Belfast’s police station presents “significant operational and safety challenges,” Jennifer Hatch, the city’s deputy police chief, said at a City Council meeting Tuesday. The building lobby has no bulletproof glass to protect receptionists, no public restroom and records are stored on the floor and in the same location as cleaning supplies.
The city is considering constructing a public safety building that would house its ambulance, fire and police departments under one roof. Hatch and members of a working group considering the issue presented an update to the City Council on Tuesday.
Fire chief Patrick Richards also shared a litany of complaints about his building — the fire station has no showers, even though firefighters are routinely exposed to dangerous chemicals and hazardous smoke. Firefighters sleep in recliners because there is no bunk room, and the station floods during heavy rains and sewage backups, he said.
The current fire station was built when the force was made of volunteers, he said. “It has served us well in the last 40 years, but is failing and no longer sufficient for our needs,” he said.
Over the last six months, the working group has selected an architecture firm, Port City Architecture, and been working to determine how big the building might be, Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge said.
Belfast has been considering a new public safety building for at least three years. The city has received more than $2 million in grants, and has completed a number of engineering and environmental assessments, according to a timeline prepared by the city.
David August, Belfast resident and author of a Substack newsletter that closely covers city government, raised concern that the process has lacked transparency — and been largely conducted out of sight of the public. He urged the city to handle the proposed public safety building in a public-facing committee.
“Most towns do this in public. I think we should reflect that,” he said.
Approving any project, much less building one, will take years, Councilor Mary Mortier said. She added that there will be ample time for public comment.
“Nothing has been designed, no building or parts of buildings have been designed,” she said.
While no proposals for the building have been drafted, Mayor Eric Sanders and at least two city councilors expressed support in unambiguous terms.
Councilor Paul Dean apologized for the state of the police and fire facilities. Sanders called the firefighters’ working conditions “inhumane.”
He acknowledged that the city doesn’t yet have the money it needs. “I already know that,” he said, “but that’s not going to stop me from finding a way to get it done.”
