BRUNSWICK
After two years of committee work, the Town Council will place a proposed bond ordinance to build a new police station up for public comment in early July.
Approval of the bond ordinance would allow the town to borrow up to $5.6 million to fund the 20,000-square-foot project at the corner of Pleasant and Stanwood streets.
The bond would cover what town officials described as “hard costs,” like construction and materials, and “soft costs,” such as legal fees and architectural design fees.
John Eldridge, Brunswick’s finance director, projected that the town could borrow for the project at an interest rate of approximately 3 percent, though that figure could change depending on when the bond proposal might gain approval.
On Monday, town councilors expressed support for the project that had, two years ago, encountered opposition from petitioners opposed to borrowing for the new station.
In response to that challenge, the council formed an 11-member committee, including local residents, to work on the project that now has a final design and a unanimous Police Station Subcommittee recommendation to authorize borrowing for construction.
“Citizen members (of the committee) weren’t all for this project at the beginning and they didn’t all agree,” District 6 Councilor Margo Knight said Monday. “That you come out here with unanimous vote is a high endorsement for this.”
Committee member John Donovan delivered a presentation to the council Monday, including the committee’s recommendation.
District 7 Councilor Sarah Brayman, a member of the Police Station Subcommittee before being elected to the council, said she initially doubted the need for a new police station but came through the process to support the project.
The Town Council can now choose to authorize the borrowing or to put the question to voters in a municipal referendum. The next scheduled general election will take place on Nov. 6.
The council will hold its public hearing on the proposed bond ordinance at 7 p.m. July 9 in the town council chambers at Brunswick Station.
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