After an hour of discussion over the price tag for Concord’s new police station, the city council chambers showed a clear split — residents who wanted a more modest proposal quietly filed out, while others who wanted the police to have the finest facility Concord could afford shook hands and hugged the officers in attendance.
The Concord City Council voted to reduce the project’s budget by $4.5 million, lowering the construction cost to $41 million. The decision capped a debate over how much the city should spend on the new 70,000-square-foot facility, a project that has drawn some scrutiny from both councilors and the public.
Judith Kurtz, an at-large city councilor, said her amendment to cut the $45.5 million price tag, to be worked out with city staff, would achieve savings through value-added engineering without reducing the building’s footprint.
“This number is not arbitrary,” said Kurtz. “This number comes from pushing as hard as I believe I could to a space where staff say they feel comfortable, we can proceed with the project with the urgency I believe is necessary and reduce the overall appropriation.”
City Manager Tom Aspell said the next step would be to work with contractors to come up with a plan that stays within the budget.
All city councilors agreed that a new police station is much needed, but councilors Michele Horne of Ward 2 and Kris Schultz of Ward 9 opposed the new project based on cost.
They said that even the lowered price would add to the already heavy tax burden on residents.
“My main concern here is spending beyond our means,” Horne said. “We cannot just keep spending money and expect the homeowners and renters to shoulder the cost.”
Mounting tax burden
While there was no public testimony at last night’s meeting, written testimony from Concord residents expressed worry and frustration about how the project could hit their wallets and add stress to families already stretched thin by taxes.
Residents wrote that the timing of the new police station felt challenging, coming amid the city’s spending on several recent large projects, including a $155 million middle school, the renovation of Memorial Field, and a new clubhouse at Beaver Meadow.
One resident wrote that with all the bonds the city must take out to fund these million-dollar projects, asking taxpayers to foot the bill would “bleed the well dry.”
The current police station on Green Street is tight for space and lacks many sufficient and secure rooms for processing and storing evidence, proper garage locker rooms for female officers, secure routes for moving detainees through the building, and even a functional reception area, according to city officials.
“It’s not about just the building,” said Ward 4 city councilor Karen McNamara. “It’s about what we do in that building that supports our community and in turn, supports the emotional and physical well-being of the people that are in charge of our community safety.”
The city has already spent $4.1 million to purchase the property at 4 Bouton Street, where the new police station will be built, and another $3.5 million on designing the headquarters.
Ward 3 City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic acknowledged that rising costs make it difficult for taxpayers, but said residents and councilors are “barking at the wrong house.”
She said the real problem is the state’s lack of support for public schools, which pushes more of the financial burden onto local communities.
Moving ahead with approving the new police station now rather than waiting is being fiscally responsible, since delays and inflation will only drive the price higher, she said.
“The longer we wait, the more it costs,” Kretovic said. “This search for perfection or a perfect funding cycle, it’s never going to come. It has never come. We will always find a way why we can’t support this fiscally.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the size of the new police station.