Swampscott Planning Board OKs site plan for new police station

SWAMPSCOTT – The Planning Board voted unanimously to “favorably recommend” the site plan for the proposed police station, agreeing that the new building will improve both its proposed Humphrey Street location and the surrounding neighborhood.”It’s such a gruesome site right now, it’s really ugly,” said member Sylvia Belkin at the board’s Monday night meeting. “I think with its proximity to the athletic fields, being on a main street through town, it will be a big improvement.”The planning board is one of several town boards, departments and committees that must approve 10 permits before the proposed $6.45 million police station can be constructed at the pumping station site on Humphrey Street, according to an application filed with the Building Department.It has already been a long process. Town officials have said they considered a new police station a top priority for at least two decades. But voters only approved a $3.35 million debt exclusion to finance the project by a margin of 27 votes this spring.The project has also remained controversial because the town has entered into a regional dispatch agreement with the City of Lynn since the designs were mostly completed in March 2010. The agreement sparked questions about whether the proposed station contained major and expensive elements such as cells and technology systems that were no longer necessary.Police Chief Ron Madigan assured the board members that the station had considered current as well as future needs.In fact, Planning Board members were most concerned about the new building’s relationship to the surrounding neighborhood.”Because of the nature of the facility, it would be important to know how (neighbors) feel,” said Belkin. “Folks have been living there for a long time and we want them to feel that they continue to have the quality of life that they’ve had.”Planning Board Chair Patrick Jones – who is also the chair of the Police Station Building Committee – said that discussions over the design of the building included neighbor input that was “for the most part, generally favorable.”Civil Engineer Bill Murray and Architect Steve Carrell said that the building strictly separated public areas from areas where suspects or criminals would be interrogated to promote security. In response to concerns over whether the station could create traffic problems in a sometimes-congested street, Madigan noted that police primarily responded to incidents when out on patrol. Furthermore, they were pretty adept at maneuvering around traffic.In fact, Madigan said that he hoped the building would routinely welcome the public and be embraced by the neighborhood. Noting that the building was open 24 hours a day, he said it would be an ideal place for public meetings.”We want it to be accessible and inviting to the public,” he said. “We think it will be a building the town will be proud of.”