About Project

The Town of Easton is undertaking a crucial public safety & public works facilities replacement project to enhance essential services for our community. The project involves constructing a new combined DPW facility, police and fire headquarters, and fire substation, consolidating multiple outdated buildings. With facilities ranging from 50-70+ years old, these structures no longer meet various health, safety, and environmental codes, and are beyond their useful lives. The estimated cost for this comprehensive project is $150 million, covering the buildings, sitework, traffic signaling, furniture, equipment, and technology. By consolidating the existing 14 buildings into three, the new facilities provide ample space for equipment storage and personnel to work safely, ultimately enabling us to deliver the best possible service to the Easton community.

On September 11, 2023, the project team presented a comprehensive project update spanning the entire project from its inception through feasibility, schematic design and financial impact analysis to the Select Board and community. If you are learning about the project for the first time and are looking for a single document to cover it all, this is a great resource. Please click here to view that full presentation.

Voters will decide whether the project advances to construction or not at the October 23 Special Town Meeting (7:00 PM) and November 4 Debt Exclusion Election (10AM-4PM). Both votes will be at the Oliver Ames High School.

Working Together

Recognizing the urgent need for improvement, Easton voters approved a feasibility study in 2021, which concluded in October 2022 that the police, fire, and public works facilities should be replaced with a consolidated public safety/public works facility at 524 Depot Street and a new fire substation at the intersection of Washington and Main Street. The Municipal Building Committee actively engages the community by sharing design plans and seeking input before obtaining project approval later in 2023. Your involvement and feedback are essential as we work together to create a more efficient and secure future for Easton.

We’ve heard a lot of great feedback during the course of the project, and we anticipate and appreciate questions about such a consequential decision. Please visit our FAQ page to see the most common questions from your neighbors, and if your questions hasn’t been answered there, visit our Contact Us page to reach out.

Tax Impact Analysis

On August 21, 2023, the Town Administrator and project team presented a detailed analysis of the police, fire, and public works facilities replacement project budget and estimated tax and water rate impact. Please click here to view the Project Scope and Budget presentation from PMA Consultants. Please click here for the full Fiscal Impact Analysis Report from the Town Administrator or click here for the abbreviated presentation on the same.

Use the calculator below to estimate the tax impact of the proposed Public Safety and Public Works Facilities Replacement Debt Exclusion Election scheduled for November 4, 2023*

Instructions

Enter your Assessed Value without commas or decimal points into the form below and click Calculate. If you do not know your assessed value, follow steps 2 through 4 below.
Look up your Property Value from the Easton Property Values database.
Search for your Property Address using the search bar in the top left hand portion of the screen.
Click your property on the map. Total value shown under “Valuation” is your Assessed Value.

Enter Assessed Property Value:

Fiscal Year Tax Bill	Estimated Rate Impact	Monthly	Quarterly	Annual
2024 (current year)	$ -	$ -	$ -	$ -
2025 (July 1, 2024)	$0.27
2026 (July 1, 2025)	$1.19
2027 (July 1, 2026)	$1.41
2028-2042	$1.37
2043-2045	$1.23

*Tax Rate Impact reflects anticipated cost of PSW project net of existing exempt debt currently included in the tax levy.

About The Project Team

Kaestle Boos Associates, Architects

Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc. is a multidisciplinary design firm of architects, landscape architects, interior designers, and educational planners, designing for public K-12 schools and safety facilities for 60+ years. 

Weston & Sampson

Weston & Sampson is an employee-owned company of over 750 professionals, providing municipal, public agency, and private sector clients with solutions to environmental and infrastructure challenges for over a century.

PMA Consultants

PMA Consultants is a construction consulting firm, an integrated team of skilled professionals who deliver solutions to your project challenges by providing innovative, construction-focused program and project management services.

Mitchell Associates Architects

Mitchell Associates Architects is a nationally recognized design firm, specializing in public safety facilities. They have been directly involved in 200 projects, where they worked on 335+ emergency services facilities. 

About The Town Departments

The Municipal Building Committee is comprised of nine members, including the DPW director and Easton superintendent, with the remaining seven appointed by the Select Board and School Committee. A minimum of two citizens appointed by the Select Board possess demonstrable experience in building design, construction, operation, or maintenance in order to bring insight to key committee duties. These powers and duties include serving as a building committee for all school and general government building projects valued at $500,000 or more; conducting inspections of all school and general government buildings; assisting the DPW director with the preparation of annual and 5-year capital improvement and maintenance plans; and meeting at least annually with the town administrator, Capital Planning Committee, Finance Committee, Select Board, School Planning Committee, and School Committee to review the 5-year capital improvement and maintenance plans.

The Easton Fire & Rescue Department has been serving the town of Easton for over a decade, currently operating three fire stations that are staffed with seven to nine on-call firefighters/EMTs around the clock, as well as a full-time fire inspector, deputy fire chief, fire chief, and administrative assistant. Serving a population of 23,305 people over 29.3 square miles, they respond to approximately 4,000 calls each year to provide services including fire suppression, prevention, and code enforcement; fire and life safety education; emergency medical services at the advanced life support level; hazardous materials response at the operations level; and a multitude of public assistance services for all hazards.

The Easton Police Department’s primary mission is to protect the town’s residents and visitors by providing the highest quality of police service possible. We incorporate integrity, compassion, and professionalism within our department. Moreover, we encourage teamwork and leadership at every level within the Police Department, while placing paramount importance on the community we serve. Our goal is to build partnerships with our citizens and community leaders to enhance the overall quality of life for everyone.

The Department of Public Works is responsible for the overall operation, maintenance, and capital improvements of the town’s infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, water, sewer, drainage, municipal buildings, traffic control devices, fields, and trees. The department is comprised of the administration, water, highway, and buildings and grounds divisions.

About Project

Working Together