BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE TOWN OF NEWTOWN BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS HELD ON TUESDAY JULY 14TH, 2009
At 6:05 P.M., the meeting was called to order by Chair Person Carol Mattegat. Also present were Commissioners Robert Connor, Bruce Walczak and Brian Budd.
Commissioner Duane Giannini was absent.
Also present was Chief Kehoe, Captain Rios and Maureen Will, Director of Emergency Communications and Brain Humes, Jacunski Humes Architects, LLC.
Mr. Humes said that his company has been designing police facilities for the past twenty (20) years. He said the Space Needs Assessment Document dated August 2008 was completed using a projected twenty (20) year growth cycle for the Newtown Police Department. This document was a space needs assessment and wasn’t a management study. He said the total estimated square footage was 29,500 feet for space needs with a minimum required site requirement of 2.5 acres.
Commissioner Walczak questioned the calls for service and the crime statistics that were presented in the report.
Mr. Humes responded that those numbers in the report were based upon his belief of increased traffic and associated problems such as more accidents. He also said that he based his projections on our proximity to major highways and what is going on in the region and adjacent communities. He explained that future legislative changes regarding the handling of juveniles were also taken into consideration and its impact on the police department. He said that in the future these types of issues will place a greater demand on the department.
Humes stated his firm completed a site plan analysis of Town Hall South which he presented to the Commission. He stated the police department’s current site won’t meet our future needs. He said there wouldn’t be enough parking in the front and rear, zoning issues and wetland concerns. He said to build a four story building with a three story parking garage would be very costly. He advised against splitting the department into different levels saying it would be woefully inefficient.
Commissioner Walczak asked Humes if he had looked at adjoining properties and could the town take adjoining property through imminent domain.
Humes said he didn’t look at other town property but to do so would be an additional expense. He said the police department doesn’t have to be located in a downtown location in part because officers respond to calls out in the field. He recommended the department be near an identifiable route near a major artery. He said it would be difficult to relocate in a residential neighborhood.
CommissionerWalczak asked Humes if we should be looking at other buildings like schools to relocate.
Humes said there are possible drawbacks and limitations based upon not being able to meet minimum square footage requirements. He said you would need to find a building larger than required square footage and closely look at the building code requirements. He said renovations would have to take into consideration the seismic conditions of the structure to ensure it could withstand any disaster or catastrophic event. The dispatch center, first responders and public safety could be negatively impacted if a disaster were to strike the building.
Commissioner Walczak spoke of regionalization for firing range and asked what departments are doing it and what.
Humes said the pistol range is an area of tremendous liability to municipalities. He added there are DEP concerns and lead issues and concerns for municipalities to consider under such a plan. He said there currently are some financial incentives for dispatch regionalization. He said no community wanted a dark room at their police department.
Director Will said there were no current combined regional police, fire and ambulance in Connecticut.
Commissioner Budd asked what is the actual number to build a new police department.
Humes responded that it would cost approximately ten (10) to twelve (12) million dollars without land acquisition. He explained that the next step after the space needs assessment would be to do a site evaluation which would cost between one – two thousands dollars per site. A schematic design would follow at a cost of about ten-thousand dollars. The fourth step would be to determine a professional cost estimate which would cost approximately five-thousand dollars to complete.
Chief Kehoe discussed requesting additional money be added the previously submitted two-hundred thousand dollars for the upcoming CIP.
Humes stated that 8% of construction costs would be a total of eight-hundred thousand dollars.
Chief Kehoe said he thought that we should approach the Fairfield Hills Authority and see what’s in the master plan for relocating the police department at Fairfield Hills. He said he didn’t want to fall further behind in the CIP and would speak further about the CIP with Bob Tait, Finance Director.
Commissioner Budd said the police department should be part of the municipal campus located at Fairfield Hills.
Commissioner Walczak said we need to evaluate several sites.
Director Will said there was talk of a regional dispatch center to be located at Fairfield Hills. She stated that currently there is no parking here at department and the proposed communication center plan is excellent.
Commissioner Connors made a motion to accept the Space Needs Assessment study dated August 2008 as presented by Brian Humes for the Newtown Police Department. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Budd.
Discussion: Commissioner Walczak commented that they really haven’t talked about everything.
The motion passed 3-1 with Commissioner Walczak voting no.
Commissioner Budd made a motion for the police department to request $800,000 dollars in the upcoming Five Year Capital Improvement Plan along with a supporting letter from Brain Humes. Motion seconded by Commissioner Mattegat. There was no discussion
The motion passed 3-1 with Commissioner Walczak voting no.
At 8:03 PM, Commissioner Connors made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Commissioner Budd and motion was unanimously carried.
Submitted by:__________________________________
Captain Joe Rios
For
Carol Mattegat, Chairman
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