SPRINGFIELD — Springfield City Councilor Sean Curran believes now is the right time for the city to initiate a feasibility study for a new public safety complex.
The at-large councilor sent a letter to Mayor Domenic Sarno on Feb. 4 to formally ask his administration to conduct the study for a complex that would house the city’s Police and Fire departments.
According to Curran’s letter, both headquarters are currently “nearing the end of their useful life.”
“The Springfield Police Department needs updated office space and a modern hearing room, to keep up with their duties as mandated by the Supreme Judicial Court,” Curran said. “In addition, both police and fire are heavily invested in technology, computers and cameras that were never imagined in the 1960s when these buildings were built.”
In his letter to the mayor, Curran argued that the city should immediately pursue the study because there is legislation currently filed to create a “Public Safety Building Authority,” which would provide financial support for cities and towns to update aging infrastructure.
Curran added that there is a possibility the piece of legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton), could pass within the next session, which is why he thinks the city should start the feasibility study as soon as possible.
He said in an interview that he believes the feasibility process could take about a year to complete.
“Those cities that have a plan in place and funding allocated will be in the front of the line once this legislation is passed,” Curran said. “And with the cost of building materials and inflation and whatnot, to build a public safety complex on our own would be quite expensive, so, the ability to partner up with the commonwealth would be extraordinary.”
According to Sarno, a new public safety complex for police has been on his administration’s radar for over a decade. He noted in a statement to Reminder Publishing that in 2017, the city worked with state Rep. Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield) and former state Sen. Jim Welch to secure a $45 million earmark in a state bond bill for a new police headquarters that would have been named after the department’s first Black sergeant and captain, Joe Budd.
That money, however, was never released, Sarno said, and the new headquarters was never built.
Now, eight years later, Sarno thanked Curran for bringing the possibility of a feasibility study to his attention.
“I want to thank City Councilor attorney Sean Curran for his support of our Police Department and highlighting the sound and successful financial policies and bond rating of my administration,” Sarno said. “Providing our Police Department with new and upgraded facilities have been part of my administration’s capital plan and we’ll continue to explore any options available to pursue potential funding sources to build and rehab existing facilities, including working with this Public Safety Building Authority, if created by the state.”
In a press release, Curran said a feasibility study for a new complex would explore things like where the complex could be sited; what would it cost; what would a 21st century design look like; how long the complex would take to build; and how much can the state contribute financially.
He named the old Vibra Hospital, somewhere on the Boston Road corridor and the site where the current Republican office building sits as three possible locations for the new safety complex.
Curran said that more sites will likely be explored during a feasibility study and estimated that the complex would cost around $300 million. In his letter, he also highlighted the city’s Triple A bond rating and said Springfield has never been in a better financial position to pursue this project.
“Now is exactly the right time to make a downpayment on Springfield’s public safety future,” Curran said. “This is an investment that will have a positive impact on the city for the next 30 years.”
