To the Editor:

We write with regard to the upcoming referendum on Tuesday, April 25. In addition to voting on the annual budget, voters will have the opportunity to cast ballots on a number of Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects. Among the CIP items seeking approval is $300,000 for the planning and design of a new police station for the town. As members of the Newtown Board of Police Commissioners, we stand in unanimous support of this project and respectfully request that our fellow residents do the same and vote Yes on April 25.

The need for a new police station is not a new one and, in fact, has been discussed for nearly two decades. The current building, Town Hall South, is a former tractor dealership and was converted into Newtown's first police station in 1981. While the building was probably not best suited for a police department at the time it was repurposed, it has long since outgrown 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 a 21st Century community.

We wish we were in a position to give you more detail regarding the proposed building's appearance, location, and cost, which is precisely why we are asking Newtown voters to approve the funds for its planning and design. We are cognizant that the taxpayers will foot the bill for the project should it move forward and as such we will endeavor to make sure that the design places a premium on function over form. Once the planning and design process is completed and the town's various elected bodies advance the project, voters will again have the opportunity to vote on the final project with a firm cost before it proceeds.

Please join us in supporting this very important planning and design phase for a new Newtown Police Station by voting Yes on April 25.

Respectfully,

Newtown Board of Police Commissioners

Joel Faxon, Chairman; Brian Budd, Vice Chairman

Virgil Procaccini, Daniel Rosenthal, Andy Sachs         April 17, 2017