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Council approves Ramsey campus pole building; police training facility discussion pushed to next meeting
Summary
Council approved $125,000 budget authority to build a pole barn for salt storage at the Ramsey campus and directed staff to return a police training-facility proposal for formal action at the next meeting after additional engineering and timing details are provided.
The Coeur d'Alene City Council on May 20 approved $125,000 in budget authority to purchase and site a pole building at the city's 3800 Ramsey Road campus for expanded salt storage and brine operations, while postponing a final decision on a proposed police training facility until the next council meeting.
Todd Fishner, the city's streets and engineering director, told the council the new 50-by-100-foot building would increase salt storage capacity from roughly three loads to about 17 and improve operations by making it easier to load salt into the brine system. Fishner said a contract with Steel Structures America for $113,310 had been identified; the council approved a $125,000 budget amount to cover the building plus associated site work and contingency.
Police Chief White and other staff described a plan to use the existing salt-storage building'after modification or removal'as a training facility for the police department. Chief White said construction bids for a new training structure starting from scratch produced a lowest bid of about $114,317; including heating and site prep the total would be closer to $135,000, he said. City staff and the chief said it may be cheaper to tear down and rebuild the existing pole barn than to add onto it.
City Administrator Troy Nazario (identified in the meeting as Troy) and engineering staff said they had concerns about timing, reuse of the existing salt building, and coordination with other campus work. An engineer was scheduled to inspect the existing salt structure to determine whether it could be adapted or must be removed.
Council member Dan Gookin had asked at the start of the meeting to add the police training item to the agenda as an emergency amendment; council approved adding it to Other Business earlier in the meeting. After discussion on timing and the need for additional engineering and cost details, council voted to place the police training item on the next council meeting agenda as an action item rather than take final action May 20.
Chief White said the police department has historically had minimal force-on-force training space and that an on-site facility would improve training frequency and quality. Fishner said the city planned to secure the new salt building and have it in place in time for the fall, with a target to be ready by September "to have us ready in time for the upcoming winter season." Chief White and Fishner both said they would coordinate sequencing so the police department could gain access to a new training area without risking salt supply for winter.
Council debate focused on timing, contractor availability, whether to reuse the existing building and associated demolition/disposal costs, and the potential budgetary impact if the city's proposed general obligation bond failed. Several council members said they supported the project in principle but wanted the engineering report and final cost breakdown before final approval.
Actions at a glance: Resolution 25-026 (Ramsey campus pole building) passed; council also voted to bring the police training facility back as an action item at the next meeting.
Speakers and staff: Todd Fishner, Streets and Engineering Director; Police Chief White; Troy (city administrator); Council members who participated in the debate included Dan Gookin, (Dan) English, Christie, Kiki, Amy Evans, and others.
