Portsmouth voters approve new police station

Town will borrow $10 million for two-story building

Jim McGaw
Posted 11/9/16

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth voters overwhelmingly approved a $10 million bond issue to build a new police station that will replace the current one on East Main Road.

Question No. 8 was …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Portsmouth voters approve new police station

Town will borrow $10 million for two-story building

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth voters overwhelmingly approved a $10 million bond issue to build a new police station that will replace the current one on East Main Road.

Question No. 8 was approved easily, 4,620 votes (58.9 percent) to 3,225 (41.1 percent).

The architectural firm Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. recommended building a new 22,0000-square-foot, two-story police station on land behind the current building on East Main Road.

The current 5,000-square-foot police station was built 41 years ago, when the town was much smaller in population and placed far fewer demands on police, Police Chief Thomas Lee said.

Advocates for approving the question say the current station is cramped, outdated and woefully inadequate for a modern-day police force.

“I think it’s an investment for the town — a capital project that needs to be done,” said Town Council member Kevin Aguiar, who won a second term on the panel and was a supporter of the plan from the beginning.

“Now we have to work on the budget and do something there to get control of it, but at the end of the day our police men and women need a new facility and I think we owe it to them to do that.”

Portsmouth Police Department, Portsmouth police station

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.