Hartland residents press board over proposed police, fire and village hall site on neighborhood parkland

Dozens of residents told the Village of Hartland board on July 14 that they were surprised and upset that a proposal to build a combined police, fire and village administration building would use part of a neighborhood park27s baseball diamond along Hartbrook Drive.

The residents said the village did not sufficiently notify neighbors before the proposal reached the board; village leaders and department chiefs said the idea followed a 14-month needs analysis and that only the baseball diamond at the park27s south edge would be affected while other park amenities would remain.

The debate matters because the village is considering long-term, capital spending and a site selected to place public safety services closer to parts of the village; residents said replacing parkland is not a simple exchange and asked the village to use more direct outreach before advancing plans. "What is difficult to understand and, frankly, disheartening is how a decision of this magnitude involving the conversion of our parkland like Harpork Park could advance with so little public awareness or engagement," Hartland resident Kelly Bridal told the board during public comment.

Village President Jeff Fannerstil said the board has been working on the need for new facilities for more than a year and that the process began with a needs analysis for the police department and then expanded to include the fire department because simultaneous construction can reduce costs. "This has been worked on for about, I'm gonna say 14 months," Fannerstil said. He told residents the board had investigated other sites, including a…