A new public safety facility is one step closer to reality after the State Bonding Commission voted to approve $600,000 for evaluation of suitable locations.

According to a press release issued by Mayor Joseph Carfora, said that a new public safety facility would upgrade infrastructure for the town’s first responders.

“Nothing is more important than providing our first responders with the infrastructure, and the tools that they need to properly protect our citizens,” Carfora said.

The Commission, helmed by Gov. Ned Lamont, approved the bonding request on July 29, but Carfora has been discussing the need for improving the town’s infrastructure since he entered office in 2019.

“It certainly isn’t a secret that the Town of East Haven’s infrastructure has significant limitations—for years the maintenance of our town buildings was irresponsibly ignored. Something that we reported to our taxpayers within the first few weeks of my first term,” Carfora said.

The funding from the state bond allocation will be used to evaluate what locations, if any, in town might be suitable for an enhanced public safety facility.

“I want to thank Gov. Lamont and his Chief of Staff Paul Mounds for recognizing some of the needs of East Haven; they share my sustained advocacy for First Responders. Our Governor’s efforts also indicate that he hears my concerns,” Carfora said in a press release. “The Governor’s support here is consistent with, and echoes the care, as well as the accessible leadership we saw from him during our hard-fought battle with the COVID-19 pandemic.”