Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee Meeting - May 14, 2026
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Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee Meeting - May 14, 2026
Note: The meeting transcript indicates the meeting occurred on April 23, 2026, not May 14 as stated in the meeting instructions. This summary uses the date from the instruction (May 14, 2026) but notes the discrepancy.
The Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee met to discuss the design and budget for the new 911 center, approve a naming proposal, and authorize payments for architectural services. The committee moved forward with a middle-ground floor plan (Option C) and unanimously supported naming the building after longtime public safety leader George Dunn, subject to proper city procedures.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mike (3 Blue Meadow Road, Middletown): Spoke in support of naming the building the "George Dunn Central Communication Center." He detailed Dunn's 52 years of service to Middletown as fire chief, emergency management director, administrative assistant to the mayor, and fire commissioner, highlighting his role in establishing the interlocal agreement with Portland and developing the central communication center. Mike noted that the mayor and the Dunn family were supportive of the naming. He urged the committee to approve moving the proposal forward.
Discussion Items
- Director’s Report: The director reported that geotechnical firm Geodes and surveyor Giuliano Associates had completed site work and would deliver reports shortly. He distributed Option C, a middle-ground floor plan with a smaller conference room and multi-purpose training room.
- Tecton Presentation (Architect): Tecton presented Option C (6,739 sq ft) as a compromise between Option A (7,760 sq ft, $700,000 over budget) and Option B (5,600 sq ft, $1.5 million under budget but lacking programmatic needs). The plan features a secure entry, 16-person training room (flexible as conference room), bunk rooms, break room, fitness room, and mother’s room (also serves as a decompression space). Estimated total project cost: $9,661,668, with construction cost of $7.261 million. The architect noted a favorable bidding market.
- Committee Questions: Members raised concerns about accessibility, functionality vs. aesthetics, access control systems (S2 system with fob and camera integration), bunk room capacity (adequate for normal use; training room can accommodate extra cots in emergencies), and ensuring no critical features from the current space were overlooked (e.g., fire alarm monitoring relay system). The director confirmed Option C meets all operational requirements.
- New Business – 5A: Naming the Building: A motion was made to approve moving forward with naming the building the "George Dunn Central Communication Center." Councilman Gennaro noted the city’s naming code (23-22) requires a public hearing and common council approval. The committee agreed to support the name and forward it to the Public Works Commission and then the Common Council. The speaker (Mike) expressed support for proper process. Motion passed unanimously.
- New Business – 5B: Payment to Tecton: The committee discussed and approved $46,500 to Tecton for schematic design work (35% completion of their $620,000 contract). Motion passed unanimously.
- New Business – 5C: Approval of Schematic Design Option: The committee discussed and approved Option C (the middle-ground floor plan) to move into design development. Motion passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Vote on Naming (5A): Unanimous approval to advance the naming of the building as "George Dunn Central Communication Center" through the proper city channels (Public Works Commission, Common Council with public hearing).
- Vote on Payment (5B): Unanimous approval of $46,500 to Tecton for schematic design services.
- Vote on Design Option (5C): Unanimous approval to adopt Option C floor plan (6,739 sq ft, ~$9.66 million total project cost) for further development.
- Next Steps: The architect will proceed with design development, including detailed access control and security systems meetings. The naming proposal will be forwarded to the Public Works Commission and Common Council. Construction bidding is expected in early fall 2026, with a 14-month construction timeline (completion around Christmas 2027).
Meeting Transcript
All right, good evening, everyone. This is the Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee meeting at Middletown Police Department Common Room. Also held on WebEx. It is April 23rd, 2026, and I call the meeting to order at 6 p.m. All right. Next on the agenda is public comment. If there's anyone from the public wishing to speak at this time, please raise your hand in the uh community room or on WebEx. You'll be acknowledged. Please state your name, your address, and try to keep your comments to five minutes. I do believe we have someone in the community room wishes to speak, and it is three Blue Meadow Road in Middletown regarding item 5A discussion and approval to move forward naming of the building, the George Dunn Central Communication Center. I would hope that this committee would be in favor of that. I would think that they're knowing uh the committee's experience with George Dunn through 52 years serving the city of Middletown in various capacities. Uh 30 in the fire department, leaving as its fire chief, director of emergency management, administrative assistant to the mayor, Mayor Thornton, and fire commissioner for South Fire District. I mean, there's there's a long history with George to the city, and I think that this is a completely appropriate thing to do. Um George was the one in this capacity of administrative assistant to start with the interlocal agreement with Portland, which has been in effect more than 25 years. He also, along with the city's police and fire uh officials, helped develop the central communication center from its beginning from the onset with um a concept of one central answering point for citizens to call on for assistance and for uh assistance for our first responders for dispatching in a coordinated effort. Uh previously they had been separated, which was cumbersome at best, and uh George was key to that. He was also recognized in 2016 for his public safety efforts with the prestigious Michael Green Award. Uh that's not given out to just anybody. Um he's known not only in Middletown and not only in Middlesex County, but statewide for his efforts in uh instruction and firefighting, terrorism. Uh and I I think that this type of facility and this type of town, which he served and gave it gave his life to, I think this would be a great way to be able to honor him. I would um knowing George very long time and having him as one of my mentors. One of the things he's always preached is how you go about doing things politically. George was a guy that didn't do things for Democrats or Republicans, he did things for the city of Middletown, and that over the course of years, over the course of mayors, over the course of common councils. Everybody relied on what George said, regardless of what side of the fence they were on. He truly gave everything for the city of Middletown. I'd hope everybody would be in favor of it. And uh I can't see a better person to honor with this. One background to this. This has been uh going on for a little bit. Once we got the approval for the um for the for the vote on the building, I talked with the mayor at the time, who was um uh Ben Floorsheim, and he was in favor of this, uh, had no issues, and we we said we would bring this up at appropriate time when Ben decided to step down. I had a meeting with uh him and uh Gene Nosera, who would be taking over at that time, and uh Mayor Nessera, now Mayor Nosera, is was in favor of it and still is and uh I think this is pretty easy for everybody to say. Um I had spoken with the family originally when I came up with the idea because there's always a possibility where they prefer not to do something like that. They don't have an issue with this as well, and uh they are pretty overwhelmed with the idea with the possibility of this being done for George. But thank you for your time. Appreciate it. Thank you, Mike. Is there anyone else wishing to speak at this time from the public? Anyone on the all right, and I will close this portion of the agenda and move on to the director's report. Uh sure. So uh this uh month we had uh geodes, our geotechnical forum that uh we approved last month. They were on site doing their work. Uh they should have their report done within the next uh week or so. Uh just finalizing a couple of things with them. And also our surveyor uh Giuliano Associates was also on site uh this week and last week uh finalizing everything. We should have their report done shortly as well. Um I sent out option C that everyone has tonight, which was the uh middle ground for the floor plan with the smaller conference room, multi-room uh training uh room that we'll be uh discussing later on. Uh if anyone has any questions, I'll happy to answer them. Right. Thank you, Director.
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