On March 10 Belmont voters will be asked to approve a bond for $3.5 million under Article #2 of the warrant to construct a new building for the Belmont Police Department.
This was one of the recommendations by the Belmont Facilities Strategy Committee that was appointed in 2017 to review the condition of town facilities, complete a space needs assessment and consider ways certain efficiencies might be achieved. I had the opportunity to serve on the committee. Readers are encouraged to visit belmontnh.org and go to the projects tab to review the entire report.
The current police building is less than half the space needed and suffers from significant physical and functional obsolescence. There are also several safety and legal concerns for officers, detainees and visitors. The town has had to rent a mobile building and place it in the parking area to house some of the PD staff.
A new PD has been the topic of discussion for two-plus decades because we as voters have not been able to reach a consensus relative to a number of items including price, location, design, tax impact and various other reasons. We need to get beyond this lack of consensus and consider what is in the best interests of the town and for the officers and staff of the Belmont PD.
I recommend and seek your support of Article #2 on the warrant.
THOMAS GARFIELD
Belmont