Hyde Park leaders invited local residents to discuss the proposed police/court facility at a special meeting held May 5 at town hall, but Supervisor Pompey Delafield (D) said he expected a larger turnout and was surprised by the relatively small audience.
“I’m a little disappointed we don’t have more people here,” said Delafield at the beginning of the discussion. Delafield explained that he asked the police/court committee to reduce the price tag of the project to make it more affordable for taxpayers. “We’ve taken $1.5 million out the building,” said Delafield, noting that several components have been removed from the plan, including a community room, sally port, roof dressings, landscaping and furnishings. The overall size of the court component has been reduced as well. “The building is down to the bare bones,” he said.
David Souers, principal architect at Optimus Architecture in Rhinebeck, described how the new price structure will affect the project. “It’s really a very plain and simple building with no adornments at all,” said Souers. He noted that under the revised plan, there is no jury room, no community room, and the two town justice offices have been integrated into one office space. “We condensed the building quite a bit,” he said.
Residents who spoke at the meeting were generally in favor of a new home for the police department, but many were concerned about the cost in light of today’s gloomy economic climate. “The concern we have and many others have is still the cost,” said Hyde Park resident Jean McArthur, who suggested building the facility in phases to lower immediate project costs and still provide a home for the police department. “My own personal opinion, I don’t know if it’s going to pass,” said McArthur. “At least get the police in something halfway decent and phase the rest of it in.”
Souers replied that, “The building really does divide relatively easily,” but added that there are a certain amount of fixed costs, such as water, septic, sprinklers, etc., that would have to be included up front. “The court is half of the building,” said Souers, “but you don’t get an even easy halving” by phasing in construction, he explained.
Other residents questioned the total cost of the project, including interest that would be paid over the life of the building’s bond.
Delafield said this project is typical of any construction that involves a mortgage and he didn’t want to release a figure that would appear to be over-inflated. “There isn’t a mortgage in the world that does not have interest in it,” he said. Delafield added that the town is able to secure lower interest rates than the typical mortgage applicant. “Our interest rate will be quite low because we’re a government agency,” he said.
Help may be on the way
Delafield also explained the potential for a windfall from Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Hudson), who has submitted a $4.5 million appropriation request for 2009 to support the police/court facility. “We were lucky enough to get on the federal appropriation list for 2009,” said Delafield, noting that residents must show evidence of support for the project in order for the appropriation to be successful.
Bob Kampf, chairman of the police/court facility committee, urged the board to move forward on a resolution supporting the project and setting a date for a vote. “The committee is a little concerned about getting this out for a vote,” he said. “We’ve got to do something for the police, and we’ve got to do it soon,” he said.
Kampf reiterated that the committee reviewed more than19 existing locations before advising the town to construct a new building on land donated by John Golden. “The committee felt this is the best possible site,” he said. “We did the best we could to cut costs.”Kampf also asked the board to support Gillibrand’s funding request. “The town should push to get the appropriation passed,” said Kampf, who explained that Gillibrand visited the current police headquarters on Route 9G and agreed that the police department needed better working conditions.
The leased building was also recently inspected by the New York State Department of Labor, which required immediate repairs be made; the town subsequently approved $25,000 for emergency repairs. Committee members stressed that the current headquarters are cramped and dilapidated, and Kampf says the police department has been there long enough. “We don’t want to see the police stay there any longer than they have to,” he said.