Following detailed presentations made by two firms vying to be the architect for a new police station, police officials have recommended to the Board of Selectmen that the town hire Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc, of New Britain as the firm to do preliminary project planning.

Kaestle Boos gained a unanimous recommendation at a January 23 Police Commission session also attended by members of the Ad Hoc Police Design Selection Committee. That recommendation will be taken up by the Board of Selectmen at an upcoming session. The other firm under consideration was Jacunski Humes Architects, LLC, of Berlin.

The two companies were finalists in a competition which last fall had included Tecton Architects of Hartford, and Silver/Petrucelli & Associates of Hamden.

Town officials say the existing police station at Town hall South at 3 Main Street is outdated and too small to meet the needs of a 45-member police department.

At the January 23 session, architect Brian Humes spoke on behalf of his firm. Kaestle Boos sent six representatives of its firm to present their ideas on police station design.

Besides doing completely new construction somewhere to replace the existing police station, police officials also are considering the possibility of converting/expanding some existing structure for police station use.

In a basic analysis of an existing structure that might lend itself for use as a police station, Kaestle Boos presented its ideas on converting a vacant building at 191 South Main Street (Route 25) for that purpose. That 7.35-acre site is in a M-1 (Industrial) zone. It formerly served as office space for The Taunton Press. It is owned by 191 South Main Street, LLC. The site lies north of the intersection of South Main Street and Ethan Allen Road.

A 21,184-square-foot building sits on the western side of that property. A past space estimate indicated that town police would likely need somewhere between 24,000 and 28,000 square feet of space in a new police station. Kaestle Boos Associates showed how additional construction at that building would create facilities, such a prisoner holding cells and a sally port. A sally port is a specialized garage used for security purposes when transferring prisoners between a police station and vehicles. Such a redevelopment approach is known as "adaptive reuse."

Following the January 23 session, police officials said the analysis of 191 South Main Street for use as a police station site was a planning exercise and does not signify an intention to acquire that property.

Architectural firms have estimated $450 as the per-square-foot cost for new construction for a police station.

When applied to new buildings ranging from 24,000 to 28,000 square feet, those construction costs would range from $10.8 million to $12.6 million. Town officials have estimated that a new police station may cost somewhere between $10 million and $15 million, when considering all costs. In Bethel, a new police station is being built on land owned by that town for $13.5 million.

In Newtown, the municipally owned site of Cochran House on Mile Hill Road South at Fairfield Hills has been mentioned as a possible location for a newly constructed police station. The complicating factor there, however, is the high expense involved in demolishing the large multistory building, which may hold toxic substances.

The 188,000-square-foot masonry structure was built in 1956. Cochran House served as a patient housing/treatment facility at the state psychiatric hospital, which closed in 1995. The site is adjacent to the town's Emergency Operations Center and three youth baseball fields.

At a town budget referendum in April 2017, by a 2-1 margin, voters authorized bonding for $300,000 that would be used to create basic plans for a new police station. Additional funding approvals would be required later.

That $300,000 fund would cover expenses including a review of police space needs, an evaluation of possible sites, creating a schematic design for the structure, and formulating a cost estimate for the project.

First Selectman's Comments

At the January 23 session, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said, "We'd like to get the design firm hired and things underway."

Police Commission Chairman Joel Faxon said police officials want to get the project moving forward, adding that he hopes that voters at an upcoming referendum would support the spending required for the project.

Mr Faxon said that Kaestle Boos uses a team approach on such projects. While Jacunski Humes has designed more police stations than Kaestle Boos, Jacunski Humes would need more time to perform its work, he said. Also, Kaestle Boos has a marketing unit, he said.

Police Commission member Brian Budd expressed satisfaction with Brian Humes' presentation at the session.

Mr Rosenthal noted that a construction funding request for a police station cannot be submitted to a referendum until there is an as-built cost estimate for the project.

Police Chief James Viadero said that a 3-D video presentation, which Kaestle Boos showed at the January 23 meeting to illustrate another police station that it is designing, is "an effective marketing tool." The firm could create such a 3-D video to vividly illustrate a proposed Newtown police station, he said.

Chief Viadero added that both architectural firms are equals in terms of their skill and their knowledge of police station design.

Mr Faxon added that Kaestle Boos has been effective in gaining public approvals for projects at referendums.

George Benson, town planning director, said he would prefer dealing with Kaestle Boos because it provides a full range of architecture-related services.

Both firms are competent in their work, Mr Rosenthal observed.

Police Captain Christopher Vanghele commented on a new police station. "I want to be proud of it... I want to be impressed," he said in endorsing Kaestle Boos.

Those attending the session then unanimously endorsed Kaestle Boos for the preliminary design work.

Police Commission members have discussed the need for a new police station for the past 15 years.

The building that holds the existing police station formerly served as an agricultural equipment dealership. It was later converted for use as a police station on the upper level and town offices on the lower level.