Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Site plan options, parking and wetland impact

No formal vote. The committee agreed by consensus to start with the left-hand site option.

The engineer from Yeager Associates showed two site options. The option on the left puts police parking behind the building on the secure side, giving more room and a bigger buffer for neighbors, but it has more wetland impact. The option on the right cuts wetland impact to about 1 acre (45,000 square feet, about 1,113 square feet over the target), but it needs about 10 feet of fill and would put covered police parking near the generator and transformer. The engineer said the state Department of Environmental Services (DES) may reject high impact or ask for a large payment into the ARM fund, a state wetland mitigation fund. A conservation easement on the rest of the land might offset impact at a 10-to-1 ratio. The engineer also said stormwater cannot be treated in wetlands, and the project is not expected to reach the 150,000 square foot alteration of terrain threshold. Committee members said the plan on the left works best for both departments and the neighbors and should be the starting point, with no further shrinking for now. Fire parking is at eight car spaces, and the fire department asked for no fewer. Police need 11 spaces plus six undercover. The plan is to start with the left option, hold pre-application meetings with DES Wetlands Bureau, and pare back if the state requires it.

Abutter outreach and possible site walk

No formal vote on outreach. Members agreed by consensus to post the FAQ and wait to schedule the next meeting. The meeting then adjourned on a motion and second.

The committee talked about reaching out to direct abutters (neighbors whose land touches the site). The architect had suggested this and said he did the same in New Boston. Ideas included a letter inviting them to meetings, an email contact for questions, and a site walk. Members raised that a site walk or gathering with a quorum of members would need public meeting notice. Several said a site walk is premature because the site plan and the amount of disturbance are not set. The committee leaned toward a letter, an email contact, and inviting abutters to a meeting held before the regular meeting, such as 5:00 with the regular meeting at 5:30. A member also asked for a single print of the whole parcel showing nearby houses and driveways. The group also agreed to be copied on emails with the architect for information only, with no deliberation by email. Members agreed to post the updated FAQ on the website and on the bulletin board before election day, and to direct questions about the old buildings to the select board. No date for the next meeting was set. Two weeks out is election day, and a meeting the week after was floated.

Architect update on building plan and design

The architect from SMP Architecture showed a near-final floor plan of about 15,350 square feet, a site concept, and early outside views. The plan has a shared public lobby, a community room that doubles as the emergency operations center, and separate police and fire areas. It also has a shared kitchen and fitness room, a fire apparatus bay (where trucks are parked), and a secured police side with a two-door sally port (a secure vehicle entry). A covered parking structure for six police vehicles is shown, and the generator and transformer sit behind the building to keep them out of view and reduce noise. The design looks like a house, connector and barn, with a gambrel (barn-style) roof. Committee members suggested a cupola and a few windows in the apparatus bay. The fire side will have exhaust capture at the tailpipes plus a carbon monoxide-triggered ventilation system. The architect said the next step is a set of schematic drawings, which takes a couple of weeks. The estimator then needs about a month for a budget, with a preliminary budget expected in early December. Posters and a project website with a QR code are planned for election day on November 3. The architect said many detail decisions come after the vote and are handled within the budget.