Completing high-quality carpentry and finish work in some municipal agencies may take time. Often, when working at other municipal agencies, tasks can take even longer to complete. In some places I have been told about, it takes so long to get anything done that people have stopped trying.
A back story: In Bath, Police Chief Todd Eck was successful in having the March 2025 town meeting voters approve a $50,000 appropriation so the Bath Police Department could be renovated. The small department was located in the basement of the 1910 town hall.
Like in many municipal buildings that are 115 years old, the police in Bath had carved out their space, adding a little space here and then some more. Then, later on, a little more, doing the best they could with what they had. No matter what they did, however, they could never find enough room for what they needed to function comfortably or to meet state requirements fully.
Over the years, as they faced the emerging burden of those state requirements, along with the growth of the town and its municipal government needs, they continually ran out of secure space to store records, equipment, or personnel. So, Chief Eck asked the town meeting voters to approve $50,000 to create more livable working spaces, thereby improving the quality and efficiency of police services in the Town of Bath.
The Chief and a few key players put the show together, so that, as he said recently, (e renovations bring the department into compliance with Criminal Justice Information Security (CJIS) requirements, and they enhance safety for officers who utilize the facility.JChief Eck continued, (anks to the local tradesmen contracted to renovate the police department, who worked diligently to bring the project to completion in the shortest time possible while allowing for the most minimal disruption in police services,(e told me.
He cited area resident Gary Gagnon for carpentry and finish work, Doug Riggie and his team for electrical work, Alan Gagnon for plumbing and heating, Rich Clifford for concrete work, and Glenn Comstock for computer technology.
He noted that (e new facility would be unfinished and less than it is if not for the generous, selfless, uncontracted, donated contributions of time, labor, materials, and furnishings made by local residents and members of other neighboring law enforcement entities.JChief Eck also gave special thanks to Chief Chad Morris of the Lincoln Police, Chief Derek Sullivan of the Lisbon Police, Rick Vance of the Bath Highway Department, and Sgt. Camden Elliott of the Bath Police, Carl Shallberg, a resident of Bath, and Robin and Gary Gagnon, residents of Bath. He said he was overwhelmed by friends from the town and the police department who just kept giving him credit for the success of the recent renovation program.
He said the th Police Department Renovations of 2025 are dedicated to the residents of Bath, NH, with gratitude for their generous support of the police department.
Chief Eck came to the area from Pennsylvania, where he had completed his college and police academy training. He has been a member of several police agencies in the region since joining the Haverhill Police Department as a patrol officer in 1997.
He later joined the Grafton County Sheriff Department, serving for several years under sheriffs Charlie Barry and Doug Dutile. He was then appointed the training officer at the Grafton County Jail and
House of Corrections, retired in 2004, and worked part-time with several agencies, including Wentworth, Piermont, Haverhill, Bath, and Lisbon.
When Rick Tyler retired as the Bath Chief, Eck assumed that position on a part-time basis. In 2023, Bath hired its first full-time officer, Sergeant Camden Elliott, who remains with the department, along with Chief Eck, who is a part-time employee.
He said the 2025 expansion of the Bath Police Department will ensure that the town of Bath is set for success, as it has always been since its founding in 1765.

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