Re: [lexington] What is that giant tower behind the police station?

[THOMAS FENN]

I can not agree more. 

I am angry at myself as a pct 9 town Meeting member for not watching more carefully, and very disappointed in Both the Lexington Planning/Board of Appeals and the Historic Districts Commission for approving that. I was under the impression that we have zoned a specific area of town for cell towers and I don’t believe it’s in our center. The monstrous police station structure is bad enough, but to add that horrendous metallic pole is truly an eyesore at a major gateway to our beloved  historic town. This was a bad decision and is such a disappointment.

Tom Fenn

Pct 9

Sent from my iPhone

The Fenn Family

On Apr 9, 2024, at 5:49 PM, Jeanne DeSanto via groups.io <jeannedesanto=veriz...@groups.io> wrote:

I just noticed a giant new tower (looks like a cell tower but not really) where the new police station is. It’s shockingly ugly, obtrusive and out of place (I mean the tower, not the police station).

What is it?

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[Sanjay Padaki]

This was discussed as part of the Police Station article in STM 2022-1. Please see FAQ #19 at https://lexingtonma.gov/FAQ.aspx?TID=54

Regards,

Sanjay Padaki

Precinct 8

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[ajfr...@aol.com]

First, when writing to the Lexington List, please include your name and please do not cross post to the TMMA list.

 

Secondly there were all kinds of announcements about meetings seeking community input to the new police department building design.  That input included the need for a public meeting room and office space for social workers to augment the police for certain calls.  Other reasons for the increased size were based on:

    -    the need for more office space, e.g. for the detectives

    -    much more room needed for evidence with much having to be stored in trailers

    -    creating indoor parking for police cruisers, to ease response during winter conditions and so the 

          cruisers will last longer if not exposed to the weather year around

    -    increased vehicle maintenance space

    -    the need for a larger lobby

The final plans were heavily vetted by the Public Buildings Committe, the Appropriation Committee and the Capital Expenditure Committee before coming to Town Meeting.

 

Lastly, from a financial standpoint it's not appropriate to speak about trading a building project for employee salary increases or subsidies.  A building project is a capital expense which is covered by a bond issue where the cost to the residents will go down once the bond has been payed for.  The other is an operating expense which will increase over time.  

 

Andy Friedlich

Pct. 5

In a message dated 4/10/2024 2:11:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ett094=yaho...@groups.io writes:

 

Yes and I voted against that grotesque building then and was shocked that not much more public awareness was done. 
I wonder whether our police officers would rather have a pay raise and/or subsidy for buying a house in Lexington instead- but hey they end up  having a monster building in the middle of town. Next time you see a police officer ask them what their preference is - I did.
On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 10:32 AM, Borgers, Christoph <christop...@tufts.edu> wrote:

We voted specifically on the police station. It was on the ballot.

From: lexi...@groups.io <lexi...@groups.io> on behalf of Jeanne DeSanto via groups.io <jeannedesanto=veriz...@groups.io>
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 10:12 AM
To: Thomas Fenn via groups.io <Tjek123=aol...@groups.io>
Cc: lexi...@groups.io <lexi...@groups.io>, LexTMMA <lex...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [External] Re: [lexington] What is that giant tower behind the police station?
I’ve seen more and more “how did this ever get approved?!” kind of projects around town and I can’t figure out who is responsible.

Take for example the night lighting in the center running along the left hand side of Mass Ave heading east towards Arlington. It looks like a landing strip at Logan at night - the lights are way too tightly packed together given their height and lumens. I’m just hoping it was designed that way in anticipation of trees growing in. It’s sad, though, when you can’t wait for the years to pass for something to look better. That “runway” in the center strikes me as though someone made a big mistake with my tax dollars. I appreciate better lighting for sure. But this is way to much of a good thing gone bad.

