Neal Announces $1,000,000 for the Combined Lee Public Safety Complex

Today, Congressman Richard E. Neal joined State Representative Smitty Pignatelli and Lee Town Administrator Christopher Brittain to announce a $1,000,000 earmark for the Combined Lee Public Safety Complex.

The allocation was made possible through Congressionally Direct Spending (CDS) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Congressman Neal included funding for this project in the Fiscal Year 2024 spending bill that was signed into law by President Biden on March 9, 2024.

"As a former Mayor, I have a great appreciation for not only the important role a town's Fire and Police Departments play in our day-to-day lives, but also the challenges our emergency personnel are confronted with each and every day. That is why I am pleased to join State Representative Pignatelli and Town Administrator Brittain to announce a $1 million earmark for the Combined Lee Public Safety Complex," said Congressman Neal. "Congress has the fundamental responsibility to oversee the expenditure of the public purse, and investing in emergency services to ensure the safety of our constituencies is certainly a worthwhile investment. This announcement will help bring this long-awaited project to fruition, providing the Lee Fire and Police Departments with the tools they need to adequately serve the Lee community for years to come."

Built in 1912, the Lee Fire Station was constructed at a time when firefighters were using horse-drawn vehicles to fight fires. As a result, the current building is structurally unsound and inadequate to support modern-day firefighting equipment, requiring the Town to custom order trucks to fit the station's small bays. The Fire Station also lacks important safety features for firefighters and sufficient storage room for medical records and supplies. In addition, the Lee Police Department has outgrown its current station in the historic Lee Town Hall. A space-needs assessment study found that the current 1,600-square-foot facility falls well short of the required 10,960 square feet of space to accommodate the Police Department.

"The Town of Lee is deeply grateful for the generous grant which will have a significant impact on our public safety facility," said Lee Town Administrator Christopher Brittain. "We are honored that Congressman Neal has joined us for this important announcement."

The proposed new combined public safety facility would house both the Lee Fire and Police Departments in a 37,661-square-foot public safety complex. The effort to regionalize these services will provide better emergency services and faster response times for constituents. The project will include a training tower for personnel and will revitalize an underused area in the Town of Lee.

Under guidelines issued by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, members of Congress requested CDS funding for projects in their state for Fiscal Year 2024. CDS requests were restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments, and eligible non-profit entities, were permitted to receive CDS funding.

This project is one of thirteen CDS projects submitted by Congressman Neal, totaling nearly $15 million in investments throughout the First Congressional District of Massachusetts.

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