Freedom Gets New Police Station

Freedom — February 6, 2012 — The construction manager responsible for building the town’s new fire and police stations has given the facilities’ keys to the selectmen. An open house is scheduled for Saturday.

Last year, voters at town meeting were asked for up to $1.2 million to build an addition on the fire station and an attached police station on Freedom Village Road. Of that, $1,070,000 would come from a bond. The remainder would come from the capital reserve fund for new buildings and land. But selectmen were able to lower the cost to $900,000. Up to $770,000 is to be raised by taxes and the remaining $130,000 is to come from the capital reserve fund. Ground breaking was held in August.

The project came in on time and on budget, selectmen said. An open house will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday,  Feb. 11. Opening remarks will be made at 9:30 a.m. and state Rep. Mark McConkey (R-Freedom) will read a letter from Governor John Lynch.

Construction manager Todd Desmarias, of Raymond Desmarais & Associates, said the project went smoothly. Desmarias is a Freedom resident who currently serves on the school board.

“As a resident of Freedom, I feel a sense of ownership as well as pride in what we produced as a team,” said Desmarias. “I am referring to the selectmen, the town’s people, architect and civil engineer as well as all of the subcontractors and suppliers.”

The police station will feature an evidence storage space that meets law enforcement standards and also an interview room that’s designed to provide privacy. The old police station, located in the town office on Old Portland Road, didn’t have those things. Police chief Josh Shackford was pleased with the new building.

“I’m a lucky boy,” said Shackford. “I’m happy.”

Two bays were added to the fire station. Now it has five bays.There are doors on either side of the fire station so that there’s no need to move trucks around in order to respond to a call. The fire station in the village will still store equipment that’s used on a seasonal basis.

Fire chief Gene Doe said the new station was a vast improvement over the old one. The new station’s air quality will be much better than the old station because the new fire station has a ventilation system. Signage and landscaping for the safety complex will be completed in the spring.

Assisting the project design team were Custom Concepts Inc. and White Mountain Survey Inc. Subcontractors and suppliers included: G.W. Brooks & Son, Inc.; Firm Foundations; Ossipee lake Floor Company; Silver lake Home Center; Hancock Lumber; Issac Labbe Masonry; Kondrat Construction, Inc; Coleman Concrete, Everett Construction; North Conway Incinerator; Bill Elliot; Superior Insulation; Chester Johnson Electrician; Kelley Brothers; Accu-Temp Mechanical Contractors; Apex Plumbing & Heating, Inc.; Architectural Woodwork; Maple Ridge; Tilton Trailer; S.W. Cole Engineering, Inc.; Lakeside Security & Communications; Roger Richard; Steven Desmarais; White Mountain Overhead Doors; Shawn Bergeron Technical Services, LLC; Mark F. Thurrell; Granite State Glass, Inc.; Charrett’s Flooring; NH Aluminum Co. and Ela Sheet Metal.

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