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Date: 8/27/2015
HAMPDEN – The planned $2.95 million police station project at 100 Allen St. will go out to bid for a third time on Sept. 1.
Police Chief Jeff Farnsworth told Reminder Publications the project initially began with a modular design, which would have been the first modular police station in the state. However, the first two bids received “very few applicants.”
Results of the second bid came back $100,000 over the project’s budget. This resulted in the town scrapping ideas to build a modular police station. Instead, the goal is to have a stick-built design.
“[The stick-built method is] more cost effective,” he added.
However, the floor plan designs of the police station would mostly remain the same, Farnsworth. Only “minor tweaks” would take place for the planned 6,800-square-foot facility, which would include a multi-purpose room, interview rooms, a training room, evidence and storage areas, a more adequate booking area, and offices for police officers.
The first bid for the project went out in November 2014 and the second one went out on Jan. 20.
Farnsworth said the project’s architectural firm, Kaestle-Boos, also informed the town of changes to a state law that dealt with the certifications of companies regarding bids for modular projects.
Farnsworth said he anticipates that the third round of bids would come back more in line with what was appropriated by residents in 2014 via a debt exclusion override.
He added as of now there is no indication on when a groundbreaking might take place. The most immediate step is finding a builder for the project.
Groundbreaking would take place sooner if five to six bids come back as opposed to 15 because the Police Station Building Committee needs to review all the applicants before awarding the bid, he noted.
“It obviously slows things down,” Farnsworth said. “We were hoping to have it awarded two months ago.”