WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Police Station Siting Committee has recommended seven parcels to Mayor William Reichelt, who said he plans to meet with committee Chair Anthony DiStefano after the Big E to discuss them and figure out the town’s next steps.
Next steps could include a community forum, he said.
“Beyond that, it’s really going to depend on what recommendations are,” he said.
DiStefano did not respond to phone calls or an email requesting an interview. Committee member Brian Griffin confirmed the committee made formal recommendations, though he said he could not discuss them publicly. The seven parcels come from across town, though he said the committee preferred downtown locations.
“Areas in the downtown corridor, very close to where the police station is now,” he said. “Then, either some restructuring or reconstruction of the area that we have as part of the municipal office building that is part of the Police Department now.”
Factors that went into its recommendations included who the abutters were and how much space was available. The new station would need at least 3 acres, he said.
DiStefano streamlined all the proposals, Griffin said, as well as ran them by the Planning Department and town Chief of Staff and General Counsel Kate O’Brien Scott. DiStefano made it possible to make tangible recommendations to Reichelt, as opposed to something more “pie in the sky,” he said.
Reichelt said he had no opinions as to where the new police station should go, and that he wanted to see what the committee thought.
Police Chief Jay Gearing said he hadn’t given it much thought, either, though he did work on a layout proposal when he was captain of the detective bureau.
Reichelt said there has been no talk about design of the new station, as he wants to decide on a location that’s amenable to the West Springfield community first.
“I don’t want to put the cart before the horse,” he said.
Neither Reichelt nor Gearing had heard any talk of costs, yet, either.
“Every month that passes, I’m sure the price is going up and up and up,” said Gearing.
Griffin said if the town is successful with its “MSBA endeavor,” referring to an application submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a new elementary school, then that would free up capital for a new police station.
The Police Station Siting Committee was formed in February as a response to the difficulties in finding a new home for the police and the Department of Public Works. Reichelt had previously pushed to move the DPW out of its current yard at 430 Westfield St., and build a new police station there, but neighbors opposed two sites where he had proposed new DPW facilities. Both the DPW yard and the current police station, which occupies part of Town Hall on Central Street, are considered cramped and outdated.
Reichelt said recently he had no plans, yet, for a new DPW yard.
Gearing said a new police station would be a morale booster, and higher morale equals better job performance. He also described the department as young and continuously growing, saying it is trying to retain and attract new officers. He also said a modern facility would also benefit the people they arrest.
“Let’s face it. We often bring citizens into our station, in our custody, that didn’t choose to be here,” he said. “They have the right to be in a modernized jail facility.”
Gearing said that he is looking for updated locker rooms. On a tour of the facility in March, former Chief Paul Connor said the men’s locker room in the basement suffered from mold and water damage. At the same time, there was not enough space for the female police officers.
“We’ve really outgrown the station we’re in,” said Gearing.
Gearing is also looking for a gym, which he said is a standard feature in new police stations.
The Police Station Siting Committee’s first meeting took place March 6. Members included DiStefano and Griffin, who are also town councilors; Council Vice President Brian Clune; former Town Councilor Bridget Fiala; Don Chase; West Springfield Police Capt. Nolan Ryan and Officer Scott Manser; Scott; and citizen appointees Kathy Martin, Bruce Landon and Tom Melvin.
Even though it has made its recommendations, Griffin expects the committee to continue its work.
“[I’m] certain the committee will be part of the ongoing discussion as to where this is going to go and help with whatever we can to move that forward,” he said.
