WINTHROP -- Voters more than a year ago balked at the idea of spending $2.8 million to build a single facility to house the town's three public-safety departments.

Now some town officials are wondering if residents would have made the same decision had they known how much it truly would cost to renovate separate homes for each of the departments.

"We're clearly going to be spending far more money. We're going to be spending more time, more energy," said outgoing Councilor James Norris. "We're going to have three separate facilities with each requiring their own training, each requiring their own infrastructure.

"But I can't tell you the vote would have been different (if people had known the cost of each project)," Norris continued. "I like to think there might have been a much closer vote had things been turned around."

The town spent several years looking for ways to improve conditions for its ambulance, police and fire departments. Voters in February 2007 rejected a $4 million proposal to build a single facility, by a 836 to 646 margin.

A scaled-back, $2.8 million plan was even more soundly defeated nine months later. That ballot question, during a general election with greater voter turnout, failed 1,384 to 623.

The second defeat prompted councilors to address each of the department's needs one at a time. The town purchased the former Winthrop Health Center for $330,000 and recently completed $330,000 in renovations, creating a new home for Winthrop Emergency Medical Services, a full-time ambulance department that serves Winthrop and five surrounding communities.

The town has accepted a $767,000 bid to renovate the existing police department.

Having already spent or committed to nearly $1.5 million on police and ambulance facilities, councilors will turn their attention toward the fire department. Architect Philip Locashio has estimated that renovating the existing fire station would cost about $400,000, but a facility that meets all of the department's needs would actually run about $1.6 million, said Town Manager Cornell Knight.

"The cost of doing the work is just more than we'd like," Knight said.

Costs will likely run several hundred thousand dollars above what councilors had hoped, and they will be much higher than predictions town resident James Harrington made prior to the November 2007 vote on the $2.8 million, single-facility project.

Harrington, an attorney who also is part owner of a Massachusetts-based construction company, said in October 2007 that the police and fire stations could each be upgraded for $400,000 or less. Harrington, who was among 30 Winthrop residents on a committee studying a new public-safety complex after the February 2007 referendum defeat, used his estimates to argue in favor of updating the current facilities. Those numbers, and a Kennebec Journal editorial that cited Harrington's estimates in urging voters to reject the $2.8 million project, likely contributed to its defeat, Norris said.

"I found it incredible that the Kennebec Journal gave credibility for some off-hand remarks by James Harrington," Norris said. "I think it may have been sufficient to have an impact on the ultimate vote. The cost of doing these projects individually is exceeding our hopes and plans and we'll ultimately end up spending significantly more than Mr. Harrington suggested."

Harrington maintains that his estimates were accurate based on the information he had at the time. He says the town has expanded renovations for the police station.

"They've added space," Harrington said. "It exceeded the space that I anticipated needing to be renovated. I think if the renovations had been ... more plain-Jane, it could have been less. But if they're looking out for the next 100 years, I'm happy it's staying downtown."

Norris dismissed Harrington's argument as an excuse.

"I categorically disagree with (Harrington)," said Norris, adding that architectural specifications were prepared before Harrington offered his estimates. "That's an excuse Mr. Harrington makes for not doing his homework at the time. It's the same building. It's doing what is absolutely necessary and no more."

Harrington, however, continues to doubt that the building proposed for land located along U.S. Route 202 could have been built for $2.8 million.

"They had no idea what excavation costs were going to be," he said. "I was just trying to protect the taxpayer. I honestly believe the cost is going to be less than if we had gone up there."

The $2.8 million project did include site work and everything else the building would need, Norris said.

Knight, the town manager, never believed the police station could be renovated for $400,000 or less.

"We're making do," Knight said of the current projects. "You can't go back. I think we'll accomplish the goal of having decent, safe facilities for the workers and the community. I wish it could be done for less, but the pricing we're getting is actually pretty good. These are facilities that have significant code violations and needed to be upgraded."

Even if residents had known how much it would cost to rebuild each facility separately, there is no guarantee voters would have reversed course and approved the single-facility plan, Knight said. There were concerns about the location as well as the cost.

Harrington, the local attorney, agrees.

"I think in the long run people will say, 'This works. Even if it's more money, it's in a better spot,'" Harrington said. "There's just something nice about not tearing down old buildings."

Craig Crosby -- 623-3811, ext. 433

ccrosby@centralmaine.com