Above: Police Chief Thomas Lee points to a plaque marking the year when the current police station was built: 1975. The department has long since outgrown the current building, he says.
PORTSMOUTH — The company charged with studying future infrastructure needs for the police and fire departments has recommended the construction of a new 20,0000-square-foot, two-story police station to be built on land behind the current building on East Main Road.
The Town Council will hear the results of the study by the architectural firm Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. (DRA) at its May 26 meeting, according to Acting Town Administrator James Lathrop.
The plan must first get approval from the council and then voters at the ballot box before any work begins, he said.
“It would go on a voter referendum for November 2016. That’s our timeframe,” said Mr. Lathrop. The town is currently “paying off an awful lot of debt,” he said, but by late 2016 the project should be more fiscally manageable for taxpayers.
Mr. Lathrop did not have any hard cost estimates for the project, noting those will be presented at the May 26 meeting. “I’m hearing all sorts of stuff. I’ve seen these (projects) cost anywhere from $4 to $10 million,” he said.
The current station is under 5,000 square feet in area, compared to the 20,000-square-foot building proposed by the company hired by the town to conduct a feasibility study.
The current building is antiquated and too small for a department that has nearly doubled in size since the station was built in 1975, according to Police Chief Thomas Lee.
“It’s good news and I hope the public is amendable to it,” he said of the DRA report. “We need a new facility and we’ve got to build for the future.”
Chief Lee said the new building, if approved, will be “state of the art” with amenities more suitable for a modern-day police department. “It’s desperately needed,” he said, pointing out that DRA recommended that 20,000 square feet is a building size appropriate for the department.
“We’re got just under 5,000 now, just to give you an idea,” said Chief Lee.
Just for police
The only question about the proposed building was whether it should also house the fire department and perhaps even the Department of Public Works. DRA, however, recommended against building a complex containing two or more departments.
Police Chief Thomas Lee stands in the outdated and cramped booking room at the current police station back in January.
Fire Chief Michael Cranson has previously said that although the fire station also needs improvements, the police department should be given higher priority.
The new police station, however, would feature a dispatch center consolidating those services for both departments. Also, the police station already houses radio equipment for each department, which would play a factor during construction of a new building.
“The (new) building would be where ore parking lot is now,” Chief Lee pointed out. “We support (the fire department) radios also, so the challenge to building on the site is that we have to keep the police and fire departments open for business.”
Under the recommended plan, the new police station would be built behind the current one. Once construction is complete, the current station would be torn down and that area used as a parking lot.
The new police station would also have a community room, where groups such as the Boy Scouts and other local organizations could meet, as well as a bay for the servicing of police vehicles.