Frequently Asked Questions
For meetings schedules, project milestones, and supporting documents, visit the project website.
Click on a question from the list below or scroll to browse all questions and answers.
Project Background
- Why is a Public Safety Building expansion project necessary?
- Where will the additional space come from and will it impact the roads or parking areas?
- Will the police department need to relocate during construction?
- Could the police department take over the Community Room for added storage space?
- Could staff work from alternate locations to free up space in the Public Safety Building?
- Was this project previously up for a vote?
Costs
- How much will the project cost and how will we pay for it? Will my taxes increase as a result?
- Will approving this project impact our ability to construct a new high school in the future?
- Would we be better suited building a new facility in an alternate location?
- Can we use federal or state grants to fund the construction?
Reassessment Committee
- Who investigated the options and ultimately recommended the proposed plan?
- How will we ensure there is proper construction oversight?
- What efforts has the Reassessment Committee taken to reevaluate and create a new proposal?
- Did HKT Architects design the 2004 refurbishment?
Project Background
Why is a Public Safety Building expansion project necessary?
Simply put, the Police Department is bursting at the seams in their current space and facing critical points with technology storage and maintenance.
The emergency 911 systems, IT, and electrical equipment are housed in spaces that do not have the sufficient temperature-control features necessary for proper functioning. These spaces experience leaks and the fire-prevention system over these crucial assets is water. A failure of these systems would impact the safety of every resident, business, and visitor.
Due to lack of space, families and residents in crisis are meeting with officers in converted closets instead of the calm, safe areas they need. Storage lockers and equipment are kept in hallways. Officers are performing tactical training in a small rollcall room. The archive and records rooms are at capacity. There is also no space to add any additional resources in the future despite increasing demands on mental health, substance-use, and other police staff.
The configuration of the first floor does not allow for officers to be present in the lobby during evening hours or on weekends. Because the dispatch office is located on the second floor, those who enter the lobby—from those who experience a medical situation to those performing a custody swap—have to call for assistance on the telephone. In extreme situations, people often look for safety in police stations. Critical response time is lost with the current setup.
The garage/sally port at the prisoner’s entrance is too small, requiring the 10’ by 10’ sally port door to be open onto Crescent Street when prisoners are escorted in and out of the transport van. This poses a serious safety risk to the general public.
The HVAC system pumps from the fire department’s maintenance room into the police-side of the building creating strong chemical odors and black soot around vents. There are cracks and leaks throughout the structure, inadequate soundproofing in conference and leadership spaces, and other concerns. Watch a video outlining all of these issues here.
The Wakefield Police Department is a leader in policing and sets a standard for other departments to follow. Public-safety and Town leaders consider this project necessary to sustain this exceptional work into the future.
Where will the additional space come from and will it impact the roads or parking areas?
The proposed plan brings the left-front quadrant of the building forward, to line up with where the fire-side of the building was expanded to in 2004. There will be no infringement onto roadways and existing parking spaces.
Will the police department need to relocate during construction?
The construction will be carefully phased so that police staff can remain in the Public Safety Building. Temporary office trailers may be used when necessary.
Could the police department take over the Community Room for added storage space?
The Community Room, located off the lobby on the first floor of the building, is a public meeting space for community organizations and is well used. Wakefield Youth Football, Wakefield Little League, the Independence Day Committee, Cultural Council, Youth Action Team, and countless other groups regularly utilize this space for meetings and presentations. Eliminating this public resource to create a storage area would have a negative impact to our community organizations and residents.
Could staff work from alternate locations to free up space in the Public Safety Building?
The Wakefield Police Department has used the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model since 2011. Its success relies on partnerships between law enforcement, mental health agents, addiction professionals, and other advocates. In fact, the Wakefield Police Department and clinician Jennifer Waczkowski recently won the Mass Department of Mental Health’s Clinical Collaboration with Law Enforcement Award. Splitting personnel into multiple locations would impact the ability for the team to collaborate and decrease oversight.
Was this project previously up for a vote?
Residents approved the Public Safety Building expansion project at Town Meeting in May 2018. However, a group collected the required 200 signatures to bring the project to a special election in June, and the project was defeated with 1042 in favor and 1118 opposed.
