New Canaan Police building committee signs contract with architect

A firing range is one amenity the Police Building Committee discussed before they agreed to a design agreement with Brian Humes of Jacunski Humes Architects, LLC.

The committee voted unanimously to hire the Berlin based architectural firm on Wednesday Feb, February 24 to determine the site needs and options for the department presently housed in the 95-year-old facility.

The 27,000 square foot retrofitted school on 174 South Ave. lacks space for law enforcement needs not foreseen 38 years ago when it was last renovated, such as lockers for female officers, amsimulated training area and ample space for computer equipment, police officials say.

Humes was asked to focus on three options on the same property for a building he expects to be 24,000 to 26,000 square feet, designed to accommodate 50 sworn-in officers. Humes said his preliminary design work would probably take 12 weeks.

Option A entails renovating or rebuilding the existing building, with the existing façade; Option B includes demolishing the existing building on a new footprint while considering a façade that emulates the current building; and Option C would be to build a new headquarters behind the current building and repurpose the existing building for a town purpose.

The small architect firm, with seven employees, has done other projects for the town including constructing the EMS building, building a garage addition, replacing a boiler and completing a roof repair.

Humes gave a presentation on Thursday, Feb 11 to show what other buildings the firm has built and renovated, including the $43 million Stamford Police Department designed to accommodate 350 sworn in officers.

The neighboring city’s building includes an eightlane firing range, a new-age booking area and cells that are considered safe for detainees. The facility is 100,000 square feet and has a 100,000 square-foot, fourdeck parking structure.

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said the committee should consider a firing range. The present range, in the basement, is no longer usable.

Committee member Amy Murphy said she thought the committee was “off” the fire range and it was no longer being considered.

“No, no, no. no we are not off the firing range,” Police Commission Chairman Paul Foley said.

Committee member Penny Rashin said the town could still go forward and get costs, but “we are not committed to it, just seeing what the parameters are.”

Moynihan explained that he had considered joining forces with Wilton on building a range, but the town would share costs, which he estimated would be around $500,000.

Foley asked Humes if the police headquarters currently being built included firing ranges.

Humes said less that 50 percent of new police headquarter projects were including fire ranges, since it makes sense to share them, because the rarely used facilities have equipment that is rugged enough to last.

Hume noted that the Darien’s fire range was near by.

Police Chief Krolikowski said that he had spoken with Darien Police Chief Donald Anderson and he “is not that thrilled with additional use of his range,” because the noise created when it is in use disturbs people in nearby offices. Also, there are issues with the ventilation, the chief said.

Committee member Stuart Sawabini said if New Canaan had a firing range, three lanes would probably suffice.

Humes touted his experience renovating several firing ranges, and said he “brought back to life” Trumbull’s which had been out of use for “quite a few years.”

The head of the architect firm said New Canaan could also consider a simulated range in a 25 by 30 foot space.

Humes showed pictures of Stamford station’s cells designed to prevent suicide of detainees and said there has never been an “accident” at any of the facilities his firm has built or renovated.

He also showed two booking rooms to process arrests where mug shots can be taken and the police are behind a barrier designed for “officer safety and security.”

In his presentation he gave examples of repeat customers such as in Dennis Massachusetts where he started in 2005 by building a police headquarters and has been hired back to do five other projects including Town Hall and the Senior Center.

The present 27,000 square New Canaan Police Station could be renovated, but some of the asks the committee listed, such as a larger community meeting room, could not be accommodated, since there are existing walls and construction that is limiting, Humes said.

He cautioned that if the present space is renovated, the town would need to find places for three important police functions while the construction is taking: one for prisoner detention, another for dispatch and a third for personnel and administration.