Public Safety outlines 3 capital priorities: Special Teams facility, Rutland replacement and Shaftesbury planning

Commissioner Jennifer Morrison told the Institutions committee on Jan. 29 that the Department of Public Safety’s top capital priority is a consolidated "Special Teams" facility to house urban search-and-rescue (USAR), hazardous materials (HAZMAT) equipment, and related special-equipment for the State Police, alongside a regional fire-safety office.

Morrison said the department currently stores specialized boats, shoring and pneumatic equipment, ATVs and other expensive assets at locations that are inadequate for long-term preservation and safety; much of that equipment is held in a VTrans District 5 garage that is not sprinklered and is poorly suited for the purpose, she said. "It is not sprinkled. So we have millions of dollars in assets that are, not sprinkled," Morrison said during the briefing.

Joe Adrian, director of design and construction with Building and General Services (BGS), said BGS is asking for roughly $150,000 in FY27 bond money to begin the programming and planning phase for the Special Teams facility and to develop site-selection criteria. Adrian described the FY27 request as a planning request only: the funds would be used to gather program needs from Public Safety, determine building square footage, evaluate candidate properties (via public advertisement or realtor outreach), and return to the Legislature later for land purchase and construction funding.

The second capital priority is replacement of the Rutland field station. Presenters estimated a replacement project in today’s dollars at roughly $17–18 million. Adrian said the Clarendon site the department purchased years earlier is about 60% through schematic design, and that utilities and access (sewer, a proposed well and a rerouted power line) appear workable for a public-facing facility.

A third, smaller request would begin planning work to replace the Shaftesbury barracks (a leased building on a small parcel); staff said that replacement would follow after Rutland/Clarendon work is further advanced.

Committee members and a long-time volunteer firefighter raised concerns about dispatch capacity and PSAP (public-safety answering point) configuration, asking whether new facilities should include space and infrastructure to support expanded fire/EMS dispatch rather than leaving those services as an afterthought. Morrison said the Public Safety Communications Task Force (established by Act 78 in 2023) is completing work and will deliver recommendations to the Legislature this session; she said the task force’s findings will inform how dispatch capacity is shaped going forward.

Adrian and Morrison described past evaluations of build-to-suit versus purchase: a 2024 build-to-suit appraisal produced lease-rate estimates that staff judged unsustainably high (Adrian cited a prior lease-rate example of about $2,000,000 per year), and some earlier projects were cut when funding ran short. Staff said options under consideration include renovating an existing VTrans District 5 facility, building new on public-safety-owned land, or repurposing the Williston property if it becomes viable.

Officials clarified that the department is not requesting construction funds in FY27; the current bond request is limited to design and planning. Presenters asked to return next year with a formal plan and a price tag and offered to host a field visit for committee members.

The committee did not take formal votes during the briefing. The hearing was adjourned pending further legislative work and any follow-up from the department.