Decision Time on $40 Million Police Station; Part 1

When the town voted in 1957 to allot $48,000 to build a brand new police station on a town-owned parcel on East Street (image above*), it seemed like a lot of money, equivalent to five nice news homes or ten brand-new Cadillacs. Today, the town is larger, the police force is larger, and inflation has shifted the value of money. The estimated $40 million price tag (assuming the build is also on town-owned land) is equivalent to maybe 60 mid-priced homes or around 800 mid-priced Cadillac CT5s at around $50,000 each.

The 1957 decision to build, accomplished by a Town Meeting vote, involved a substantial portion of the electorate whereas, at least until now, only a few local news junkies have really followed the topic or the work of the ad hoc Police Station Building Committee.

Franklin's $40 Million Police Station: Where Should It Go?

But of late, the Police Station is a hot topic. In part, that’s because of a vote taken by the School Committee this week, to surplus the historic Gerald M. Parmenter Elementary School.

For those who may not have been paying attention, the town is moving forward with plans for a new police station, but where it should be built remains a critical question. With its estimated price tag of $40 million, the project has been in discussion for over a year, yet many residents are unaware of the details.

Timeline of Police Station Meetings

• August23, 2023: The first official Police Station Building Committee meeting was held. Members were sworn in and introduced to the project’s mission and scope.
• January24, 2024: Discussions continued on community engagement and site selection. A Police Station listening session was proposed for February 15, but no specific time was confirmed. The committee also mentioned potential walkthroughs of existing facilities. Additionally, there were references to previous override discussions and redistricting efforts.
• May13, 2024: The committee selected CHA as the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM), a key step in moving the project forward. During override discussions and a day before the School Committee approved a redistricting.
• October30, 2024: Reviewed site selection criteria and reaffirmed that Davis Thayer and Parmenter School were the primary locations under consideration. The Town Administrator expressed concerns about Davis Thayer’s suitability, suggesting Parmenter as the better option. The committee also discussed cost projections, funding strategies, and public engagement efforts, including a planned video walkthrough of the current police station to highlight its deficiencies.
• November14, 2024: Discussed the final selection of an architectural firm, reaffirming KBA (Kaestle Boos Associates) Reviewed site selection criteria and reaffirmed that Davis Thayer and Parmenter School were the primary locations under consideration. The Town Administrator expressed concerns about Davis Thayer’s suitability, suggesting Parmenter as the better option. The committee also discussed cost projections, funding strategies, and public engagement efforts, including a planned video walkthrough of the current police station to highlight its deficiencies

The Parmenter School Controversy

During a July 2024 Town Council meeting, Franklin resident Jane Callaway Tripp voiced concerns about the Parmenter School site. She
highlighted that the Parmenter family originally donated the land to
the town specifically for a school, in memory of their son, Gerald M.
Parmenter.
With Parmenter School set to close at the end of the 2024-2025 school
year, the town is now considering the site for a new police station.

At the School Committee meeting on January 28, 2025, Tripp again raised
the issue by submitting a formal letter to the committee.
However, her letter was met with silence—no acknowledgment or
discussion followed.

And, in a situation which echoes some aspects of the Parmenter situation, Contrarian Boston reports that Somerville's  dreams of a shiny new combo fire-police station have fallen flat after low-balling the land owner with an eminent domain taking. Instead of just $9 million, the owner has now gotten an award of an additional $30 million from a jury. Now the city is scrambling to bring in a private housing developer to help pay for the land!

Meanwhile, Davis Thayer, the original Franklin High School and a former elementary school that closed in 2022,was previously considered as a potential location. Despite this, the Town Administrator has since dismissed Davis Thayer as unsuitable, and is now advocating for Parmenter as the preferred site for the new police station.

But that’s not all There are those who still think the existing station, nicknamed the Taj Mahal by critics when it first opened, could be expanded vertically with a second floor or maybe a parking structure to accommodate more vehicles. Indeed, at least one individual with claimed knowledge of the 1999 building proposal, has insisted that was part of the original build plan for Panther Way.

There are a limited number of other town-owned properties as well as some privately owned properties that could also work, though a consultant hired by the town, has asserted that a large, multi-acre site is a necessity.
Observer will attempt to further unpack the history and issues involved with the Police Station plan in subsequent articles.

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* the police station authorized in 1957 was located behind the main fire station, on East Street. When the police moved out in the early 2000s, the town converted the structure into a youth and community center but then neglected to maintain the heating system so the pipes froze and the resultant flood damage made it necessary to demolish the building.