New Ipswich Select Board member Shawn Talbot is heading up a freshly reinstated committee to look at options for a permanent police department – a conundrum that has stymied the town for years.
Talbot said the committee, which he described as more of a “round table,” will take into account previous proposals, but is also going to be open to fresh ideas.
“Everything is on the table,” he said.
Talbot said when he ran for the Select Board at the start of 2020, he knew he wanted to make the police department problem one of his main issues, and it’s time to start that conversation in earnest.
The New Ipswich Police Department currently rents office space on Turnpike Road, across from the town offices. That space was always meant to be a temporary home after the department moved out of the town-owned Building No. 2, behind the town offices, due to a major mold infestation. However, that “temporary” situation has lingered on for more than a decade, and the town has been searching for a permanent solution.
The current space is too small for the department, Police Chief Tim Carpenter has said, and doesn’t have adequate facilities for holding juveniles, separating witnesses for interviews, a separate entrance for detainees, and doesn’t have enough storage or office space.
Talbot said not owning the space, and thus not knowing year-to-year whether the lease will be renewed is a real problem for the town, particularly as there isn’t another location the department could move to, if they could no longer rent the current space. It’s also a security issue, he said, as the inadequacies of the space now lead to potential safety problems for both the public and officers.
“The complex they’re in isn’t adequate to do their jobs in a safe way,” Talbot said.
However, residents in town haven’t gotten behind several different plans put forth in the last few years to either purchase and renovate the current space, or to tear down Building No. 2 and construct a new police facility in its place.
In 2017, residents voted down a proposal to build a new police building behind the town offices, saying no to the plan in a vote of 256 in favor, with 557 against.
In 2019, a proposal to purchase the building, and use office space currently occupied by other tenants to expand the police department, as well as building a new garage for the department’s vehicles, was shot down in a 392-494 vote – not even gaining a majority, when a super-majority was needed for the town to purchase a long-term bond for the construction.
Undeterred, the town put forth another police department plan in 2020, this one revisiting the plan for building a new facility on the lot that also includes the town offices. Due to a noticing error, that plan didn’t make it onto the ballot.
Residents did get the opportunity to vote on an alternate article in 2020, submitted by petition by then-board member Bert Hamill, who proposed raising $2.5 million over the next four years to build a new station, using the plans that would have been proposed in 2020, but using a different funding model. But that proposal was also voted down.
The Select Board told the public in March it would be trying again in March of 2021, likely presenting the plan which would have gone forward in 2020. However, Talbot said while the committee isn’t necessarily starting from a blank slate, it will consider all possibilities for what the 2021 proposal will look like.
Talbot said the feedback he’s received from voters suggests they want a more concrete plan presented, with a “start to finish” plan for the design of the building, its costs and how it will be funded. He said while he agrees “100 percent” that there is a need for a new department building, he himself had issues with previous plans, which he felt weren’t as complete as they should be to inspire confidence in the voters.
“I want to come through with a true total package,” Talbot said. He said the committee will meet at least monthly, with the first meeting time and date to be determined for some time in September. “Hopefully, the people will participate in this, and they’ll go away feeling good with the round table discussion, and at the end, there will be enough consensus from the group that we can get this done,” he said.
Talbot said there have already been 15 volunteers from various sectors interested in the committee, and he is open to a large group discussing ideas. He said all the committees meetings will be public and shared on Zoom for those who cannot attend in person, and the town is seeking input from as many people as would like to participate.
Those interested in joining the committee are invited to contact Talbot at stalbot@townofnewipswich.org or -603-715-0151.