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Board considers City Hall remodel and temporary police space at new Public Works building; $40M police plan may be delayed
Summary
Staff presented options to use remaining bond funds and to repurpose space at the new Public Works facility as a short-term solution for police space; the planned $40 million police station would likely be postponed while road projects and bonding needs are prioritized.
Bruce, city staff member, briefed the board on capital priorities and said the city has remaining proceeds from a prior bond issue and several competing projects.
"If you remember a few years ago, we did a $17,000,000 bond issue... I think $6,100,000 left in the fund," Bruce said, and proposed paying some projects from that existing bond balance including a reduced City Hall remodel estimate of roughly $650,000 and planning funds for police station design.
Bruce told the board the latest planning estimate for a full police facility option was roughly $40,000,000 and said, "the police station is gonna have to be pushed down the road, I don't know how many years, maybe as many as 4 to 5 years, so that we can get the 2 road projects completed."
Board discussion focused on two large street projects (South Waldron widening and Blair Road West) that together show multi‑year expenditures of roughly $24 million in the draft capital schedule; staff said the city likely will bond for those road projects and that doing so constrains the ability to bond simultaneously for a new police facility. Bruce described an option to move city administrative offices (finance, human resources and remaining administrative functions) to the upstairs area of the Public Works building and use existing City Hall space as a temporary "band aid" to create short-term space for police for several years.
Gary, city staff member, offered a high-level cost estimate for build-out of the undeveloped Public Works second-floor area: "We're looking at under a million dollars. That is a guess being put on the spot." Board members cautioned that any move would require detailed design, separation for court functions and public meeting space to remain accessible.
No formal board decision was recorded; staff said they will return with refined estimates and schedule options. The board asked staff to include design costs, bond planning and schedule impact when preparing the next budget iteration.
