Above: The PSBC asked me to correct information I shared about their plans for pursuing either a standard carport or alternative solar canopies to shelter police cruisers (image left cropped from Classic Carports and right from Carport Structures)
Public Safety Building Chair Jason Malinowski reached out to me about a story I ran earlier this week. He corrected some details I got wrong from his update to selectmen made last week. The primary point is that whether or not canopies are approved for cruisers isn’t a Town Meeting vote.
Honestly, I was surprised it would be. The expense and choice are well within the budget and scope approved in last March’s Special Town Meeting approval. But when Malinowski explained to selectmen about alternate bids and courses of action, I misunderstood his statements.
Most readers probably didn’t get to the “second page” of the story where I referred to Town Meeting. But those who did are likely the most interested in the building project. So, I felt this called for a new post to highlight the correction for them, rather than just updating the old.
The Chair also corrected my impression that Police Chief Kenneth Paulhus had pulled his ask for the $300K cruiser canopies due to the expense. In fact, the Chief insisted they were needed. (It was Fire Chief Mauro who agreed the Town didn’t need to pay $150K for canopies over SFD’s trailers.)
In response to the police needs for cruiser canopies, the PSBC compromised. Malinowski explains:
ultimately the PSBC decided to make them an add-alternate to the bid in an effort to be cost conscious and not overcommit the Town before bids were received This made it such that we did not have to commit to them now and we could see where the overall bids come in at in early April. The decision would then be made by the PSBC and the ultimately BOS whether to accept or reject the bids.
And, as I previously posted, the PSBC hopes that the expense will be dealt with instead through solar project. You can read about that in my post from earlier this week, now corrected.
At the bottom of the post, it also includes clarification Malinowski shared about the articles that are going to Town Meeting. To read the updated story, click here.
