Middletown Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee Meeting - July 24, 2026
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Middletown Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee Meeting - July 24, 2026
The Public Safety 911 Center Building Committee held a community meeting on July 24, 2026, at the Middletown Police Department community room and via WebEx. The meeting was called to order at 7:01 PM and adjourned at 8:02 PM. Residents provided comments and questions, followed by a presentation from the architect Tecton and an open Q&A session. Key topics included the design, traffic, lighting, water drainage, construction impacts, and community safety.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Adams Rubicke (70 Tallias Trail) expressed support for the dispatch center, noting safety issues with radio dead zones. He raised concerns about traffic impact, environmental and health effects of additional towers, and the possibility of a fire station on the site. He asked about solar panels and geothermal options.
- John LaRosa (448 Mile Lane) asked about the proximity of the building to the railroad tracks, traffic (noting his mother was killed crossing Mile Lane), property maintenance (describing the current site as unkempt), and whether the property would be used for anything beyond a dispatch center. He also inquired about a fire station in the area.
Discussion Items
- Tecton Update (Matt Salad): Provided a project schedule: design drawings to be complete by September 4, 2026; bidding late September through early October; bid award before Thanksgiving; construction start in December 2026 or January 2027; 14-month construction, wrapping around Christmas 2027. The site plan focuses on the former barracks building, maintaining access from Mile Lane, preserving and enhancing the tree line, and adding a landscaped berm to screen nearby properties. Parking: 18 public spaces (used for training/service) and staff parking. A secure decorative aluminum fence will protect the facility. The building (6,800 sq ft) includes a 16-seat training room, dispatch floor with eight consoles (currently staffed by 4-5 dispatchers minimum), fitness room, break room, bunk rooms, and a mother's room. Exterior: red brick with brownstone accents. The existing city-owned radio tower will be used; no new tower is needed. The generator will be diesel with weekly tests.
- Director Giuliano: Responded to public comments, stating shift staffing is 4-5 dispatchers per 8-hour shift, resulting in about 10 people on site at most. Traffic will be minimal. The property will be maintained by the communications department. The fire station on Newfield Street is a separate project not currently active. The building will be solar-ready. Generator testing will be scheduled (e.g., weekday afternoons). He noted the building is dedicated as the Chief George P. Dunn Communication Center.
- Resident Q&A:
- Lighting: The architect showed a photometric plan indicating dark-sky-compliant, shielded fixtures that will not spill onto neighboring properties. Residents expressed concerns about existing bright lights from the training facility; the architect said those are not part of the project but noted the new lights will be warm (2700K) and fully shielded.
- Water drainage: Residents reported standing water and runoff from the hillside. The architect stated they are improving stormwater management with a swale and drainage basin to capture and infiltrate water on-site, aiming to reduce runoff onto neighboring properties.
- Construction hours: Expected to follow zoning bylaws (typically 7 AM to 3 PM, weekdays). Potential Saturday work may occur late in the project. Dust control will be required.
- Noise: Minimal noise from the building; generator tests will be short and scheduled at low-impact times. No outdoor PA system.
- Snow removal: Public Works will coordinate with the dispatch schedule; shifts change at midnight, 8 AM, and 4 PM, so removal will align.
- Councilman Genaro: Commented on noise from the firing range at the reservoir, noting studies show complaints do not match actual firing times. He suggested residents contact Public Works for water issues and noted the Planning & Zoning hearing on August 12, 2026.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken on the project; the meeting was informational.
- The next public hearing will be before the Planning & Zoning Commission on August 12, 2026.
- The committee designated Bobby Rower as the point of contact for residents during construction.
- Concerns about water drainage and site maintenance will be referred to Public Works for review.
- The meeting adjourned unanimously at 8:02 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Made it like 50. That is well. Welcome. Good. Good evening, everyone. Public safety 911 Center Building Committee meeting at the Middletown Police Department community room and also hybrid on WebEx. This July 23rd, 2026. And I call this meeting to order at 701. First on the agenda is public comment. If there's anyone online or here in community room, please raise your hand, state your name, your address, and make your comment. Yeah, I mean. Okay. Uh Adams Rubicke, um, 70 Tallias Trail, pretty much the property is right behind my property. Uh, which was an old Army Reserve Center base, Nike Silo, which is no longer in commission. Blah blah blah blah. But I guess I just uh we moved into the neighborhood in 2018. We built our house with the Cochomo Brothers, and I've been a uh member of well, I mean, I I've been in Middletown my whole life pretty much. I grew up in Middletown. Um I'm a corrections officer and I know a lot of um police and fire, you know, guys in Middletown, and I know how integral the dispatch center is and how important it is, and how you know it is a little there are a lot of dead spots in in in the city that creates a huge safety issue, radios not being able to transmit properly, et cetera, et cetera. I guess um my biggest question is how is this project going to impact my lane? How's the traffic gonna look? And what can we expect for I mean, because there was already a tower put up without even us having any sort of way in already, and I don't even know what that tower does really. And I'm just kind of curious, like how is that going to look as we move on uh forward? What could be the environmental impacts and or the health impacts if there will be more towers put up just so that we're just clear on just format uh absolutely take your questions and then when we get to the open questions and answer session, uh we'll be able just to respond and that'll follow uh the tecton update. John LaRosa 448 mile length. Um couple of questions is how close, I mean, I know it's gonna be when they're the railroad tracks, but is it gonna be just on that hill? You know, how far away from the street? Again, like he reiterated, you know, traffic. Um I know we've been here before putting a stop sign there because my mother was ran over and killed right there. About the speed in I can't police won't come out there and rent tickets. Uh second is who who's gonna take care of the property? Because right now it looks like shit. And it's never looked like that, you know, in the federal government hold that they've always kept that property nice, clean and everything. I see the fence is covered in vines. They did they just finally cut the grass. I think it's about two feet tall. They kept it up, even though nobody was there for years. They kept that property up. Those are my only questions. Anyone else? No one online. See no one online and oh, I guess I just have another question. Is this property going to be used for anything other than a dispatch center? I mean, I know that the old building is used as a training center for police and fire, stuff like that. Um is this gonna be like is there gonna be any sort of like how do I say this? Um I lost my train of thought here, but like a uh another like substation police area, like we used to have on Industrial Park Road over at the like the Cromwell line. Used to be a substation over there. And I guess this is a little off topic, but like is there gonna be a fire department in that area or not? You know, they were planning something on Newfield with the rest home used to be. They were planning one for where the rest home was was gonna be the original plan when this property was acquired, but there would be a fire station on that site.
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