LISBON — Town councilors hope to work on establishing a new public safety building, consolidating town services, establishing a charter commission, improving communication with the public and supporting staff leadership development better.

Councilors identified the five goals during a Jan. 14 workshop. Some of them reflect longstanding town efforts while others are reflective of issues that have come up over the last year or so.

New public safety building

Councilors have been grappling with the need to move town emergency services to one location to have more space. The Police Department is housed at one end of the Town Hall, and there are two fire stations. Those departments have outgrown their space, according to Councilor Chris Camire.

The idea is not to consolidate the service, rather bring all emergency services into one large building, he said. As the population has increased, so has the need for services.

“With a single consolidated space, we can take advantage of shared common areas between departments rather than duplicating that space (and cost) across multiple buildings,” he said.

There are logistical issues at the emergency services buildings. At the Village Street Fire Station, the building angle in relation to the street makes right turns out of the building difficult, often taking extra time when responding to a call, he said. There are no bunkrooms or showers and some gear cannot be properly stored.

Similar issues exist at the Main Street Fire Station as well.

It would be more expensive to bring them up to all safety codes than to build a new structure, Camire said.

As towns shift from volunteer to non-volunteer fire departments, Lisbon needs to prepare for that, he said. The new building will give the fire department space for paid firefighters.

“To stay ahead of the curve here, we need space to house full-time firefighters before we can hire them,” he said.

At the police station, there is limited storage for evidence, Camire said. Items are being stored in units in the parking lot, further limiting available parking for officers. Officers are having to share more space and some must work in tight spaces. The training room does not meet the needs of the department anymore.

Last fall, councilors approved an EMT ordinance and have been in discussions with Lisbon Emergency for a possible deal to bring the department into the town but a possible outcome of those efforts is unclear right now, Camire said.

“In relation to a public safety building, we will need to be ready to consider space needs for ambulances and staff should the town move in that direction,” he said.

Camire said he does foresee the need for a referendum for funding the building, but officials are still gathering information for residents. The bulk of the work on this project is being done by the Public Safety Building Committee, which has one seat open.

Consolidating services

Another council goal is to work with other organizations to consolidate services, such as finances/accounting, the School Department and the Water Department, according to workshop meeting minutes. Councilors will work to “get buy-in from all entities,” with an understanding about each organization’s goals, according to meeting minutes.

Councilor Norm Albert, the lead coordinator for this goal, did not respond to questions sent via email.

Charter commission

Councilors have been discussing the need to update the town charter since last year and have floated the idea of creating a charter commission. They are hoping the commission will conduct a full charter review, suggest updates to better align with state law and make suggestions for a nonprofit policy, according to meeting minutes.

Albert is also the lead coordinator for this goal and did not respond to questions about it.

Improve communication

Councilor Nicholas Craig is the lead person for improving town communications. He said he hopes to find ways the town can convey more information to residents and help consolidate the channels through which important information is conveyed.

Information tends to be posted in different places, such as the Water Department on its Facebook page and website, but does not always make it to the town website or Facebook page or it gets there late, he said.

“Because of this, I want to identify … disparate communications channels and ensure that when there are items that have widespread relevance to the citizenry that are posted, we are able to quickly disseminate them across the town’s primary communications channels as well,” he said.

He said he believes the town does a good job of being transparent with information but thinks it could do better at letting the public know where to find information or communications. He hopes the updated town website will help better facilitate information to the public.

“This again is a goal I wish to address by identifying the most effective communications channels we can use to ensure that information gets to the highest number of citizens possible,” he said.

Staff leadership development

Councilors will also work on supporting staff leadership development. Though not a lot has been defined in this goal yet, councilors will work to ensure the town manager’s performance evaluation will be done in a timely manner. Last year, it was put off, resulting in a late pay raise for Glenn Michalowski.

They will also ensure that consistent evaluations are carried out for all employees and will consider incorporating a self-evaluation. They will also work to incorporate better leadership succession planning and development, along with staff trainings.