Saugus Weighs Cost of Third Public Safety Building

Board of Selectmen · Meeting of September 15, 2026

Saugus officials weigh a $30 million to $35 million third public safety building for the west side. Town Manager Scott Crabtree told the Select Board Tuesday the project would also require roughly $1.5 million a year in new staffing costs, funded through a debt exclusion and a separate operational override, similar to the financing structure behind the town's school override, which passed with 71 percent support. Crabtree said the town's nearly $4.5 million public safety dispatch center overhaul, including $525,000 in new communications equipment and a planned 150-foot radio tower, is nearing completion and expected to open in late September or early October.

One Select Board member said "my biggest fear" is the backlash once a specific site is named publicly. The board took no formal votes on the matter, aside from a procedural motion to adjourn into its regular 7 p.m. meeting.

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Source: the Board of Selectmen meeting of September 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.