FARMINGTON – After reviewing property options on which to build a new police station, the Police Department Space Needs Committee went back to its original recommendation.

The town property at High Street and Route 2, the site of the former town garage, is the best site, committee member Emily Floyd said.

Floyd wasn’t alone as nine of the 13 members met Monday and chose unanimously to recommend the property to the Board of Selectmen again.

They recommended the site in November and encouraged the board to hire Bunker and Savage Architects to develop a proposed building plan.

Advantages to the High Street/Route 2 site include the fact it’s owned by the town. No properties will be taken off the town’s tax roll. There’s easy access from both roads and public amenities such as sewer and water are already there. It’s flat and ready for development, said Police Chief Richard Caton, who led Monday’s meeting.

At a previous meeting, some members voiced concerns about the small size of the lot and whether other properties had been considered.

Town Manager Richard Davis requested public input on available properties and revisited previous suggestions that he described in a memo prior to the meeting.

The 10,000-square-foot former Rite Aid building was previously up for lease at $8 per square foot or $80,000 per year. A reduced price of $6 or $7 per square foot might be considered for a three- to five-year lease, Davis said after inquiring about the building again. Extensive renovations would be needed and the site is smaller than the town garage lot, Davis said.

The Nickerson lot provides a good location but the building is only about 5,500 square feet and carries a lease of $45,000 a year. The owners are not interested in selling the property and the building has limitations, he said.

The University of Maine at Farmington Facilities Management, 12,245-square-foot building and large parking area would make a good municipal complex but the college is concerned about its own future plans and space needs.

A suggestion that the former Franklin Shoe site on High Street be considered was investigated. Owner Randy Cousineau is willing to sell the town as much as four acres but the property is not highly visible to the public, Davis said.

Davis was contacted by two other property owners.

Richard Hutchinson offered an 89-acre lot near the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department but wanted to sell the whole lot. There is no public sewer there and the location is farther away from where the department responds to the most calls.

A property in West Farmington next to Marvin’s Autobody was suggested by owner Sandra Starbird. A large apartment building is currently there and would have to be demolished. The asking price is $250,000 and the one-plus acre poses issues of size and accessibility on to the busy highway.

After their vote, the committee adjourned to the town site where architects erected posts last Friday to outline the proposed building.