MELROSE — On Friday, August 2, Mayor Jen Grigoraitis convened the first meeting of the Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee at Melrose City Hall. Mayor Grigoraitis appointed the committee members, who include city staff and officials, residents with expertise in architecture and construction, and several members of the Melrose Police and Fire Departments including Police Chief Kevin Faller and Fire Chief John White, to advise her administration on the Public Safety Facilities projects approved by Melrose voters in a November 2023 debt exclusion vote. 

Now that the Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee has been appointed and convened, the members will work with the city’s architect, Newburyport-based Dore + Whittier, to advise Mayor Grigoraitis on project design, management and public engagement over the multi-year project timeline. 

The first construction phase of the project is slated to focus on the Melrose Police Department headquarters and the Melrose Highlands Fire Station on Tremont Street. 

Subsequent phases will address the Melrose Central Fire Station on Main Street and the East Side Fire Station on East Foster Street. 

The Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee is composed of the following members:

• Denise Gaffey, Chair: City Planner and Director of the Office of Planning and Community
Development (City of Melrose)
• Allan Alpert: Director of Emergency Management (City of Melrose)
• Emmanuel Andrade: Project Manager and Member of the Public Safety Building Design
Committee (Melrose resident)
• Chuck Borstel: Vice President, Commodore Builders (Melrose resident)
• Sue Cann: Member of the Cemetery Commission and former School Committee Member
(Melrose resident)
• Jason Chen: Manufacturing Capacity Network Manager, Corning and Member of the
Public Safety Building Design Committee (Melrose resident)
• Eric Christopher: Firefighter and Vice-President of Melrose Firefighters, Local 1617
(City of Melrose)
• Thomas Dalton: Communications and Events Manager (City of Melrose)
• Kevin Faller: Police Chief (City of Melrose)
• Martha Grover: Former Sustainability Director, City of Melrose (Melrose resident)
• Councilor Ward Hamilton: City Councilor-At-Large
• John McCarron: Firefighter and President of Melrose Firefighters, Local 1617 (City of
Melrose)
• Paul Norton: Police Lieutenant (City of Melrose)
• Jim O’Loughlin: Retired Engineer (Melrose resident)
• Elena Proakis Ellis: Director of Public Works (City of Melrose)
• Daniel Riordan: Mental Health Detective (City of Melrose)
• John White: Fire Chief (City of Melrose)
The Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee is set to hold its first public outreach and information session for Melrose residents in late September or early October 2024. More details will be made available in the local press and on the city website.
Project funding and history
On November 7, 2023, a 59% majority of Melrose voters approved a debt exclusion in the amount of $130 million to fund the renovation and replacement of Melrose’s four aging and obsolete public safety buildings.
On June 3, 2024, the Melrose City Council approved the first bond appropriation for these projects, allowing the city to borrow an initial $5 million to pay costs for the design and engineering of a new Melrose Highlands Fire Station and new Melrose Police Station.
A debt exclusion is a temporary increase in the tax levy that allows a city to borrow for a specific purpose. Unlike an override, which is a permanent increase in the tax levy, the additional amount for the payment of debt service is added to the levy limit for the life of the debt only. A debt exclusion ballot question can only be placed on an election ballot by a two-thirds vote of the City Council and requires the mayor’s approval.