FARMINGTON — Few residents turned out for a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed $2.75 million new police station. Voters will get their chance to decide the issue on Tuesday, Nov. 3, by secret ballot, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

The proposed station would be built on a piece of town at the intersection of High Street and Farmington Falls Road. It would be where the former highway garage was located, prior to a new facility being built years ago off Cascade Leisure Brook Road.

The building would be about 9,000 square feet compared to about 1,500 square feet police officers currently share at the municipal building.

It would be paid for by a 30-year bond and at the highest year of debt, the second year, the payment due would be about $200,000, Davis said.

Based on the town’s valuation, it would add about $50 on a tax bill of a $100,000 property, if things stayed about the same, he said.

He believes they could get a better rate than the 4½ percent those figures were based on, Davis said, which would lower the tax bill increase. Town officials would also work to try to keep costs down in other areas.

The building would be built to allow for expansion if necessary in the future, for both an addition and second floor.

Besides several offices to meet the needs of the department, there would also be a conference room with seating for 64, exercise room, equipment storage lockers, evidence processing and storage, interview rooms, file storage room, and a two-bay garage to house vehicles. There would also be an outside, fenced in impound area.

A geothermal heating system and radiant floor heating are also in the plans, architect Craig Boone said.

“I think it is well thought out,” former Selectman Charles Murray said. “It is certainly needed. I hope voters will pass it.”

Police Chief Richard Caton III said there will be an open house at the existing station from 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14, for anyone interested in seeing the facility.

During the regular selectmen’s meeting, the board voted to reject a request from The Children’s Center to include an article in the town meeting warrant to raise and appropriate $3,772.50 for support of the agency.

The board stuck to its policy of not funding any additional agencies, other than those that are already funded.

The Center, a private nonprofit agency based in Augusta, served six families in Farmington, according to a letter sent to the town, Vice Chairman Jon Bubier said.

The Center provides family-focused services for children and specializes in meeting the developmental needs of children with special needs and their families, according to its Web site.

The board also voted to apply for a grant for an Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant for a SolarWall, a solar thermal hot air system to be installed at the wastewater treatment plant.

The cost is $35,052 with the town responsible for 10 percent, which is $3,505.20, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

If they do get the grant, he said, that money would come out of a Sewer Department reserve account.

In other business, selectmen commended Davis for another year of hard work as part of his annual performance evaluation.

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