Brewer eyes land purchase for safety building
Monday, December 18, 2006

City leaders are considering buying land for a new public safety building to replace the one on South Main Street that has been shared for half a century by both the fire and police departments.

City Councilors on Tuesday will consider whether to purchase nearly 3 acres of land on Parkway South, just east of Interstate 395, for $275,000.

"The location is really ideal from a number of standpoints," City Manager Steve Bost said Sunday. "It has immediate access to South Brewer and it places it right by the I-395 corridor and closer to the hub of the new development activity in the city … along Wilson Street and Dirigo Drive."

Brewer High School also is next door. "That’s a very big point," Bost said. "You can virtually see the high school from the site."

Fire Chief Rick Bronson has said many times in the last few years that when and if a new facility is built, it should be in a location that provides the easiest access to major roads to quicken response times.

City Councilor Larry Doughty said the selected site is just what the city is looking for. "It’s an ideal piece of property," he said.

The South Main Street facility, which once was the city’s municipal court building, has outlived its usefulness, Police Chief Perry Antone said Sunday.

"The two departments have grown over the years and we’re in a building that we redesigned in the [late] 1950s," he said.

With known water leaks and possible mold issues, the building needs to be replaced, the chief said.

"The structure has deteriorated," he said. "It’s time to do something now. It just doesn’t meet our needs."

There also is a lack of interview rooms, office space and locker rooms to accommodate both male and female employees at the current facility, he said.

Earlier this year, WBRC Architects-Engineers of Bangor evaluated the entire South Main Street facility.

"They determined in rather exhaustive detail that the existing facility is not only inadequate, but is literally falling apart," Bost said.

City officials did consider building a new fire station and renovating the existing structure on South Main Street for the police department, but they eliminated the idea because of the building’s deterioration.

In addition, the working relationship between the fire and police departments is so good that city leaders would like to keep both agencies together, both Antone and Bost said.

"The council is very clear that they want a building that will meet the needs of both police and fire for many years to come," the city manager said.

"Our goal is to keep the two agencies together and continue to foster that relationship," the police chief said.

If councilors go forward with plans to buy the property, which is located across the street from Liberty Drive, the city’s newest roadway, the next step would be to create concept designs that would be presented to the public for feedback.

Doughty stressed that any new facility would need to be built with the future in mind, a sentiment echoed by Bost and Antone.

"We can’t be pinching pennies on this building," he said. "We have to do it right and really plan for the future. I’m looking forward to building it so it lasts another 50 years."

The city annually has placed funds into a reserve account to help pay for a new facility and also would use funds set aside last year to move City Hall, with the remaining money coming from a bond, Bost said.

"We’re very excited about the project," he said. "We have been discussing the need for a new building for several years."

A copyright article from the Bangor Daily News, Monday, December 18, 2006.