PROVINCETOWN — Planning for a new police station is moving forward despite an increase in the estimated cost and some concerns in the community about its design.

Earlier this month, the Select Board gave the Building Committee the go-ahead to continue seeking regulatory approvals, design work and the bidding process for the new station planned at a corner of Shank Painter Road and Route 6.

But the new estimate — nearly 50 percent more than was allocated — and proposed design have sparked a public outcry, and the the issue was back on the Select Board's agenda on Monday. There isn't much argument, however, about whether a new station is needed.

The existing station on Shank Painter Road, formerly a 1970s-era funeral home, may have a nice appearance from the outside, but it is inadequate for the needs of modern-day policing and poses potential hazards for staff and visitors alike, Police Chief James Golden wrote in an email to the Times on Thursday.

"The building has exceeded its normal life expectancy and needs to be replaced," Golden said. "Constructing additions and performing renovations is not a viable or cost effective option due to the condition of the facility and site constraints."

The new station’s design — a modern take on the fish house at the pier — has garnered opposition on social media. At the Select Board's Nov. 13 meeting, Flansburgh Architects presented the new design, which had been picked by the Building Committee.

Flansburgh, which has a large portfolio of contemporary designs, created the Cotuit Center for the Arts master plan and was chosen to conduct the feasibility study on Nauset Regional High School. The Provincetown police station was "designed to represent this Outer Cape community," according to the architect's website, and would incorporate cedar shingles and board and batten sea walls.

The 2016 estimate for the project was $8.6 million, and voters approved funding at that level during the 2017 annual town meeting. But the new estimate came in at $12.5 million, due to increased site costs and a premium to get contractors to work so far out on the Cape, said Jorge Cruz, the executive vice president of Flansburgh.

“What's happened over time is everybody's busy on the Outer Cape,” he said. “So to get someone out here there’s a 10 percent premium.”

In addition, the town would need to account for 9 percent inflation by 2020, which is when the project would get underway, he told the board.

Select Board Chairman Thomas Donegan said he likes the design and it was a nice mix of traditional and contemporary, but Cheryl Andrews, the board's vice chairwoman, was against it.

“I was kind of horrified when I looked at it,” she said. “I just don’t see anything to like about it.”

The board ended up voting in favor of moving the project along 4-1, with Andrews the lone no vote.

On Monday, Select Board member Lise King brought up the topic again after seeing an outcry on social media about the inflated price tag as well as the aesthetics of the design.

At $708, the cost per square foot of the building is close to other new police stations on the Cape. Wellfleet’s station, which went to bid in 2016, cost $7.1 million or $665 per square foot. Accounting for inflation the station would currently cost $709 per square foot, according to a presentation from Flansburgh. Orleans’ new police station would be $695 and Bourne’s, which has not been built yet, is estimated at $688.

Provincetown has been looking at building a new station since 2012. While the cost is much higher than first expected, Donegan said he didn’t think the size could be shrunk down any more and the price was in line with neighboring towns. The current design includes 13,864 square feet, just slightly above the 2016 conceptual design.

“It’s just expensive to build a police station,” he said.

The building is “about as small as we can get it” while still including all of the necessary components. The Building Committee is eager to receive critical feedback on the design, Golden wrote in the email.

"The (exterior) comes down to community aesthetics as we want a building the community can be proud of while acknowledging that police stations tend to be a little 'boxy' and overly municipal looking," Golden wrote. "This community does not build very many municipal buildings and I think this (like any taxpayer funded building) should reflect the community, its values and the people that it serves."

At Monday's meeting, King asked if it would be possible to go back and look at other designs.

“At this stage in the game, given how far along this has gone I think it would cost us more money,” said Town Manager David Panagore. “There is additional costs to go back and redesign.”

If a redesign was deemed necessary, that would stall the current schedule, which planned to have a bid on the station ahead of the 2019 annual town meeting, where the additional funds would have to be allocated.

‘I don’t know how we do this without spending a lot more money,” Andrews said.

The town manager is working to schedule a public hearing with the Building Committee and the builder to talk about the project. A community forum on the subject is planned for Feb. 9.

— Follow Ethan Genter on Twitter: @EthanGenterCCT