Lake Placid police chief urges new station and accredition to improve training, records and evidence security

Lake Placid — The town’s police chief told the Lake Placid Town Council on March 10 that the police department’s current facility is outmoded and poses security and operational problems that will impede the department’s ability to seek accreditation and to meet evidence- and records-retention requirements.

The chief described the current building as originally constructed in 1969 and converted to the police department in 1996. He said the evidence room can be accessed by climbing over a floating ceiling, there is inadequate server-room cooling, limited parking and insecure exterior camera wiring. “Our Evidence Room…you can get into our Evidence Room through the roof. This is completely unacceptable for a law enforcement facility,” the chief said.

Why it matters: Accreditation can expand access to grants, require clearly documented policies and training, and is often considered a mark of professional standards. The chief said an improved building would enable regular defensive-tactics and simulated-weapons training and better, secure evidence storage — items that, he warned, are currently constrained by available space and condition of the building.

Budget and funding: The chief said the town has set aside money in several sources. He reported that ARPA funds earmarked for the project total $760,670.50 and that the town’s infrastructure fund currently shows $1,600,000 set aside for the project. The chief also said the town expects a recoup amount from sale of the current building and that a property appraiser’s “just value” listing showed $269,133; a later estimate from the town real estate agent cited an estimated value of about $350,000. Using the figures presented to the council, the chief said the current available total would reduce the town’s remaining share to roughly $489,329.50 — but he emphasized that final costs cannot be known until the project goes to bid.

The chief warned costs have risen over time: “When this first came about…we were at $700,000 to build a police department. We're up to $1,600,000 now because we keep delaying and putting off this project,” he said, and proposed a roughly 4,999-square-foot building as a planning target.

Accreditation and training: Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackmon, who spoke at the council’s invitation, described his agency’s accreditation experience and said accredited agencies are often more competitive for certain grants. Blackmon said his office had resources to help Lake Placid pursue accreditation, including offers to provide managerial support from experienced accreditation staff.

Staff follow-up: Town administration and staff discussed funding options and eligibility for a USDA loan; they reported the town may not qualify for the USDA program if it already has the money in its accounts. The town administrator said the ARPA funds were dedicated for this project before the federal deadline and would need to be returned if the council chose a different direction.

What’s next: Staff said they are finalizing bid documents and expect to go to market for construction when procurement steps and required title/survey work are complete. Council members asked for clarified cost estimates and for confirmation of which funding lines would pay for the work and outfitting, and the council discussed timing for procurement.

Speakers quoted in this story spoke at the March 10 council meeting and are listed below.