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Village to try again for new police station
(by Barbara Christian - November 25, 2009)
Village to try again for new police station
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
The consensus among Chagrin Falls Village Council members last week was to put a bond issue for a new police station before voters for the third time, possibly next May.
Mayor Thomas Brick said an election could be held in the winter, but it would be doubtful that the village could have the information it wants before trying again.
On Tuesday, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections certified the Nov. 3 results. The 0.06-mill operating levy for a new police station won approval, 927-812. The unofficial count on Election Day was 888-782. The $4.5 million bond issue to build a police station was turned down, 912-847. The unofficial result on Election Day was 878-811.
Mr. Brick said he wants to have as much public input as possible, even if it takes several town-hall meetings. The first meeting could be held in December.
He said he already has started a fact-finding process for questions he knows residents will ask. He met with police station architect David King this week to find out whether the size and cost of a new facility could be reduced.
Next week, Mr. Brick and Councilman Adam Jacobs will meet with Triad Research to learn about what the village could do to sway voter opinion, he said, and they are formulating questions that the research firm would ask of voters.
A survey of voter opinion may be one tool Triad Research will suggest, Mr. Brick said, adding that he is looking for other firms that do the same kind of voter analysis.
Mr. Brick told council he would seek legal advice about whether the village can keep the money voted on for the operating levy until a decision is made about putting the bond issue on the ballot. The levy was to have gone into effect after the building was up and running in 2011.
Scott Lax and John O'Brien, co-chairmen of the Friends of the Chagrin Falls Police campaign organization who said the bond issue should go before voters again, plan to meet with architect Henry Piper to go over ideas he has for refitting Village Hall for police operations.
Mr. Piper has been at the forefront of discussions to reduce the size of Mr. King's design and its location on Solon Road.
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