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There have been dozens of op-eds on both sides over the years, and I do not want to waste time rehashing old arguments regarding misleading statements from town officials or attempting to argue back at supporters of the Public Safety Building as it is currently proposed, who will blame the lawsuit for delays, or say that voters who are opposed just do not support the Police and Firefighters in town. It is frankly exhausting to be gaslit in such a fashion year after year while legitimate questions still remain and alternative priorities, equally as valid, exist but are discounted or outright ignored.
Ipswich needs updated facilities for our public safety departments. That is not in dispute, and nothing I have typed out in this letter is at all intended to say that it is. Opposing the Public Safety Building at the intersection of Pineswamp and Linebrook has nothing to do with the need. What is in dispute are the price, the location, and the priorities.
The Public Safety Committee has not confirmed whether the cost of the road work for the “realignment” of Pineswamp and Linebrook that is required by the easements granted for the project is included in the $9.8 million and, from what I am able to find having sifted through meeting minutes and public statements, is that it is not. How is this necessary work going to be paid for?
The Public Safety Committee and the Town have not outlined a plan for how handicap and overflow parking for the church will be addressed should the facility be built. The wheelchair ramp at Our Lady of Hope exits right across from where the parking lot exit for the facility is planned to be, a parking lot that will be, according to the existing plans, significantly lower than Pineswamp Road. How is the town going to address this and the need for significant overflow on-street parking for every service and wake held at the church?
Most importantly to me, as a father of three children in the Ipswich School System, is how we as a town are going to also prioritize our kids. We have all read about the conditions of the Fire and Police Stations in town; they are deplorable and should be replaced. But so are Winthrop and Doyon. Both have no air conditioning, leaky roofs in continuous need of repair, mold remediation issues, off-and-on classroom flooding, and, in the case of Doyon, a heating system so ready to burst it closed the school for a week. Just as the Police and Fire Station are unacceptable for our men and women in uniform, how are these buildings acceptable for our kids? The town’s actual future?
If we push this forward as currently proposed, we run the risk of losing out, again, on a new building for our kids to learn and grow and socialize in. The town still has not explained how they will prioritize both, so in the absence of a clear answer, I choose the kids, and I will do so every single day. What will you choose on September 8th?
Dan Trindade
Ipswich
