Police Station Building Committee Minutes

May 11, 2026

Steve Dalessio called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm at the Hooper Institute. Also present were Cheri Watson, Trevor MaLachlan, Jay Punt, Chief Justin Sanctury, Andrew Dey, and Peggy Pschirrer.

The Committee reviewed and approved the contract with Black River Design Architects, PLC.  It was agreed that weekly meetings would be held with Chief Jutin Sanctuary, Mr. Dalessio, and Black River, preferably scheduled for an afternoon, on Thursdays. Chief Sanctuary will be our primary contact with Black River.  It was also agreed that the design changes would be made available in August if the petition for a special Town Meeting is approved by the court.

Mr. Dalessio distributed an outline of fundraising techniques as well as drafts of AI generated fundraising letters.  Ms. Watson has also drafted fundraising letters for local businesses and residents.  Ms. Pschirrer suggested a return envelope be inserted in each letter which will have a suggested gift amount as well as the name of and address of the donor. The envelope will be returned to the Town of Walpole to the attention of Sarah Downing who will be overseeing the fundraising tracking efforts.  It was also suggested we provide a QR code tied to a website at Town Hall for future gifts.

We have verbally been told we have received a federal grant from USDA; Rena Peck is our USDA contact.  The USDA office is minimally staffed. Although we have some information about the grant and its requirements, we are yet to receive everything we need to access the funds.  Our local fundraising the federal grant and a municipal bond of three million dollars are essential to our successful building of a new police station.

Our next meeting will be June 15, 2026.

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm.

Peggy Pschirrer recorded these minutes.

Tagged: police, Police Building, Police Building Committee