Hartland trustees say village hall and police department likely to be built at Hartbrook Drive; surveys, appraisal and interior plans underway

Trustees of the Village of Hartland said at an information session that the village is most likely to locate its new village hall and police department on the vacant parcel on Hartbrook Drive, but that Waukesha State Bank still owns the site and must complete its review of a village appraisal before sale negotiations proceed.

"We're gonna end up landing on Hartbrook Drive at the vacant site," a trustee said, adding that the village had an appraisal done and presented it to Waukesha State Bank. Officials said the bank has about 60 days to respond and may obtain its own appraisal before the parties negotiate.

The village described the planned program for the Hartbrook Drive site as housing the police department, administrative offices (village manager, clerk, public works and recreation staff) and a community room for elections and gatherings. Trustees said a separate recreation center is no longer part of the immediate plan.

Police Chief Misco said the department is planning for about 21,000 square feet, with the biggest constraints being evidence processing and storage and staff locker and office space. "We would be looking right around 21,000 square feet for the police department," Chief Misco said, adding that infrastructure upgrades will also be needed.

Trustees and staff said multiple site revisions have been made and that survey work was authorized; surveys and utility marking were expected soon to confirm whether the planned building footprint fits within local floodplain and utility constraints. If the building must be moved because of site constraints, that would affect the layout but trustees said they expect surveys to clarify the design.

The board reiterated its target of keeping the combined cost for both projects (village hall/police and fire) at or under $30,000,000, but cautioned that buying property makes that target more difficult to attain and that final cost depends on market conditions and construction pricing.

Trustees also discussed fire department planning. A consultant study the village received recommended that the village consider moving from an all‑volunteer fire model to a staffed department with four to five people on duty to maintain service levels as volunteer numbers have declined. Trustees said that staffing discussion will come as the projects advance and that a formal decision has not been made.

Clerk Sandy said the new community room would allow all elections to be held at Village Hall and would consolidate current storage that is now split across multiple rooms. Trustees said the library is expected to remain in its current location and that the existing municipal building may be sold in the future; they emphasized no board vote had taken place on selling the current building.

Trustees said weekly coordination meetings among staff, the architect/designer and consultants are ongoing to refine interior layouts to reduce "pinch points" and to make efficient use of space for the next 50 to 75 years. Officials said they expect to have solid interior floor plans to show by the end of the year and that another public meeting or presentation could be scheduled once those plans are available.

The village encouraged residents to follow village Facebook posts and agendas for updates and to contact Village Manager Ryan Bailey, the police chief or the fire chief with specific questions. Trustees said they want to give Waukesha State Bank a fair chance to review the appraisal and to be made whole in any sale negotiations.