Hampstead residents will have a chance to discuss the proposed financing of a new police station at a public hearing tonight. The project has been scaled back to save about $300,000, officials said.

Town officials initially considered authorizing the sale of state bonds to pay for the renovation and restoration of the old Hampstead Bank building on South Main Street at Shiloh Avenue as a police station.

A more favorable proposal involving tax-exempt bonds to be sold through a local bank will be discussed tonight, Mayor Christopher M. Nevin said yesterday.

The amount needed for a scaled-down version of the original project is $800,000, down from $1.1 million, he said.

In the 1960s, the old bank building served as the town hall and police station. After the town moved its headquarters to South Carroll Street, the old building was rented out as an antique shop, then as a clock shop.

Last year, mindful of its growing police department's crammed space at the Hampstead Town Hall, the Town Council approved buying the old South Main Street building and an adjacent frame house that could be razed for parking.

The new quarters will relieve crowding and provide a safer place to detain suspects until they can be transported to the county jail in Westminster.

A move to South Main Street also provides greater police visibility and easier public access, said Police Chief Kenneth L. Meekins.

After bids on the original design came in at $1.1 million, a planned 3,600 square-foot wing was eliminated.

The revised design also eliminates amenities such as flagpoles, said Dean Camlin, a Westminster architect who created the original and revised designs.

The revised plans still include the renovation of the old building, which has about 1,400 square feet on each floor.

"Renovation and restoration is still expensive," said Camlin, "but the town [officials] wanted to maintain the historical integrity of the building."

Camlin said the result will look nearly the same as the existing building but will have a ramp in front for handicapped access.

The revised version also keeps intact a 440-square-foot area at the back of the building that will house an elevator and stairway, Camlin said.

A major expense, Camlin said, will involve removing a bank vault that was installed before thick concrete walls were constructed.

"The vault's steel door must weigh 5,000 pounds," Camlin said. "And the interior of the vault is a metal sphere, which must be cut into pieces before it can be removed."

The 7 p.m. public hearing at Town Hall, 1034 S. Carroll St., precedes the monthly Town Council meeting at 7: 30 p.m.

Pub Date: 3/09/99