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03/01/2023 07:46 AMThe mud was deep; but local, state and federal officials willingly waded in to take up ceremonial shovels at North Branford’s long-awaited groundbreaking for a new police facility and emergency operations center (EOC).
The $14 million police department project will receive $4.5 million in state funding and $1 million in federal EOC grant monies and is expected to be completed in 14 months, said Town Manager Michael Downes.
At the 305 Forest Road construction site on February 27, Downes recognized the critical collaboration at local, state, and federal levels to reach this day; including North Branford’s Town Council, Board of Police Commissioners, Public Safety Leadership Team, Permanent Project Building Committee (PPBC), representatives of state legislature, the governor’s office and CT State Dept. of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EMHS), US Congress and the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).
“When this project is concluded 14 months from now, North Branford’s police department will have a top-notch facility from which to operate that reflects the outstanding work that our Chief, our Deputy Chief and our officers do in protecting the residents of our town,“ Downes said.
Former North Branford mayor, councilman and retired Deputy Police Chief Michael Doody remarked that, for many years, the need for a new police facility has been recognized.
“I’m very pleased to attend this ceremony,” said Doody. “At some points in our time on the council and the police commission, we never thought this would take place. I’m very pleased to see it come to fruition.”
Doody thanked local officials, past and present, for their work on the effort; as well as State Representative Vincent Candelora (R, District 86) for delivering $4.5 million in state funding for the project, and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for securing an additional $1 million in federal funding for the EOC.
Mayor Jeffrey Macmillen said the project is long overdue, and that North Branford Police Department (NBPD) is very deserving of a new home.
“I want to thank our law enforcement department here in North Branford. It’s the absolute best in the area. We really appreciate all you do, and I hope this reflects how much we care about you and the fact that we want you to be in a facility that’s up to par,” said Macmillen. “We’re here to support you and we’ll continue to support you.”
Macmillen also thanked the members of the PPBC for providing project guidance.
“They work tirelessly to make sure [the] building is right and proper for the town and saves the taxpayer money,” said Macmillen.
Chief of Police Kevin Halloran said the agency deeply appreciates the support of the town.
“It’s been quite a journey we’ve been on,” said Halloran of the many hurdles encountered on the way to finalizing the project, from recognizing the need to replace the current outmoded police station to finding funding, designing a purposeful building that would be fitting for the community, settling on a site, collapsing the first bid for the project; and, finally, coming through a federally mandated pre-Colonial site survey.
Halloran joined NBPD as chief in May of 2019.
“Before I got here, the wheels were already turning on this project,” said Halloran.
He recognized the “countless hours” of personal time and commitment made by early Police Facility advisory committee work which he noted was led by Doody, and included councilwoman Marie Diamond; past councilman and current PPBC member Al Rose; and police commissioners Victor Pietrandrea and David Palumbo. To assist, in 2019, NBPD provided on-site tours to show the community the conditions police were working in at the current facility at 260 Forest Road, first built in 1974.
“We put this online and we got overwhelming support from the community for the [new] building,” said Halloran, who thanked residents for their support.
Halloran also thanked the members of the PPBC, Town Council, and police commission; as well as Candelora and DeLauro for securing project funding grants.
“I know the men and the women of the North Branford Police Department very much appreciate this new building; and they deserve it. They do a great job every day,” said Halloran.
Palumbo also remarked on the journey leading to this point.
“This is an amazing thing we’re doing in town. Quite frankly, it’s been a long time coming,” said Palumbo.
He thanked state and federal leaders for their support and assistance with funding the project; and thanked North Branford town leaders, past and present for putting their trust in the PPBC. Additionally, Palumbo thanked his PPBC co-members for the effort they put into town projects like this one.
“We put in countless hours, but there’s really not a meeting that I don’t enjoy going to. Because, from the bottom of my heart, we’re all doing it for our community here, and we’re all giving back,” said Palumbo.
Diamond, who also serves as the Town Council’s police commission liasion, spoke to the long road which led to the groundbreaking ceremony. For her, it began about 12 years ago, when she said she naively put together a Powerpoint presentation for the Town Council on the need for a new facility. The presentation wasn’t well-received by some.
“I was very upset and I ran into the hallway, and I was crying. Now, we finally see it coming to be today. So instead of crying, I am going to shed tears of joy,” said Diamond.
Candelora, a North Branford resident, addressed the question some people may ask, “Why a police station?”
“If you think about it, when that building was built, our town was half the population. And as we all know, policing has changed so dramatically over the last 40 years,” Candelora said.
He said other modern issues facing the department range from data storage issues to meeting evolving state requirements imposed by legislation such as the 2020 Police Accountability Act, which Candelora did not support.
“I’m pleased that the state of Connecticut stepped up for the town of North Branford to be able to modernize our building, but also just to be able to comply with the laws that are now imposed on our police officers,” said Candelora.
Also in attendance and providing remarks were Lou Mangini of DeLauro’s office, State Senator Paul Cicarella (R, District 34) and members of CT Division of EMHS which worked in coordination with FEMA. CT Emergency Management Program Specialist Douglas Glowacki credited the efficient work of the Town during the FEMA required-historic preservation site survey. He said he’s looking forward to working with the town during the construction process to help North Branford receive the $1 million in federal funding.
In a press release issued Feb. 27, DeLauro stated, in part, “...today’s groundbreaking has been a long-time coming for this community and I am proud to have been able to include federal funding for this effort in the Fiscal Year 2022 federal funding bill. I am excited to see this project underway and am looking forward to celebrating the ribbon-cutting when the construction is complete.”
Cicarella, who began representing a section of Northford in 2022 due to redistricting, said the new police facility is much needed, and that he appreciated the work of those who supported the department and helped deliver this project to the town.
“I know I only represent a small part of this town, but my friends, my family, my parents live here, it’s a great town. It’s so important that we’re supporting our first responders,” said Cicarella.
Shortly after digging a ceremonial shovel into the dirt, Zip06/The Sound asked Halloran what the day meant to him, and NBPD.
“I think it’s awesome. It’s been a work in progress long before I came here to North Branford,” said Halloran. “It’s nice to see that the officers are going to be able to work in a nice, new, safe, modern state-of-the-art police department. So we’re excited to move in, and we’re excited to see the final product. I think the men and women of the North Branford Police Department deserve it. They work hard every day.”