N.S. council approves plan for police station improvements

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Eric Army

NORTH SMITHFIELD – Acting as the Municipal Building Review Task Force on Tuesday, members of the Town Council approved a plan to address needed improvements to the North Smithfield Police Station that will cover repairs to the building, while falling short of a full-scale renovation.

Principal Eric Army of Signal Works Architecture will be back before the board at their meeting next week with more details on a project estimated to cost between $2.7 million and $4.5 million, to be funded through grants and town reserves. Army gave a detailed presentation of several potential options to the council Tuesday night, consolidating various past studies and plans for the building.

“I know this has been on people’s minds for a number of years,” Army said of the project.

The assessment was a definitive understatement. Efforts to improve or replace the nearly century old former schoolhouse that serves as a home for the North Smithfield Police Department have spanned more than a decade, and have been mired in contentious local politics. There have been five different studies or plans commissioned by various councils, two bond initiatives – one that passed and one that failed –, the dismissal of one complete board of volunteers and the simultaneous resignation of another.

Army himself worked on the project several years ago before a new council took over in 2016 and hired a different architect.

That was all in the past this week as the five-member board discussed their options to move forward. A proposal for an $18 million bond for the station was rejected by voters in 2023, and discussion in the time since has focused primarily on emergency repairs, from replacement of the roof to stop ongoing leaks to securing the crumbling facade.

But there is still much to be done, and Army provided a summary of all the past proposal with some 15 potential line items.

“This report has synthesized the 2014 RGB Capital Needs Assessment, the 2016 Studio MEJA renovation plans, the 2018 Saccocio Design-Build Plans, as well as the 2021 Tecton Facility Report,” noted the introduction. “A new 2024 building walk-through and interviews with the police chief were undertaken to integrate the four assessments & proposals with current needs.”

The town has been approved for a $1 million grant to address energy efficiencies in the building, and Army’s least costly option this week would have seen the town do nothing more than the minimal required match. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the most extensive plan, a full building renovation plus a 7,000-square-foot addition, estimated to cost between $17.5 million to $18 million.

Councilors ultimately opted for something in the middle, with a multiyear capital improvement plan that will combine the grant with operational funds to address building exterior improvements and interior systems upgrades. Repairs will address communications equipment and IT upgrades; mechanical upgrades; replacement of furniture and fixtures; paint, carpeting and lighting; replacement of exterior doors and windows and hazmat abatement.

“That would go a long way,” Army said of the work. “Over the interim, you’d have a quality space that people want to work in. You’ll get substantial use out of that.”

The options were designed to allow for incremental work as funding allows, with add ons that could see construction of a new sally port and parking lot, or more work to address operational issues on the first floor. But the, “base scope,” plan unanimously approved by councilors does not foresee a major renovation in future years.

“I think at some point it’s going to go back to the voters for a new building. I really do,” said Councilor Paulette Hamilton. “I think this will buy us some time.”

Hamilton noted that the town can utilize at least $2 million in unrestricted funds without affected the bond rating.

“We wouldn’t have to go back to the public to do these things,” she said. “It’s not going to be for naught because it will improve the building if we were going to sell it.”

Council President Kimberly Alves said that if work on the building continues as funding permits, a new police station may not be needed.

“If we are going to use this station for another five, ten years, it needs to be safe for the officers,” Alves said.

Army is expected back before the council on Monday, Oct. 21 with a final proposal and to discuss a timeline for the work. He estimated on Tuesday that construction could go out to bid in January.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. Wow the town can only spend $4.5 million instead of $18 million and get a functioning police station. This is a smart use of tax dollars. Just think, the town did not spend an additional $13.5 million that would have resulted in 20 years of debt with little in additional value.

    • That’s for needed repairs, not a full renovation.
      Now a full renovation and add on comes to what a brand new station at 18 mil would go for…..so the answer is…..build new. Elsewhere. Will have to eventually at more dollars. Where they are at is hard coming out of. Not the greatest spot.
      Meanwhile, repairing the present station, save up for the new one down the road….will add up before you know it with a solid credentialed experienced financial director.

      • Then it would be needing repairs still. But looking at Mr Army’s final full renovation and upgrades come to almost new by Tecton Architects. Very close. Just piece-mealed for now due to lack of total funds, and not needing a full one …for now.
        But add later study costs to see, reevaluate, the pattern held by NS for yrs, study upon study, and before you know it….lol.

        • Yes, it will need repairs in the future, but with preventative maintenance it could last 15-20 years. Maybe by then, the town wouldn’t be in a potential financial mess, council candidates that don’t want to defund the police, and a finance director that can actually plan 5 years in to the future. I would’ve been fine voting yes for a police station if the appropriate measures were taken back in ’16.
          There also needs to be a building manager as a direct liason to the mbrtf, asset management committee, dpw, and administrator. They also need to do weekly, monthly, biannual, and annually inspections, while keeping records of everything. It’s not rocket surgery, it’s not difficult, it’s common sense.

          • So had they done repairs in 2016 it would last 15-20 yrs. Your math. And you would have voted for a new police station recently, had they done repairs back in 2016. You do realize you contradict yourself right?

            • It could last that long with preventative maintenance, might even be longer, but given how much they neglected it (no work orders, etc), probably would’ve ended up with only 10 years. That 10 year timeline would bring us to 2026, with building a brand new building taking roughly 2 years. It would’ve been a different talking point entirely about the bond, but the 16-18 council screwed it up and set us on this terrible path.

              Look at the USS Constitution, with all the preventative maintenance that gets done on there. I’m not saying that building should last 200+ years.

              • USS Constitution is metal….apples and oranges.
                And if the current police station had been reg maintained, there would actually be no need to build new….but to keep the old. Math. I rest my case.

                  • Your reasoning on upkeep and lasting umpteeth yrs is fundamentally contradictive. But you have a hard time admitting that and did admit to saying you would vote for new now and now switch to you were heading towards not having to rebuild…..again, contradiction. Decide.

                    • I admit that regular maintaining practices are needed, there were however none involved. I even suggested that there needs to be weekly, monthly, biannual and annual inspections done by the people there/building manager. Once again, there was none of that. Since there was a failure of policing the building, it would have deteriorated at an accelerated rate, as we saw. Without these in place, a timeline of viability would be drastically shortened. I’ve seen it happen, not just to buildings. I did not flip flop or contradict, I did say however if all was done correctly before…

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