NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — Once again voters in North Kingstown will decide if they should build a new middle school and public safety complex, after they rejected what some called the "mega bond" last year.

But instead of voting on a single bond questions for both projects, town leaders have separated the projects for Questions 6 and 7 for the Nov. 5 election.

Frank Sullivan voted against the mega bond last year and he's already voted against the new bond questions.

"They basically sliced and diced the mega bond," he said.

Question 6 would put $60 million toward a new public safety complex in Quonset and build a new fire station where the current safety complex now stands on Kingstown Road.

Fire Chief Scott Kettelle and Police Chief John Urban said the building regularly leaks and there is not enough room for employees, with one working in a jail cell. The current building was originally constructed in 1957.

"There's no running water for a prisoner to drink," Urban said. "Therefore, we are required to call an officer off the road to give a cup of water to prisoners."

Question 7 would would put $137 million toward replacing Wickford Middle School and renovating Davisville Middle School.

Last year, the proposed project was to combine the middle schools, but Superintendent Kenneth Duva said they changed that this year after speaking with voters.

"We made changes to our plans specifically making sure we keep two middle schools in town for our students," he said.

Target 12 visited Wickford Middle School last year, which school leaders said is inaccessible to wheelchair-bound students and not equipped for 21st century learning, with the server rack located in a bathroom under water lines.

"The building needs a lot of work," Duva said.

The combined total of both bonds is just under $200 million, about $22 million less than the original "mega bond." But the price tag is still at the top of Sullivan's mind and worries the cost of the projects could go up, like it did in Warwick.

"Just after they put a bond through for over $300 million, they're asking for another $40 or 50 million," he said. "It's outrageous."

If both bonds pass, North Kingstown residents with a home value of $450,000 would see their tax bill go up by $189 in the first year, followed by a $382.50 increase in year two.

Both Kettelle and Duva said the proposed budgets accommodate any unexpected expenses and could be eligible for reimbursements and grants.

But Kettelle warns that if the bonds don't pass, the project costs could go up with inflation.

"We could have built this for $39 million, and then it got pushed off to '23 and it was $55 million," he said. "Now this year, it's $60 million. And the scope hasn't changed. In fact, we started out at 52,000 square feet. Today we're at 48,000 square feet."