Project would replace cramped Belmont PD headquarters

BELMONT — Sgt. Evan R. Boulanger provided a tour of the police station Friday, and it wasn’t a pretty picture.

The 3,500-square-foot, one-story structure has served as police headquarters since 1995, when the fire department moved out. For the last 25 years, police business has been conducted in cramped rooms created where fire engines once parked.

Evidence is kept in a tiny room that looks more like a closet. An armory containing assault rifles and shotguns is even smaller. The back of the chief’s office is separated from a small locker room with a blue tarp. There’s not enough space for case files, so only the most recent ones are kept on site.

Another pinch point is the narrow hall where those arrested are brought into the station. A prisoner head-butted an officer in this tight area last year. People handcuffed to a nearby bench are close enough to a wall that they have been known to kick holes in it or damage the Sheetrock behind them.

“If you go into any modern police department, the booking rooms are wide open,” he said. “That’s meant so that you can be one on either side of the person. It’s a funnel here. Two people cannot escort a prisoner here.”

Officers literally bump into each other as they go about their business. Voices carry around the station and space is at a premium, so privacy is a concern for those reporting crime and for officers talking to suspects.

In a trailer

There’s no room for detectives, so they operate out of a trailer in the parking lot.

On March 10, residents will vote on a proposal to raise $3.5 million to construct a new police station in place of the adjacent Corner Meeting House. A three-fifths vote is required for the plan, which won support in a series of public meetings.

The money for the project would come from a bond. Over 20 years and at 2.45 percent interest, it is estimated the bond’s impact would be 30 cents on $1,000 of assessed value. For example, the property tax increase on a $200,000 home would be $60 per year.

Opposition that has emerged centers not on whether a new station is needed, but where it should be built.

Boulanger said the Corner Meeting House building at Fuller and Sargent streets, a former church, has structural problems. If it were demolished along with the present station, there would be adequate room for a new police facility with some room for growth. Town property records indicate the building dates to 1900.

“There’s a room in that building that is literally boulders from the foundation,” he said. “The building sits on sand and on top of that is wood. Last year, a lally column fell right through the floor because the wood rotted out.”

He said officers like the present downtown location.

“On a slower day, we can go out and shoot hoops with the kids, we can give directions to people that are coming into town, we can wash cruisers and say, ‘Hi’ to Mrs. Legassie and it’s like you are a part of the community,” Boulanger said.

Police Chief Mark Lewandoski said the current station was never meant to be a permanent location, but a stopgap that was required because there was no longer enough room for police at the town hall.

“We were only supposed to be in here temporarily — two years, three years tops, and then they would find us a real home ” he said. “They didn’t find us a real home. We’re still here.”

There were eight full-time police employees in 1995 when the department left town hall. There are now 22 people who work at police headquarters, including three part-timers.

Lewandoski said the station’s location in the center of town is taken into consideration when police respond to emergency calls.

“No matter where you go, you have to use caution,” he said. “We have a policy here when you leave here on a call you drive normal out Fuller Street to Main Street and once you turn onto Main Street, then you light up and go.

“If we were on 106, you’re not going to come bombing out of there on a 50 mph road, you’re going to get killed, so you got to use real caution there. Any intersection you go through, you have to come to almost a complete stop to make sure people are aware that you’re there.”

George Condodemetraky, of Belmont, a professional engineer, said the police need a new station, but he takes issue with demolishing the Corner Meeting House building for the new construction.

“Why tear down a perfectly good building?” he asked in a letter. “The town purchased this historic building and land for $85,000 and restored the building to its present condition over a number of years.

“I estimate it cost the town’s taxpayers around $150,000 in renovations bringing the total investment to $235,000. This building has beautiful original tin ceilings and walls among other features that make it worth saving.

“I do not agree with this plan for knocking down this building because it can still be utilized. It is in great condition and will stay that way for many more years to come.”

He also said the Corning Meeting House space does not allow enough room for future expansion.

He suggests building a new station off a major highway. Instead of demolishing buildings the town no longer needs, he suggests that they be sold or rented out.

Others contend that emergency response calls could be handled more efficiently and more safely if the station were out of the town’s core.

A suggestion has also been made that the new station be built near the town’s fire station.

Carmen Lorentz, who served on the Belmont Facility Strategy Committee, said she appreciates concerns that have been voiced over razing the Corner Meeting House.

“However, we are currently in a situation where we own several buildings that are not being put to good use, while our town departments have woefully inadequate space in which to do their jobs, and we as taxpayers are needlessly paying for the upkeep of underutilized buildings,” she said.

On the Net:

Police station project: https://tinyurl.com/smo2gxz