Bow selectmen have been meeting with consultants to determine current facility needs for the fire house, police station and the public works building. Last month, consultant Eric Palson met with the board to review the second draft of the town’s Police/Fire Facility Study.

Following the discussion, selectmen scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at the fire station, located at the intersection of Knox and Bow Center roads.

The public hearing will follow the board’s regularly scheduled meeting at the municipal building at 5:30 p.m. Residents will be able to tour the station and discuss current facility needs and the possibility for a new combined public safety building, and uses for the two department’s current buildings should they be vacated.

Selectman Eric Anderson said the fire station, which currently adjoins the community center, can still be used.

“I really think, if you really want my gut feeling, that the whole area could be made into a beautiful recreation facility with the pond there and the proximity to the high school,” he said. “But, it’s really not set up well for the fire department.”

As part of the study presented to the board, Cobb Hill Construction was hired to break down immediate improvement costs and project the cost of a new facility, using comparisons to a similar public safety building constructed in Canterbury two years ago.

Based on assumed remedial work, improvements to the fire and police stations are projected at $2.24 million, compared to a suggested budget of $2.8 to $3.1 million for construction of a new combined safety facility.

Police department

The report cites many deficiencies in the police station such as limited roof attachment to walls, ineffective lighting, a nonfunctional fire alarm and many other safety issues.

Moreover, Police Chief Jeff Jaran said many other deficiencies listed in the report pose immediate safety concerns to officers and prisoners such as the lack of temporary holding cells, the inability to separate detained prisoners present serious safety concerns.

He also said the booking room and areas designated for suspects are lacking and present serious safety concerns. The department also needs a sally port to shield prisoners, and officers from weather and potentially dangerous outside conditions.

“It’s really not a safe environment, but we’ve made due with the space we have,” said Jaran. “When we’re providing public safety, not only for this building but also dispatch for other communities, it’s a concern. There’s no doubt about it.”

The station must also be brought up to guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act to allow access to those with disabilities. In addition, the current evidence room is slightly larger than a small closet, essentially busting at the seams, said Jaran, and the department has a lack of training rooms and an emergency operations center.

Still, Jaran said he isn’t taking a stand one way or another for a new building, other than to say the clear-cut deficiencies of his building need to be remedied.

“The question is, how much good money are you going to throw at a bad situation. I think that says it all,” said Jaran. “We’ve made improvements to make a comfortable work environment for the time being, but we have some glaring deficiencies that clearly need to be taken care of.”

Jaran also wants to offer a safe meeting place for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other programs, but it is sometimes difficult because groups are brought into the inner workspace of the police department.

Fire department

According to Town Manager Jim Pitts, the fire station failed an inspection by the state fire marshal and although the building has received a one-year waiver, the department needs to address the lack of a working sprinkler system and other deficiencies to show progress toward a new building by the end of the waiver period.

“We’ve already spent way too much money fiddling around with that building and I think we’ve probably spent more money nickel and diming that building than it would have taken to build a new building,” said Anderson at the board’s Dec. 19 meeting. “Right now I’m looking at retrofitting it, not anything else, but typically it’s a lot cheaper to build from the ground up.”

In addition to a need for a working sprinkler and smoke alarm systems, the fire station doesn’t meet code-compliant seismic design – bay doors are too short, there is inadequate radio systems and telecom for the building and there is a lack of insulation on and around the bay doors.

The sleeping quarters for the 24/7 fire department are also inadequate and not vented properly, and wiring throughout the building needs replacement.

“The purpose of the report was to analyze the deficiencies of the building and the perceived deficiencies proved to be reality,” said Assistant Chief Richard Pistey. “I think, at this point, we’re just putting good money after bad money.”

“The building has served the town for the past 50 years, but the vast majority of fire buildings in the area have newer facilities than Bow, even though this is one of the fastest growing towns in the compact.”

Pistey is a longtime Bow resident, and while he said he doesn’t necessarily want to see his taxes go up any more than any other person, he thinks drastic improvements are necessary.

“I think the report speaks for itself. It was done by an outside consultant and he found a lot of deficiencies. So it’s probably time for a new facility, especially because if you combine the two (departments) together you receive your best bang for the buck.”