Officials Differ Over Plans For Old Police Station

Plans for the future of the former police station building varied greatly by members of the Board of Selectmen as they discussed the next step involved at their meeting October 19.

Selectman Carol Walter was "vehemently opposed" to keeping the building on the town's books and turning it into a multi-use center for town offices and a seniors meals program.

She'd like to see it as a restaurant or other venue that would produce tax dollars for the town.

"I can't see spending $2 million on outfitting it and maintaining it," said Walter. "This is not its highest and best use. A restaurant would enhance the town 200 percent."

First Selectman Willie Fritz said the restaurant idea has been tossed around for years and studied.  The end result was that no restaurant owners have been interested in it once they toured the structure, and that if the town arranged for a lease agreement with a restaurant owner, the town would still have to maintain the building.

In addition, the sanitation system cannot support a restaurant, said Fritz.

The proposal is to spend about $2 million in renovations to bring the building up to standards and code. Once that is completed, the building would be used for the seniors meal program by ways of a warming kitchen (not a full-service commercial style kitchen). The seniors aerobics and line dancing programs, for example, would also utilize the space.

It would also have a 1,500 square foot multi-use community space that could be used for other programs such as private and community meals and events.

The town's finance department is also proposed to move into space upstairs.

"This would serve a lot of needs for seniors in town," said Fritz.

Part of the money to pay for the renovation comes from the   By a vote of 356 to 283, nine projects were approved including $1.5 million for renovations to the old police station. Additional monies for the project come from funds set aside for its improvement when the new police station was completed and state grant money.

In a vote of four to one with Fritz, Dolly Mezzetti, Tom Vicino and Ray Apel voting to approve and Walter voting no, the Board of Selectmen approved the preliminary plans, with revisions, to renovate the former police station into a town building that can be used for seniors and the finance department.

"I think it is absolutely a bad idea to turn another structure into a town building that has to be maintained," said Walter.