The Town Council recognized that the inadequacies of the building were not going to be resolved on their own. Seeing the public services and outreach placed upon our police force continuing to increase, they created a committee to reassess the project and ensure that additional input was considered and all options were fully vetted.
Residents, community group representatives, public safety, and Town leaders were appointed to re-evaluate the building and review all possible options. The proposal is the result of their efforts.
Costs
How much will the project cost and how will we pay for it? Will my taxes increase as a result?
The estimated total cost of the project is $9.6 million, and would be made without requiring a 2 ½ override.* The project would be paid via the Town’s existing Debt Service Fund, which has previously funded the Dolbeare School, Woodville School, and Senior Center renovations. The first payment for the Public Safety Building project would not become due until the Town was finished servicing the debt for those other projects. The estimated annual costs for this project will fit within the Fund’s existing budget, with no net increase in what is currently appropriated to it. The estimated project cost is based on a fall 2020 bid. Postponing or delaying the project will result in increased construction and materials costs due to inflation and the Massachusetts competitive bidding market.
*Update: At the November 6, 2021 Town Meeting, the budget was increased $2.5M. This was due to: Major weather events causing domestic manufacturing plant shut-downs and the slow employee recovery from COVID affecting plant outputs of raw materials used for producing most construction materials; Increased reliance on overseas supply chains has created increased volume resulting in congested seaports, causing extreme back-ups; Lack of supply and high demand for labor, shipping containers, and ground transportation are influencing prices; Many bidders are limiting the timeframe, bid prices will be held to as few as 5-10 days; Many manufactures are only accepting orders that agree to be billed at the pricing effective when products are delivered.
Will approving this project impact our ability to construct a new high school in the future?
The two projects are necessarily different. Preliminary conceptual estimates to build a new high school are in the $130 to $200 million range. While the Debt Service Fund can accommodate the Public Safety Building’s budget, it cannot accommodate a $200 million project. Funding a high school would most likely occur through state assistance and a Proposition 2 ½ override.
Would we be better suited building a new facility in an alternate location?
The Reassessment Committee investigated the feasibility of constructing a police station in a new location. Costs for this option were estimated at $25 to $34 million, which doesn’t include the cost of acquiring property in a preferred location or relocating an existing Town department (e.g. the DPW facility on North Avenue). This was determined to be cost prohibitive and the present plan was ultimately recommended.
Can we use federal or state grants to fund the construction?
Though grant opportunities were investigated, the committee found no available options.
Reassessment Committee
Who investigated the options and ultimately recommended the proposed plan?
Recognizing the concerns of residents after the special election in 2018, the Town Council established a new project team that included residents, community organizations, and varied Town interests.
The committee has 16 members, including two residents-at-large; representatives from the Wakefield Alliance Against Violence (WAAV) and Wakefield Unified Prevention Coalition (Wake-Up); Permanent Building and Finance Committees, and Town Council. Town employees include the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Police Department, the Chief of the Fire Department, Emergency Management Director, Public Works Director, and Town Administrator.
How will we ensure there is proper construction oversight?
The State of Massachusetts requires a qualified Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) be engaged in any public building project over $1.5 million, which is something that wasn’t in place during the 2004 Public Safety Building construction. The OPM is a consultant who acts as the Town’s agent and third-party reviewer throughout the design and construction phases of the project. The OPM is completely independent from the designer, general contractor, and any subcontractors involved in the project and works with the Town’s best interests in mind.
In addition, Wakefield’s Permanent Building Committee has recently executed several large and very successful projects, including the Galvin and Walton Schools, and will be instrumental in managing the progress of the Public Safety Building.
What efforts has the Reassessment Committee taken to reevaluate and create a new proposal?
The committee engaged HKT Architects, Inc. to assist in reevaluating the original proposal. HKT Architects, based in Cambridge, are experts in the design of public safety buildings and were responsible for the Public Safety Building Feasibility Study in 2017. After extensive analysis of the structure and reviewing the operations of the Police Department, the committee is presenting a design that remedies today’s challenges and incorporates best practices to support and grow services decades into the future.
The committee also investigated options for a new building in an alternate location. At an estimated $26 to $34 million, which does not include the acquisition of property, this option was determined to be cost prohibitive.
Did HKT Architects design the 2004 refurbishment?
No. HKT did not contribute to the design of the current building.