Tyngsborough OKs $6.4M for Public Safety Complex

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 27, 2026

Tyngsborough Town Meeting approved $6.4 million to buy and design a combined police and fire headquarters at 100 Potash Hill Road. The two-thirds vote, needed for a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion, passed with 11 recorded no votes; the question now goes to a townwide ballot December 5. Town Manager Colin Loiselle said the town negotiated a $4.95 million price for the former Lowell General Hospital building after competing against an all-cash nonprofit offer, with the Select Board capping the full project, including construction, at $35.4 million.

Fire Chief Wes Russell told the meeting "we are in a position where we have to do something," while resident Thomas Foster called the design-cost estimate "an insane number to be honest with you." A companion article authorizing the acquisition itself, Article 9, passed earlier by simple majority. Town Meeting also adopted a non-criminal disposition bylaw, 116-53, and new reconsideration and speaking-time rules for future meetings.

In the full story:

• Opening Business and a Temporary Moderator
• Articles 1 through 6: Routine Finance Articles
• Article 7: Town Meeting Rules on Reconsideration and Speaker Time Limits
• Article 8: Non-Criminal Disposition Bylaw
• Article 9: Authorizing Acquisition of 100 Potash Hill Road
• Article 10: $6.4 Million Appropriation and December 5 Debt Exclusion
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,142 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 27, 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.