Aina de Lapparent Alvarez is reporting for The Berkshire Eagle after years of public debate, Lanesborough, Mass. will soon let residents know where things stand on a plan to build a new police station on Prospect Street. Kristen Tool, chair of the town Police Building Committee, said her group is preparing a slideshow presentation on steps being taken ahead of a coming vote on the construction project. Town residents will be invited to a public information meeting to ask questions and the decision on moving the project forward could come at a special town meeting late this winter or early spring. The most recent cost estimate received was just under $6 million, an amount lower than the first one received, in part because materials prices have decreased. Tool said. Taxpayers rejected a proposed $4.3 million building in November 2021, and the Select Board struck it down before the town voted. In August, the committee moved to combine a police building with an EMS building, to reduce costs and open up funding opportunities. Tool recently met with newly elected state Sen. Paul Mark who advised her to request help from the USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. Lanesborough appears to qualify for a 40-year, low-interest loan and another grant program that could cover 15 percent of the costs. The committee continues to look for more funding sources. “It’s all just information-gathering at this point. Lanesborough residents need to vote on it first,” Tool said. Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.