Safety Standards

Safety Standards and requirements have been updated since our current public safety structure was renovated in 1986, now it has deficiencies of health, security, safety, and accessibility.

Accessibility

People with mobility concerns use a separate entrance to enter the building, and with no elevator, are excluded from the Chief’s and other offices.

Flooding

Frequent flooding threatens the health, also electrical, and emergency systems. Water and mold enter the booking area, dog holding pens, electrical room, and unventilated locker rooms where floor mats must be used to keep officers’ feet dry.

Emergency Communications

Besides a full power panel, the electrical room houses water pipes, creating a potential fire hazard and loss of dispatch communications. Two outdated communication systems—one from the 1980s, one a used 2000s system—handle EMT, fire, and police calls 24/7, but repair parts can only be found on eBay.

Safety Threats to Officers and Detainees

 Without a sally port, officers must park outside and walk detainees through areas where stored items become potential weapons. They use a breathalyzer outside a secured detention area, the only possible location. State inspectors annually flag deficiencies, including suicide and choking hazards, in the holding area as cells are grandfathered under obsolete 1980s standards.

Lack of Private Interview Rooms Used with Victims of Crime

Just off the lobby, the conference room has no ventilation or soundproofing, so you can clearly hear sounds from outside; here, police meet members of the public and interview persons of interest.

Inadequate Police Training and Emergency Operations Area

Officers must travel elsewhere for training as there is no large space for the entire department to meet or train, nor to assemble with state police, National Seashore, etc., during events such as July 4 and Carnival.

Inadequate Evidence Storage and Work Areas

Paper evidence is stored in the full attic. Physical evidence must be stored in a secured outdoor trailer. Locker rooms are so small, officers must hang damp bullet-proof vests to dry over the corners of lockers. Offices double as storage areas for hug-a-bears, spare outerwear, radio parts, and parking tickets. Arms and ammunition are stored in a crammed-locked casket elevator. Parking is hazardous to police vehicles, neighbors, and pedestrians.

Compliance

The proposed building meets all current codes, the ADA, and delivers essentials for 21st century policing providing the community with a serviceable building for the next 50 years.

Visibility

The building may be seen by the public from Route 6, as in all other Outer Cape towns, which also provides direct access to the highway for officers.

Convenience

There is safe access to enough public parking on site. Accessibility for all through the front entrance, a lobby from which the public receives direct services—which can’t be done now—and an elevator to reach administrative offices.

Privacy and safety

In the lobby an interview room doubles as a “safe room” for those at risk, where today’s lobby can’t offer even a seat.

Assurance

The dispatch office will be outfitted with modern technology, equipment, and the 911 system will remain functional at critical times.

Risk Reduction

Officers and detainees will use a sally port transferring from vehicles into the building, which is standard for modern police stations. Booking and cells meet current state standards providing safer processing of detainees. 

Compassion

In new indoor and outdoor areas, officers can safely and humanely care for animals, rather than in space at risk of flooding in the current facility.

Confidence

A purpose-built work environment helps morale among current employees, and aids in getting new recruits by offering appropriate workspaces for administration, training, reporting, and locker rooms.

Certainty

Critical files, documents, and physical evidence—both current and acquired over the next 50 years—are safely and properly stored.

Pride

The new Police Station aligns with the department’s ongoing efforts to reduce risk to the Town through compliance with management standards of the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission’s voluntary Certification Program.

The Building Committee and Town Staff have worked diligently to contain costs and explore all options since the 2019 Town Meeting vote. In 2022, construction costs are estimated to be approximately 30% higher than the average of the actual bids received in 2019. The cost of building materials, and availability of materials have driven construction costs up during the COVID period.

Total Project Cost

The estimate for the entire project is approximately $16.6 million, of which hard construction is $13.5 million and soft costs are $3.1 million.

Hard Construction

This includes excavation, foundations, building structure, walls, roof, windows, doors, and all interior and exterior mechanical and electrical equipment, utilities, site restoration, paving, and landscaping.

Soft Costs

These include the Architect, Engineers Owner’s Project Manager Fees; specialized Police Equipment, IT/Computers, Fixtures and Furnishings, Materials Testing during construction, and Legal and Administrative Services.

Property Tax Impact

If funded with a standard 20-year bond, the effect on residential properties would be approximately $29 per $100,000 of assessed value. For example, the impact on a condo with an assessed value of $500,000 would be $145 +/- per year for 20 years.  It may be possible to reduce the impact on property tax bills. Any Town Meeting authorization will be offset by any grants received.

2017 $8.6 Budget

The total project budget approved at the 2017 Town Meeting for $8.6M was inaccurate and misleading. Based on depressed 2016 estimates, it did not include a premium for working on the Outer Cape nor a sufficient contingency. Today, anything built for that budget would be inadequate to meet the Police Department’s needs.

2019 Bids

In 2019, the Town received three bids for the building construction – $9.1M, $9.8M, and $9.9M. This would have required the Town to increase the budget allocation to cover the entire project cost, which Town Meeting did not approve.

Attempts to Reduce Costs

The Building Committee reviewed design options in 2018 and again in 2021, concluding that the current design is the most cost-effective, and meets all the needs of the department, in the smallest, most practical layout. The Police Department’s programming needs have not changed since the 2019 design.

Redesign and Increased Costs

The estimated project cost has risen $4.5M since 2019. A complete redesign at this point would add months to the process and result in additional costs. In addition to a projected $1M in additional building construction costs, soft costs, including approximately $850K in Architectural and Owner’s Project Manager fees, would raise the overall project budget.

Reducing the Building’s Size

This design is right-sized and is laid out in an efficient manner with no extras or unused space. The Building Committee eliminated about 3,000 SF from the first design of 2012; there is nothing now left to cut. Reducing the size any further would lead to spending millions on an inadequate building that runs the risk of being obsolete sooner than the life span of this building.

Costs per Square Foot Comparison

The 2019 building cost was $708 per SF, a reasonable price when compared to other Cape Cod police stations. Orleans and Wellfleet’s building costs updated to 2019 costs were approximately $730 and $700 per SF. In 2022, the 30% price inflation brings the current estimate to approximately $950 per SF.

Operating Costs

The efficiency of the modern systems in this building will result in lower operating costs compared to the existing older buildings. HVAC systems, electrical systems, LED lighting, windows and doors, and insulation, all were selected for efficiency and their long-term cost savings. The future installation of a solar array will contribute to additional savings.