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Where? That is perhaps the most troublesome question for the Franklin Police Station Building Committee.
There is relatively little undeveloped land in Franklin and what there is generally commands a premium price. So, naturally, almost all the focus has been on existing town properties, especially, as noted, the two surplused school properties, Gerald M. Parmenter Elementary School and Davis Thayer.
But there are other possibilities, too. Below, we start with the constrained Panther Way site of the current police station and move through the usual suspects, and then some...
NOTE: Plot plans are not reproduced at a common scale. They are from the Town GIS system.
PANTHER WAY -- Current Home of the Franklin Police Department
This site is actually two properties. The station building is located on a large, mostly low-lying property that abuts the Franklin High School land and St. Mary's Cemetery. It is on a small fraction of this land. A second smaller parcel has the Police Station visitor parking.
The town GIS plot plan (above) doesn't really make clear how the property is used, so an aerial view (Google), below, is also included.
DAVIS- THAYER: Former High School, Former Elementary School, built in 1924, just over 3 acres (counting the land formerly associated with the Ray School). Located at the corner of Union and West Central. Some like the central location and visibility of the site. Others would prefer different uses.
GERALD M. PARMENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- OPENED Circa 1951.
Located relatively close to I495 and adjacent to King Street at Wachusett. Approximately 5 acres, some of which appears to be wetlands.
EXiSTING FIRE STATION ON WEST CENTRAL(very limited space to expand, other than to a multistory facility) No one has proposed this but many towns have chosen to colocate all public safety departments which typically allows sharing of training rooms, exercise rooms, etc.
EXiSTING FIRE STATION ON KING STREET (very limited space to expand, other than to a multistory facility) No one has proposed this but many towns have chosen to colocate all public safety departments which typically allows sharing of training rooms, exercise rooms, etc. The adjacent privately owned parcel was proposed as a gas station but not approved within the last year.
BEAVER STREET -- OPPOSITE SOCCER FIELDS (approx 4-5 acres, but a source says this site does not have sewer access)
In the end, voters and the town, may just have to roll the dice...
