Dennis Grimes: A better solution for Belmont Police Department

To The Daily Sun,

I see and I can agree that the Belmont Police Department will need more space for the future, but I do not agree with the proposal being presented. I appreciate the effort that went into the thinking but I feel it’s not the best option for the Belmont Police Department or the Town of Belmont’s future.

The current and future locations are right in the middle of a residential neighborhood with small village streets that in an emergency could be an issue of safety and fast exit and entrance to a new Belmont Police Station by our police or any other law enforcement officers.

My first and really only option would to be build a new Belmont Police Station right next to the Belmont Fire Station which has just shy of 4 acres and we could add the small lots the state owns out front to it. The town of Belmont needs to pressure the NH DOT to give up the two ¾- and ¼-acre lots out front for the safety needs of the town. We must think of the future and learn by our past, in order to make good decisions. All safety needs could be serviced out of one location, and all communications could be combined into a joint effort by both departments, and in the long run save taxpayers money.

The Belmont Police Department would also have better and faster access to all town roads, homes, buildings, businesses, and schools, including the middle school via High Street

The town will grow and will need the best public services it can provide at a lowest cost to the taxpayers. And it is my opinion that this option would be a cheaper one in the long run.

I could see the new Belmont Police Station design either being attached to the Fire Station and thereby creating a safety complex or a standalone building on that corner piece of property.

There is no need for DOT to need all this extra land, since their entire road work for this area is done. If there is any more road work to be done, it is elsewhere. The only thing that may need to be done here is to add an inside radius to the corner, which would have no effect on a police station

A question to the selectmen and town is how much has been spent on the Church building already? I would say tearing it down would be like throwing money down the drain.

Purchase price: $85,000.

Renovations cost already spent: ?

I could see selling off the church and or rent the bottom offices out. Once the town’s mill building became the new town offices, a Belmont Economic Development team could come up with solutions for the old town office building. Again this is where we need to bring back village life and small business.

Dennis Grimes

Belmont