Lanesborough Public Safety Committee to Query Residents on Rejected ProposalBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:29AM / Friday, June 09, 2023 | |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Public Safety Building Committee wants to know specifics of why residents voted down the nearly $6 million dollar police and EMS complex in March.
About a month into its work, the reconstituted committee is mapping out a survey for this purpose.
"This committee was criticized for not being transparent and not having the public involved," Chair Mark Siegars said about the now-dissolved Police Station Committee. "And we're going to just go the opposite direction."
On Tuesday, the panel approved a drafted survey that queries residents on their attendance or lack of attendance at the special town meeting in March where the vote was made, if they voted for or against the proposal, and if the committee should present more public information.
Utilizing Zip 'N Sort mail services, they plan to send the survey out to registered voters and have it available at Town Hall, at the annual town meeting on June 13, and on election day on June 20.
Included in the ATM warrant is a vote to appropriate and transfer $40,000 from the town's stabilization fund for the redesign of the new public safety building. Because $108,000 was approved at last year's ATM and has not been used, it will not create an additional burden on the taxpayers.
"So it is no new taxes," Siegars said. "It already sits there to be used on the police station."
The funds will go toward a geotechnical survey to determine if the former Skyline Country Club at 405 South Main St. is suitable for building.
Also during the meeting, member Eric Harrington defined a path forward for the committee.
"I think we've done a great job at getting our heads in the same direction, tackling things," he said to his colleagues.
After sending out the town survey, the panel will evaluate and discuss the responses and then potentially create a design for a police department and cost.
"In case this survey comes back this way that the town only wants to see a police department we have to be prepared for that," he warned.
Siegars reminded the committee that its mission is to explore various options for the proposal.
"Our mission is to look at just a police station, a police station with EMS, a police station with an add-on later of EMS, a police station EMS without a carport in that location," he said.
The next job will be to research funding for the station. They will research what monies are available in Lanesborough, what grants are available and what is the maximum available dollar, and what is available elsewhere without raising the tax rate.
"Monies is a big one," Harrington said. "It's going to be our biggest hurdle, it's going to be our busiest time, I think, in this project."
He believes that they can do the project without raising the tax rate even a dollar.
The committee will meet again on June 27 and it will have a public meeting on July 8 in the community room at town hall.
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