New Dartmouth Police Station Design Revealed

The public got their first look at the new Dartmouth Police Station design Monday night.

Project officials presented the images and other building features during the Select Board meeting.

Features of the building include an on-site fueling station, a separate utility building, and a sally port, which would allow officers to transport prisoners from cruisers into the station through a secured space.

Greg Corell, President of design company The Corell Group, said the new building's facade and design will resemble the Gidley school it's set to replace.

"It needed to fit into the neighborhood in the Gidley school tradition. It's a fairly sensitive neighborhood, a sensitive site, and needed to aesthetically work with that neighborhood," Corell said.

Corell said the station's facade is meant to "look a hundred years old" as it uses traditional designs and materials.

While some Select Board members voiced initial concerns over the above-ground fuel tank on the grounds, project officials reassured the board any fuel storage would include a number of safety features.

The project's overall cost is about $13.7 million, with estimated inflation costs included.

The Police Chief's Advisory Committee will hold a joint presentation with the Select Board and Finance Committee on March 6. The group will hold their final presentation on the new police station design at the June Town Meeting before it's voted on.

As for the Gidley School, former students and teachers will meet at the Quinn School auditorium next Monday to share memories one last time before the building is demolished.

The advisory committee received two bids on the school's demolition, with the Attorney General's office advising the town drop one bidder.

The other bidder's price to demolish the Gidley school is around $417,777.

According to the advisory committee, the dropped bidder is filling a protest with the Attorney General's office.