OAKLAND — Town officials will hold public hearings and information sessions ahead of a November vote on whether the town will build a new police station.
The town council last week approved putting the question to voters in the Nov. 3 election. The proposed $1.05 million station would replace the 19th century farmhouse on Fairfield Street where the department is currently housed.
The committee that studied the project has said that the building is not safe for officers and the public and unfit for a police station.
The committee will hold three information sessions in the coming weeks and two formal public hearings on the proposal before it goes to the ballot box, said Councilor Don Borman, who also sat on the building study committee.
The first informal session will be held Thursday at the curriculum night at Williams Elementary School, which should attract a lot of parents, Borman said.
The second session is Saturday 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the transfer station. A third will be held during the Atwood School curriculum night on Thursday, Oct. 1.
The information sessions will be informal with committee members talking to residents about the proposal and passing out material about the building.
The town will hold two formal public hearings, including a full presentation on the proposed station, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, and Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the Williams Elementary School cafeteria.
Town officials are conscious of residents’ concerns over cost and increasing property taxes. A larger $4.5 million municipal complex was rejected by voters in 2009.
This year’s ballot measure asks residents to approve borrowing $900,000 and spending $150,000 in reserves to fund the project. Town Manager Gary Bowman has said the project should not raise taxes because of operational savings the town has had from a tax increment financing district.
Borman, in an interview Friday, said he has not heard of any opposition to the proposal, but there is a “core” of residents who are very careful about spending. Most, however, see the town needs to have a new department, Borman said.
“More than half see the need, and the way it is packaged will have no or minimal impact on taxes,” he said.
This is a corrected version.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
Twitter: PeteL_McGuire
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