Committee holds meet and greet with engineering firms for feasibility study

Three companies are vying for the chance to complete a feasibility study for a proposed public safety complex — and a police station-only alternative, which might be more cost-effective for the town. 

For some time, the Public Safety Complex Study Committee has been evaluating locations and approaches to building a larger complex that would house a police station, Wareham’s emergency medical service and other public safety agencies.

However, facing budget constraints, the committee is now also evaluating the potential of building only a new police station. 

In May, the committee approved sending out a request for proposals seeking an engineering firm that would evaluate the spatial needs of both a larger public safety complex and an alternative of only a police station.

Three companies with experience in public safety projects responded to that request: Tecton Architects, DiGiorgio Associates, Inc. and Kaestle Boos Associates. 

Representatives from the three firms attended a Sept. 23 Public Safety Complex Study Committee meeting to introduce themselves.

Jeff McElravy of Tecton Architects said he’s been working on public safety projects for decades, as have many of the others who would work on the project if Tecton were selected. Tecton Architects has two main offices, located in Rhode Island and Connecticut, but they are fully licensed in 13 states, according to the company’s website. 

While addressing the committee, McElravy pointed to a number of examples of police stations and public safety facilities the firm has worked on in Massachusetts. 

Ed DiSalvio, the project manager and lead structural engineer with DiGiorgio Associates in Boston, said the company currently has six active public safety facility projects in Massachusetts. DiSalvio said he knew the town from camping trips each year. 

“Wareham’s a beautiful community,” he said. 

DiGiorgio Associates, Inc. has offices in several states in the Northeast, including a Boston office, according to its website. 

Kaestle Boos Associates, with offices in Foxborough and Boston, also has a background in public safety projects — including the nearby Bourne Police Station. Keith Mercy, a project manager at Kaestle Boos Associates, emphasized the firm’s commitment to completing projects on time and on budget.

The details of the three responses to the RFP were not immediately available. 

Members of the committee scored the responses to the proposals and passed their thoughts on to Town Administrator Derek Sullivan. 

Claire Smith, chair of the Public Safety Complex Study Committee, said Sullivan would be the next person to review the proposals and negotiate contracts.