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Date: 10/26/2023
AGAWAM — At their Oct. 16 meeting, the City Council introduced a resolution to borrow $2 million for the new police station’s construction costs. The resolution was sent to the Finance Committee, to be discussed at a meeting in early November.
In 2022, the City Council agreed to purchase the former Hub Insurance building, at 1070 Suffield St., Agawam, for $2.1 million and renovate it into a new police station. The renovated building would replace the current station at 681 Springfield St., Feeding Hills.
The project’s total cost is “just shy” of $14 million, said Mayor William Sapelli. According to the resolution, the City Council initially borrowed $11,629,000 for the project, with the administration planning to use $2 million in ARPA funds “to offset final borrowing costs.”
Sapelli said in the months since that vote, those ARPA funds have been redirected to three other projects: the water line and storm drain on Meadow Street; the replacement of a culvert on North Street; and the permanent fixing of a previously sunken culvert in May Hollow on North Westfield Street. The ARPA funds were needed becuase the projects’ estimated costs increased, thanks to inflation in materials costs and an increase in the cost of land easements needed for the culvert projects.
Without being able to rely on ARPA funds — federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act, a coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in 2021 — the $2 million now has to be borrowed, to be paid back by local taxpayers.
Although the Hub building, formerly the Oaks banquet hall, is structurally sound, Sapelli said crews need to reconfigure the interior walls, upgrade some structural and electrical work, and add police-specific facilities such as lockup cells and the secure vehicle entry known as a sally port.
Sapelli is confident that this will be the last time the town asks for more money for the project.
“This economy we’re in right now, and this war going on in Israel, that affects all prices all over the world … but I feel confident we should be in good shape,” he said.
Construction began the week of Oct. 8, said Sapelli. The new police station should be ready in July 2024.
The current police station building was converted from an eight-room elementary school in 1978, 45 years ago. It was intended to be temporary.
“It’s totally inadequate with the state of technology and police work today,” said Sapelli. “It was inadequate back then, so you can only imagine what it’s like today.”
The administration is looking to put it on the market as commercial property, which would return it to the property tax rolls.
“Hopefully, we’ll get a decent business on that property,” said Sapelli.
A new police station is important for the welfare and safety of a community, Sapelli said. He also said it was important for morale among the department.
“We value our police and the work that they do,” he said. “They need a facility they can be proud of, and they can function in.”