FARMINGTON — Voters at Tuesday night’s special town meeting approved spending up to $25,000 more from the town’s undesignated funds to complete construction of a garage for the Police Department.

The vote carried with some opposition, moderator Paul Mills said.

Following the town meeting, selectmen resumed their regular meeting and awarded a construction contract to the lowest bidder, Care and Comfort of Waterville. Don Macomber submitted a bid for the company for $94,600. The contract is contingent on a review by the project’s architect. 

Other bids received were $104,172 and $115,425, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

During the annual town meeting in March, voters decided to put aside $25,000 for the next three years to pay for the garage. A local donor, Richard Bjorn, offered to pay the amount above the $25,000, an anticipated $50,000, for the department to get the garage this year.

When bids came in closer to $100,000, the extra $25,000 was sought to help minimize the expense for the donor.

The department does a great job but receiving a new building and adding over $250,000 to the budget in one year is too much for local taxpayers, William Crandall explained.

“We never see a decrease in taxes, not even a leveling off,” he said of this year’s tax increase, partially due to the police budget.

The department needs a garage for the cruisers, storage and for evidence, Jack Peck, chief of police, said.

“There’s no extras,” he said of the garage design.

The garage could cost even more if the department needs to wait three years, he added.

Others agreed with the chief, saying it was time to build the garage and lay the issue to rest for at least a couple decades instead of revisiting it over and over.

The department waited several years for a solution to the cramped quarters at the Municipal Building. Previous solutions, including a new building design, were rejected by voters. Last year, the Franklin Avenue doctors’ offices building was donated to the town for the new police station by Franklin Memorial Hospital.

Crandall, a member of the former police space committee, argued that initially the design for a new building was $1.5 million and the solution meant costs came down by waiting.

“It’s a lot to ask all in one year,” he said. “There are other options that are not going to cost us $94,000.”

Although about 85 voters attended the meeting to primarily vote on zoning ordinance changes that would allow a local store to expand, the numbers had dwindled by the eighth article on the amount for the garage.

Less than  50 voters approved spending the extra money.

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