Speaker 1 said staff had received a critical letter describing the police station's poor condition and urged the council to fund repairs if the overall budget allows, noting visible damage and materials stripped from interior walls. "If you go into the police station, you'll see that...they ripped material off the walls," Speaker 1 said, and recommended allocating funds to address the condition.
Participants discussed broader security upgrades. Speaker 1 said cameras and door locks for the soon-to-open Public Works building should be prioritized, with the first two camera/door items implemented immediately; larger campus-wide security upgrades and license-plate readers were flagged for later review. Speakers said estimates came from a security firm rather than a guesstimate, and they agreed to continue seeking grant funds for police-related equipment that could offset local costs.
Councilors debated whether to use bond-fund dollars or discretionary funds for these items. Speaker 1 argued that conserving bond funds preserves matching and project capacity for larger items down the road, while others favored budgeting modest items now and continuing to seek grants for more expensive camera systems. Leftover discretionary funds were also proposed to be directed to sewer repairs if not needed for immediate security upgrades.
No formal vote was recorded; the items remain part of the draft budget and will be reviewed again by the finance committee before the approval meeting.