Or another example is the new roundabout at the intersection of Hancock and Bedford streets. I’m a big fan of these in general and that intersection certainly needed one desperately but I have a video of a fire truck trying to maneuver around the tight turn. The diameter (Lilliputian) made it unnecessarily difficult and the fire truck ended up coming to a stop, then speeded up to a slow roll and then it had to drive up onto the circular curbing. If people had been standing there it would have been an even bigger unsafe mess. It gave me a chuckle until I thought about whoever may have needed that truck to come to their rescue fast. How did that small size ever get approved?

On the other end of the spectrum is our ginormous police station. It, too, makes me chuckle every time I drive by. Reduce, reuse recycle - except when it comes to town buildings I guess. I think it’s larger than the Concord Prison (kidding not kidding). The oversized building coupled with the looming new communications tower behind it makes me feel like we are more than ready for any and all end-of-world events.

So from our undersized rotary to our larger than life police station to our Logan airport lighting in the center - leaves me wanting more Goldilocks project execution with my precious tax dollars. Not too big or too much or too small. Let’s get back to making these projects just right.

(Meanwhile, shame on me for ignoring town elections. For sure I’ll be dragging myself out to vote next time!).

On Apr 10, 2024, at 9:02 AM, Thomas Fenn via groups.io

<Tjek123=aol...@groups.io> wrote:

I can not agree more.


I am angry at myself as a pct 9 town Meeting member for not watching more
carefully, and very disappointed in Both the Lexington Planning/Board of
Appeals and the Historic Districts Commission for approving that. I was
under the impression that we have zoned a specific area of town for cell
towers and I don’t believe it’s in our center. The monstrous police
station structure is bad enough, but to add that horrendous metallic pole
is truly an eyesore at a major gateway to our beloved historic town. This
was a bad decision and is such a disappointment.


Tom Fenn
Pct 9

The Fenn Family

On Apr 9, 2024, at 5:49 PM, Jeanne DeSanto via groups.io
<jeannedesanto=veriz...@groups.io> wrote:

I just noticed a giant new tower (looks like a cell tower but not really)
where the new police station is. It’s shockingly ugly, obtrusive and out
of place (I mean the tower, not the police station).

What is it?

Caution: This message originated from outside of the Tufts University organization. Please exercise caution when clicking links or opening attachments. When in doubt, email the TTS Service Desk at i...@tufts.edu<mailto:i...@tufts.edu> or call them directly at 617-627-3376.

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[rllo...@rcn.com]

Dear TMMs,

     Having sat through many hours of design review regarding the police station as a Commissioner of the HDC I think I can shed some light on this subject:

1. The old police station was inadequate for the current tasks of the police dept. and after good faith attempts to incorporate at least part of the old building into a new design, HDC agreed with the Select Board and its architect that it could be demolished and replaced subject, of course to design review by HDC. The size of that building is, of course, related to the scope of activities therein, which have been detailed in another post. New construction always shrinks to the eye as final details and landscaping are applied so I would ask you to judge the final result which has yet to be seen.

2. The Lexington Police Department was quite convincing that it needed the central location it currently occupies in order to adequately service all areas of the town (rejecting the Liberty Mutual bldg on Bedford St),  so HDC and the architects  worked diligently to come up with a design that met the needs of the LPD while architecturally respecting the existing 'campus' of town buildings.

3. The communications tower replaces an older, shorter tower that was immediately behind the old LPD and the new one is taller to meet modern communication requirements. The HDC made every effort to have that pole placed outside the Historic District but the nature of that setup requires the electronics to be close to the antenna, so public safety took precedence over appearance, as was the case with almost everything about the police station.

4. On another note related to the police station, there will be construction of a solar canopy at Fletcher Field which will also look large compared to grass but will allow the police station to be carbon neutral, frame Fletcher Field, and provide some sun shelter and electricity and water for the farmer's market.

Best regards,

Robin Lovett

Pct 8

HDC Commissioner

    

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From: "Sanjay Padaki" <sanjay...@gmail.com> .
To: "LexTMMA" <lex...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 10:52:04 AM
Subject: Re: [LexTMMA] Re: [lexington] What is that giant tower behind the police station?

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