Concord City Council Tables Vote On New $45.5 Million Police Station

CONCORD, NH ? After nearly three hours of public hearing comments and discussions between councilors about a new $45.5 million police station, the Concord City Council tabled the proposal for two weeks.

The council will meet again at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24 to have more questions about the proposal answered in the wake of new financials.

For more than two hours, residents testified for and against the 70,000 square foot project ? with several in between, saying they supported a new facility, but just not the one being proposed. A few people spoke out against the project, suggesting more money be spent on affordable housing and other social initiatives since they believed the lack of resources was the root cause of crime.

View the full police station report here.

Employees with the department, including representatives of two police unions, offered commentary on the lack of space, cramped spaces for officers who are women, the dangers of having criminals move through common areas to get to booking, as well as administrative staffers being regularly exposed to potentially dangerous sex offenders during the registration process, in their work areas.

According to officials, about $7.3 million worth of items requested were removed from the project to lower the cost. Those included $4.1 million for an indoor firing range and $2 million to maintain the communications center at the current location. Dispatchers would move to the new headquarters, but the antennas and equipment would remain on Green Street.

While city officials did not have a complete payment schedule, they proposed two revised financial concepts for where the $45.5 million would come from ? issuing either two or three bonds over two years. Interest rates are expected to be between 3.25 and 3.5 percent.

City Manager Tom Aspell also suggested using $1.1 million from the community improvement reserve and $1.35 million in fund balance to offset some of the debt. The projected tax rate impact is between 73 and 85 cents, or between $226 and $340 annually, for a $400,000 assessed home.

The council also banned Ward 5 Concord City Council Stacey Brown from participating in the conversation and vote because her husband works for the police department.

When Mayor Byron Champlin asked whether she would recuse herself, she said, No. After a short back-and-forth, Champlin said he was banning her from participating in the portion of the meeting due to her conflict. A vote was taken, and nine councilors voted with Champlin to ban Brown from participating.

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