Police Affected by Economic Downturn

By Meghan Muldowney
Darien News Review Posted: 11/20/2008 10:00:00 AM EST

In light of the economic downturn, the proposed renovations to Darien's police station have been put on hold, along with all other capital improvement projects with a cost of more than $100,000.

However, the Darien Police Commission and the Police Building Committee urged the Board of Selectmen to revisit its decision to halt the renovation project at Monday's meeting.

"There are immediate needs to be addressed . . . deferring this project does have some immediate costs as well," said George Reilly, chairman of the Police Department Building Committee.

Police Chief Duane Lovello highlighted several projects that were to be included in the overall renovation of the building. The building's maintenance budget was scaled back this year in anticipation of the renovations. Since that has been indefinitely delayed, these projects still need attention, such as replacing the boiler to meet state specifications, said Lovello.

He also said the air-conditioner/heater unit that services the locker rooms is leaking, causing the ceilings to rot. Mechanisms on the locker doors are beginning to fail, and since weapons are stored in some of the lockers, it is important that they are secured.

According to J. Paul Johnson, chairman of the Darien Police Commission, the town has incurred more than $1 million in fees to architects and construction management companies.

The Police Building Committee has received bids for the project that must be committed to by Dec. 22, which have been referred to as "extraordinarily favorable" by Johnson.

"I think our townspeople should know there are significant fiscal costs associated with a delay. I hope we are not stopping the train dead in its tracks for a long period of time," said Elizabeth Mao, a member of the Board of Finance, who stated she was speaking independently of the board.

Another area of concern is the outdoor shooting range located behind the Police Department building.

Members of the police force are concerned that once the library moves to its Post Road site in January, its patrons might complain about the noise from the shooting range, since it is audible in areas surrounding the police department.

"Logistically, it would be very difficult for us to go to another site to train our officers," said Lovello. Using an off-site location would incur additional expenses for traveling and overtime pay, he said.

Fifty-one officers currently train at the shooting range, which is used sporadically all year. Lovello stressed that the range is very safe and that noise is the only potential issue.

The Board of Selectmen agreed that the project was important but that they could not move forward with the project at this time.

"Clearly it's painful to have to delay this. We don't really have a choice here," said Selectman Seth Morton.

Peter Truebner, a member of the Police Commission, said that he was sorry to hear the Board of Selectmen's decision to halt the police station renovation project.

"We don't want to lose our position as a priority project," said Truebner.

"We did pass a resolution," said First Selectwoman Evonne Klein. "When the economy turns around, we will be revisiting these issues."

Other Projects on Hold

In addition to halting the police station work and the planned construction at Weed Beach, which was announced weeks ago, Klein stated in her address Monday night that the board was still looking to save another $200,000 from projects that have already been budgeted.

"As you would expect with a sluggish real estate market our revenue projections are not on target. Although at this point in time investment income is on budget, but the rates are dropping," Klein stated in her report.

In addition, it was announced weeks ago that there is a hiring freeze for town employees. Added to that list this week is a freeze on hiring new library employees, a $100,000 budget item that had already been approved.

When asked about the mandated hiring freeze at the Darien Public Library, Director Louise Berry said she understands the reasoning behind the decision but hopes that the freeze does not last long.

She explained that in times of economic downturn, library usage tends to spike, and signs of that are already evident. In addition, the library will be moving in January to a brand new location that is much larger and will require even more help from the staff.

These latest cutbacks leave an additional $100,000 that Klein is looking to save by "defund[ing] projects to fill the remaining gap."