To the Editor:

I write with regard to an important question on the upcoming election ballot. In addition to voting for candidates for state office, voters will have the opportunity to cast ballots on a project that has been decades in the making, a new facility for the Newtown Police Department. I am firmly in support of this important project and respectfully request that my fellow residents do the same and vote Yes on November 6.

The need for a new police station has been reviewed and discussed for nearly twenty years. The current building, Town Hall South, has long since outlived its effective lifespan and is no longer meeting the needs of a modern police force. The men and women of the Newtown Police Department serve our community with pride and distinction day in and day out and deserve a proper and efficient working environment that meets the needs of our community today and for years to come.

The proposed site, 191 South Main Street, was the preferred site of the project design firm Kaestle Boos and was unanimously approved by the Board of Selectmen. The site features an approximately 21,200-square-foot office building, which is proposed to be renovated, and in addition, an approximately 4,700-square-foot addition would be constructed. While not insignificant, the $14.8 million cost ($1.6 million property purchase and $13.2 million construction cost) is materially less than the cost of new construction for a comparable building. The project has been planned for in the Capital Improvement Plan and conforms to the Town’s debt policy. Furthermore, the proposed project received near unanimous support from the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, Legislative Council, and Planning & Zoning Commission.

With each passing year since it was determined that a new police facility was needed, the cost has undoubtedly increased. Because the opportunity before us involves a property transaction, it will not be available forever, and the cost of waiting will be even more money.

Please join me in supporting a new police station for Newtown and the men and women of the Newtown Police Department by voting Yes on November 6.

Respectfully,

Daniel Rosenthal, First Selectman

9 Megans Circle, Newtown         October 24, 2018