Village of Hartland presents site options for new police, fire and village hall; bowling‑alley parcel shown as possible site

The Village of Hartland on Wednesday held a public listening session where village officials and architecture firm Keller presented options for replacing or relocating the police department, fire station and village administrative offices, including a privately owned bowling‑alley parcel the village has begun evaluating as a possible site for police and village administration.

The discussion matters because officials said the existing buildings are decades old, need substantial maintenance and do not meet projected space or operational needs: the village estimates roughly $4,000,000 in near‑term maintenance on the current municipal building and large increases in required square footage for public safety operations.

Devin, a project manager with Keller, summarized the firm’s work developing needs assessments and preliminary plans. He said the existing fire facility has about 8,900 square feet and the firm’s estimate of the fire department’s future needs is about 19,800 square feet; the police department’s current building is about 8,500 square feet and its projected future need is about 22,000 square feet. Keller’s drawings for a consolidated police and village administration building show about 36,000 square feet of space in the conceptual layouts shown to the public.

“Looking at properties the village owns is priority number one,” Devin said during the presentation, explaining the team first screened municipal parcels and then a longer list of sites. He described a multi‑year process that began with an earlier architect’s needs assessment in 2022–23 and said the firm has prepared “many” alternative site plans to test feasibility and cost.

Village President Jeff Fannerstil and Chief of Police Tora Misco said the project has been discussed for several years and that rising maintenance costs on the century‑old portions of the municipal building prompted renewed study. Police Chief Tora Misco said the department is “severely undersized” and asked whether the village should continue investing in a building that staff judge will not meet the community’s needs. “Do we wanna stick all this good money into a building that doesn't really serve the community's needs?” Misco asked.

Fire Chief Jamper described current staffing and response performance. He said the department staffs two full‑time firefighter‑paramedics on duty each day supplemented by part‑time personnel, and that the village’s general response time is under four minutes. “We run 12‑hour shifts,” Jamper said; he and his deputy described capacity constraints and training and certification requirements for recruits.

Residents at the meeting raised traffic, parking and site‑specific concerns including access across railroad tracks, floodplain constraints at Hartbrook Park and the loss of a ball diamond if the park were chosen for new construction. Multiple speakers asked whether trains crossing the village rail line would delay emergency vehicles. Chief Jamper said crews often dispatch a smaller chase vehicle when a train is present and that dispatch coordinates routing to reduce delays.

Keller presented a long list of sites the firm reviewed or screened out, including village‑owned parcels at Cottonwood and Centennial parks, Zion Church and Zion School parcels, the existing fire station site, and other downtown and park properties. Presenters said they briefly evaluated but had not previously had an opportunity to fully study a nearby privately owned bowling‑alley property that village officials now say they are evaluating seriously as a potential site for police and village administration; they said fitting all three functions — police, fire and administration — on a single site appears unlikely because of site size, parking and apparatus‑turning requirements.

On cost and funding, presenters said preliminary concept costs for a new consolidated facility are in the multi‑tens of millions. Officials described a financing scenario using a roughly $28 million borrowing plan, and said that borrowing and debt service would be spread over two decades; presenters also told residents the village plans to evaluate sale or reuse options for existing municipal properties. A village official briefed the room on next steps: if the village board approves a resolution of necessity the board will order an appraisal of the privately owned parcel; environmental and engineering studies would follow once a preferred site is selected.

Village President Jeff Fannerstil told the meeting the board plans to consider a resolution of necessity at its Aug. 25 meeting; if the resolution passes the village will seek an appraisal and then enter into negotiated steps that could include a purchase or other transaction. Presenters cautioned that detailed environmental and engineering work, and any required rezoning or plan‑amendment work, will come later in the process and only after a site is selected.

Several residents asked about schedule and public input. Presenters said they plan to continue public outreach, offer tours of police and fire facilities and to post materials on the village website and meeting agendas. Officials said they expect to narrow options in the coming months; they estimated a preferred site could emerge by late fall and said construction — if the board approves a plan and funding — might begin in the spring following final approvals.

The village posted presentation boards in the meeting room and provided plans and contact information; attendees were invited to request one‑on‑one follow‑ups, request a tour of the police or fire facilities, or provide written comments to village staff.

What’s next: the village board will consider a resolution of necessity at its next scheduled meeting; if approved, the board will commission an appraisal of the privately owned parcel under consideration and proceed with further engineering and environmental review before any purchase or construction decision.

(Reporting note: the presentation and Q&A were the basis of this article. Direct quotes are attributed to named speakers in the meeting transcript.)