Here we go again, another Ground Hog Day event

To The Daily Sun,

In 2015, the Town of Bristol solicited proposals for the construction of a new Police Department. The Town had purchased the adjacent Smith property for $70,000 and believed that they could construct a new Police Station for no more than $1,200,000. Under this premises, a “Space Needs Committee” was formed to research this. This Committee was assembled without one person with any construction background or knowledge.

This Committee shirked their appointed duties and passed off their responsibilities to the Samyn-D’Elia Architectural firm which was retained to assist in this matter. After the architects interviewed town employees for their opinions of their needs, they submitted drawings and a construction proposal to construct a new Town Office on the Smith property and to renovate the existing Bristol Town Office to accommodate the Police Department’s needs. This proposed cost was $3.2 million.

It became apparent to the Select Board that the citizens of Bristol were shocked at the sticker price so the architects returned to their drawing board and modified their drawings and proposal to $2.6 million dollars. Again, Bristol’s citizens rejected the proposal so the proposal was scrapped.

Noteworthy is that Bristol’s Town Selectmen approved and misspent the following sums while “considering” this construction project which had morphed into constructing a new Town Office and modifying the existing Town Office before the Town’s Taxpayers approved the purchase of an older professional building. The Select Board squandered the following taxpayer’s funds: 1. Smith property purchase: $70,000; 2. Smith Property clearing costs: $15,000; 3. Architect’s conceptual drawing fees $220,000; 4) Old Town Office jack-up proposal — $ 95,000. All totaled, the SB wasted $400,000 with nothing to show for it except architectural conceptual drawings and a vacant lot.

Last year there were public discussions concerning the condition of the Bristol’s Fire Department building. An engineering study was suggested and approved to be performed but results have not been made public. Instead, we now learn in Thursday’s Union Leader newspaper that Bristol is soliciting an RFQ for the construction of a new $3.5 million dollar Safety Services Building. Does this sound familiar? We haven’t heard one word about forming a “Space Needs Committee” or even public discussions justifying “Why this new building is needed”? Furthermore, where is that engineering study?

This is yet another proverbial “cart before the horse syndrome” and another example of more classic mismanagement. It’s Ground Hog Day again.

Despite the fact that Bristol’s population is stagnant and aging, the Bristol Select Board continues raising property taxes and wasting taxpayers’ money by the millions every year. Decisions to spend taxpayers’ money must be “need based decisions”, not “want based decisions”. We need to restore common sense decision making to the town of Bristol.

Erik R. Nelson

Bristol