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Guilford Police, Fire Seek Joint Storage Building— and a Place to Put It

The Police and Fire departments are hoping to combine separate proposals for extra vehicle storage space into one request that might result in a single capital project that could be shared by both services, potentially saving between $500,000 and $1 million compared to both projects being approved separately. It might also involve the elimination of the popular basketball courts adjacent the facilities.

Both fire and police officials have said there is a somewhat urgent need for additional storage, with fire officials forced to detour off-site for certain equipment and some police vehicles stored outside in the inclement weather.

The Fire Department had requested $1.5 million for four 80-foot deep bays, and the Police Department asked for $250,000 for a carport. A joint project with 6,400 square feet of space was preliminarily estimated at somewhere between $736,000 and $800,000, according to Fire Chief Charles Herrschaft.

Police Chief Butch Hyatt said there is additional equipment that would be “nice” to have at a central location that police officers also currently have to travel off-site to retrieve, specifically cones, signage, and some storm preparedness materials.

That other storage location on Graves Avenue is also a property that the town might be looking to sell as part of a realignment of facilities across the board, according to Hoey.

The conversations are still preliminary, but with the budget process moving rapidly forward, First Selectman Matt Hoey and Finance Director Maryjane Malvasi emphasized that there would need to be more concrete numbers as soon as possible. Herrschaft asked that Malvasi use $900,000 or $1 million as a placeholder until more work or estimates could be done.

Another concern raised is the location of the potential new structure. One option is to replace the basketball courts with the building, Herrschaft said, meaning that amenity would be eliminated.

Selectman Sandy Ruoff urged Herrschaft and Hyatt to try to find another place for this building in order to preserve that.

“Taking away the basketball courts would be the last choice here,” Ruoff said. “If you were relocating them [would be different], but just to eliminate them, I think that would be a shame, so I would urge both departments to not have that happen.”