Letter: Planned Police Station is Well Studied, Right for Weston

A letter last week raised questions about the work of the Police Station Study Committee that we wanted to address. 

The statement that “no minutes were kept, no taxpayers were invited, and public opinion was not sought” is completely incorrect.  All 23 meetings of the committee were posted and open to the public in accordance with state open meeting laws, and residents including students from the high school on a class assignment attended many of those meetings. Minutes are kept of every meeting of the committee and posted to the town’s website. On two occasions the committee presented the Board of Selectmen with progress reports in meetings that were open and televised. There were also presentations to the Finance Committee and the PBC. Over the past several months, the committee has published three Town Crier articles, which can also be found on the town website, on aspects of this project. In addition, the committee presented information at a well-attended League of Women Voters forum which was also televised, as well as a separate public information meeting at the library this past week.

Members of the committee visited many recently built police stations in communities in the area to make first-hand observations of how they function, what features are necessary, and where these buildings are successful or fall short. We then reviewed, room by room, the programmatic needs identified in the 2008 police station study. The committee adjusted approximately 4,040 sq. feet of the 2008 program to better represent the current needs of the police facility, provide flexibility for the future, and obtain optimum value for the town dollars to be spent.  To state that “little” was changed by the committee is simply not accurate and dismisses the numerous hours of personal time and thoughtful effort the Committee spent. The end result of this work was our finding that the station requires 12,687 net square feet to meet the current and reasonably foreseeable needs of the department.  That is approximately 50 percent larger than the current station.

So, why the increase in size when the town’s population has been stable for many years and is expected to continue to be so? The existing station is 8,443 net square feet. That station was built in the mid-1970s. At that time we did not have women on the police force – more lockers and showers. We did not have Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for accessibility – wider halls, bigger toilet/showers. We did not have the same telecommunications needs or a combined Police and Fire dispatch – 911 equipment room, data closets, 2 station dispatch. Officers did not have bulletproof vests, personal radios, and a wide range of equipment currently required – wider lockers.  Today’s Legal requirements for the secure storage of records and evidence require longer storage times and many mandate originals not computer copies.  There were no plans or requirements for an emergency operations center from which coordinated town, state, and federal efforts in response to natural or human-created crises and disasters can be coordinated. Commuter traffic through the town was lower and the number of calls annually was less than half of what it is today. While the letter states that the committee “is unable to elucidate” why Weston could be compared to Acton (one of the several communities we included in our comparisons), a larger and more populated town, in considering the size of the station, the committee has in fact addressed that issue directly. Population is a factor in determining policing needs but calls for service are far more relevant measures. As the chart in the committee’s presentation shows, Weston’s 14,146 annual calls for service are comparable to the 15,940 of Acton therefore the Committee used Acton as a reasonable comparison for our proposed police station’s programmatic requirement.

Addressing further specifics of last week’s letter – in order to meet current code requirements an additional 451 square feet is required, for ADA compliant bathrooms and cell, an additional 2,067 square feet were added to meet modern policing standards - a dedicated drive-through sally port and intake area that supports officer and public safety. The committee eliminated 430 square feet for functions we determined were no longer necessary. We added 1,391 square feet for currently existing functions which when explored in detail we determined the current space was not adequate. Part of this is a report writing space for officers, which the letter seemed to suggest was unnecessary even though  officers, who do not have their own offices, are required to document incidents, which they do at the end of each shift. Other increases included more storage area, training areas, conference and meeting rooms, and a kitchen large enough to sit at a table - the officers have no desks to eat at. 

On the kitchen, the letter tried to compare the kitchen at the police station to the kitchen in town hall but the comparison does not hold up. The police station is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When emergencies – such as extreme snow or hurricane response – happen, officers are required to work extended shifts and must be able to eat in the station. The proposed program also calls for 565 square feet for new functions. This includes 80 square feet for a bunk room which is prudent, for the same reason as the kitchen. One thing to note is that when the current station was built many officers lived in or near Weston. That is no longer the case as high property costs have resulted in far longer commutes for officers. As a result they can’t make a quick trip home to eat, shower or sleep.

This additional square footage also includes a space for new functions such as a cubicle (not a private office) for the animal control officer and storage for animal cages. Finally, the plans call for 200 square feet of future growth, which is primarily additional locker room space, a very low-cost way to help make sure the department doesn’t outgrow the building in the coming decades.  

The letter raises specific concerns about two features of the new station – covered garage space and the firearms training range. We’d like to address each of these.

The new police station, like the current station, will have four covered garage bays, which the letter says the committee has defended as a “necessity because otherwise officers would have to brush snow off their windshields when they begin their shift.” Once again, the police station is in use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The vehicles are in nearly constant use and the officers perform their own light maintenance such as changing wiper blades, adding fluids, replacing headlights, damaged tires, and cleaning cars inside and out after transporting prisoners, etc. Being able to do this work in a dry, well lit environment gets this work done better and faster, enabling officers to get back out on the street. As for snow, or freezing rain or sleet, the cars come in at shift changes and other times. If they get iced up, an officer is required to spend time cleaning off the car, time which is not available for policing duties at a time when we may least be able to afford it. While not all police departments have covered garages, most do, and those that don’t wish they did. Finding and keeping top notch police personnel is not an easy task even in these times. The committee feels it is necessary to continue to have these as part of the new station.

As for the firearms training range, this is something we have in our current station. While many communities have gun clubs that can serve as training facilities for their police officers, Weston does not. And with increased development pressure, many of these gun clubs, such as the one in Wayland, are being shut down, leaving officers with fewer options for meeting their training needs and requirements. While the committee realized a firearms training range is not strictly a requirement, we were convinced that facilitating easy access to such training was in the best interests of officer and public safety so that when they are required to use a weapon in the line of duty, they are prepared to use it safely and effectively, for their protection and the protection of the public at large. The committee unanimously supports this feature in the new station. 

Our report and presentations are available on the town’s website, you can watch our League of Women Voters forum on the Weston Media Center, and we will provide information at Town Meeting. We hope, knowing the facts, you will support this important proposal and vote yes on this article at Town Meeting. 

Leslie Glynn and Ed Coburn

Leslie Glynn is the Chair of the Police Station Study Committee. Ed Coburn is the Board of Selectmen representative on that committee.