FAQ - Regionalize, Downsize or Phase

Questions:

 

Most emergency calls are for the ambulance.  Can we downsize the fire department and have a smaller facility?

The Fire Chief does not believe that downsizing the department or its equipment is wise or feasible. If we were to eliminate one station, we would have a serious gap in coverage of the town and an untenable response time.  This would affect homeowner insurance with a high likelihood of a dramatic increase in the cost of insurance.  So, we will still need to have a similar number and mix of vehicles.

We have been increasing the number of fire department personnel who are also medics or EMTs. This allows us flexibility to handle a changing mix of call types. We can’t envision being able to decrease our staffing. This means that we will have the same need for lockers, restrooms, showers, decontamination facilities, gear storage, bunk rooms, and kitchen space.

The committee looked very hard at whether or not various spaces were necessary and came up with what they believe is the minimum necessary for the building to meet the Town’s needs for the next 40 years.

Can we regionalize and save money (fire and/or police)?  If we regionalize, do we need a new building?

Fire and police dispatch have been regionalized.  Regionalization of specific pieces of fire equipment has been and will continue to be considered.  Further regionalization of the fire department does not change the requirement for a fire station to be within 5 miles of a residence.  Homes outside of a five-mile distance would have dramatic increases in their homeowner’s insurance. 

Currently no police department is regionalized. The state police are available for assistance but these arrangements are only to supplement the Princeton police as needed.  They are not looking to take on policing in small towns. 

There is a new medical and regional lock-up facility in West Boylston, run by the Sheriff’s Department, that should be up and running this spring and will take males but not females or juveniles.

Princeton is part of a regional mutual aid group where police, fire, and EMS from neighboring towns will help each other. Princeton cannot downsize and expect other towns to pick up the slack. We have to help other towns and not just ask them to help us.

Was phasing construction of the fire and police areas within the public safety facility considered? What are the pros and cons of phasing vs doing everything at once?

It was considered but rejected. The project is relatively small in scale and neither Caolo & Bieniek nor Jones Whitsett Architects saw any benefit to phasing this project – particularly since the proposed construction is on an unutilized site. It is likely that phasing would increase the construction costs considerably.

Was any consideration given to leaving the Police in the old building?

No. The existing building has serious flaws and limitations. There are economies derived by having the two departments share many spaces. On the plans, you will see that there are three colors used. Pink is solely for fire/ems. Blue is for police. All the areas in green are shared spaces. Many of those would have to be reproduced in some fashion in an upgrade of the existing station if the police were to remain there. Also, the long-term plan for the Bagg Hall/Library complex assumes that the Annex and Station 1 are removed to allow for future expansion of Bagg Hall and more parking for Bagg Hall and the Library.