the proposal would raise taxes for the median property owner (about $1 million in assessed value) by roughly $520 per year.
Dan Pallotta of Project Planning Professionals walked the joint meeting of the Advisory Committee, Select Board and Capital Budget Committee through the site plan: garage bays oriented for King Street access, a north addition housing detention areas and a sally port, a vehicle-maintenance bay and an evidence vehicle bay, relocated utilities and a generator, and a garage area left undeveloped so a future fire station could be built there if the town decides to do so.
Paula Claridge of HKT Architects reviewed floor plans: the first floor centers on offices and a large training/community room that will also serve as the Emergency Operations Center; the north addition contains the sally port and detention areas; second-floor space is dedicated to police operations, evidence processing, roll call and locker rooms; and the garage roof area will hold mechanical and electrical systems.
Presenters said $6 million remains from an earlier appropriation that can be applied to the project, leaving $20,765,845 to be sought through a debt-exclusion vote at Annual Town Meeting. The presenters compared the current scheme to an earlier $28,399,000 proposal and to an alternative that would omit immediate fire-station construction, which they estimated at $24,970,000.
Committee members asked for additional information on the facility’s ongoing operating costs, saying those estimates are needed to present a full fiscal picture beyond the capital and debt-service figures. Separately, the committee will seek $150,000 from the Capital Budget Committee this year for programming and schematic designs for the Elm Street project.
No formal vote on the project or financing was taken at the meeting. The session ended at 9:07 p.m. after Mark Cameron moved to adjourn, Diane Kennedy seconded, and the motion passed on a 7–0 roll-call vote.
Next steps: the town plans to present the debt-exclusion request at Annual Town Meeting and will provide follow-up materials, including operating-cost estimates and schematic-design work, as they become available.
