The Granby Public Safety Building Committee was appointed by the Board of Selectmen in 2007. The Committee was given two charges: First, to determine  whether the Town should construct separate  Police and Fire Stations or one combined Public Safety Complex. Second: to determine the best location(s) for the proposed building(s).

During the 2007 Annual Town meeting the $25,000 was authorized to hire an architectural firm to help the committee with it’s assignment, and to draft a preliminary  design  as well as a realistic cost estimate for the project.

 The Committee sent out RFP’s and ultimately interviewed three firms. It was the choice of the committee to hire Kaestle Boos, from Bristol CT., as the preliminary design firm.  During the summer the Committee met with the architect  and the Fire and Police Chief’s reviewing space needs and other issues. The Committee also toured several Police, Fire , and Public Safety complexes in Western Mass. After touring these facilities, meeting with the Chief’s and discussing the alternatives with the architect, The Committee reached the conclusion that a combined Public Safety Complex would be the most cost effective and efficient facility.

 The Committee then focused on it’s second role, determining location. Several sites were looked at but  not considered, due to location, cost, or other issues. The final choice came down to two Town owned properties, Crescent Street next to the existing Highway Department, and Aldrich Field, behind the current Council on Aging.

Due to the existence of wetlands on Crescent Street it was determined that a combined complex would barely fit, leaving little room for expansion , if any. The size and shape also dictated that the Fire Bays could not be drive through. The lot is also in a residential area, with poor access onto main roads.

 For these reasons, Aldrich Field was the preferred site. There is access on two roads and  the lot is larger.  It is  a highly visible  location on Rte 202 in the center of our Town. Additionally, we can take advantage of some of the soil samples and site borings that were done there several years ago. The lot is large enough to allow  the Fire Department  to have drive-through bays. Finally  the lot was given to the Town for the express purpose of building a Public Safety Complex.

Once the nature of the building and the site were determined, the Committee met with Mr. Dave King of Kaestle Boos almost weekly during the Summer into the Fall of 2007.  The respective Chiefs provided their anticipated space needs. The plans were drawn, reviewed, re-drawn, and reviewed again.  The style and construction methods were changed to get the most affordable and practical structure that we could. Both Chief’s made space concessions until a project was presented that fit our needs and our budget.

The building design  is suitable for now and has expansion capabilities for future growth. Although the current design is preliminary, we feel that the size of the building and the space allocation will not change. There will most likely be revisions in the location of interior walls, and perhaps the exterior facade.

In September, 2007,   the Police Department  was awarded a Grant in the sum of $83,773.50 from the Executive Office of Public Safety, to be spent on the construction of the new facility. This grant was one of the few given  out in Western Mass. and was part of a $2 million pool of money available Statewide for police station construction.  The grant was awarded contingent on matching Town funds.

 At a December 2007 Special Town Meeting the voters nearly unanimously appropriated one million dollars to be used as matching funds. The Board of Selectmen agreed that this money would not  be expended unless the Town appropriated additional funds at a later date.

 On March 17, 2008, at a Special Town Meeting, the voters appropriated an additional $5.4 Million  to be spent on the construction.

 The Building Committee has advertised for and has interviewed prospective project  managers to work on behalf of the Town. This project manager will ensure that the project stays on time and on budget. They will also assist the Committee in applying for permission to proceed with the construction using a “construction manager at risk” procedure. This method has recently been allowed for projects of this size, and , if the state approves, should save us time and money .

The committee hopes to hire a project manager in the near future. We are also in the process of negotiating with an architectural firm to conduct a peer review of the preliminary design. This process allows us to proceed with the original architectural firm without having to re-bid the project. Again, we hope following  this route will save the Town both time and money yet still provide us with a well designed facility.