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Voters to decide fate of new police station
(by Barbara Christian - August 25, 2010)
Voters to decide fate of new police station
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Chagrin Falls voters will go to the polls for a third time Sept. 7 to decide whether to fund a proposed $3.9 million police station to be built on Solon Road, just north of River Run Park.
Two earlier police station bond issues, at slightly higher amounts, were turned down in the past 16 months.
The bond issue would pay for building and equipping a new 13,600-square-foot, single-story building with walk-out basement. It would cost taxpayers about $49 for each $100,000 of property valuation per year.
The new police station would replace the current West Washington Street station, which has been headquarters since the 1930s. The facility was renovated, expanded and modified through the years.
The current police facility would be converted for use by Village Hall, aid in expansion of the fire station next door, house a small in-town police office and offer public restrooms.
The Friends of the Chagrin Falls Police Department committee said the current police station does not meet all law-enforcement accreditation standards and state building codes.
Voters turned down higher bond issues in May 2009 and November 2010. However, last November, voters approved a levy for maintenance and operation of the new police station that they turned down.
The size of the police station was reduced after the first rejection. The plan was for two full floors, with a community room-emergency command post area and walk-out basement.
The current design calls for a single-story design with walk-out basement and no community room-emergency command area. It would have an interrogation room, safe room for victims of crime, secured evidence room and technology room as well as bathrooms for all staff and visitors. It would improve the village's dispatch center which also serves police departments in neighboring communities. A grant was received earlier this year to upgrade the dispatch center and technology.
Costs were reduced after the village received a grant to fund dispatch-center upgrades.
The Friends of Chagrin Falls Police Department, the campaign committee seeking passage of the issue, hopes the "third time is the charm," spokesman John O'Brien has said.
While there is no formal bond issue opposition committee, disagreement has been expressed over the need and location for the new station.
Councilman Richard Subel has dismissed the need for a new police station since inception of the plan. All six of the other Village Council members and Mayor Tom Brick support the plan.
Mr. Subel has said that, while he supports the police, he will not support a new tax burden. He said village taxes already are high, and it is "operating in the red."
The friends committee said the new tax would be offset in 2011, when a sewer bond expires.
However, Mr. Subel said the village has passed two earlier issues which will kick in in 2011, and the Chagrin Falls School District is expected to ask for a tax increase.
Opposition to the Solon Road site has come from local architect Henry Piper, who has said there are too many unknowns in the soil composition. The site was the village dump until the 1960s. He said the conditions could lead to unexpected and costly, non-budgeted cleanup expenses. The questionable soil also may require more expensive building techniques, he said.
However, village Administrator Benjamin Himes has said that preliminary soils testing shows no signs of ecologically unfriendly content that would require unusual cleanup measures. He said that contingency costs always are figured into project estimates to cover unexpected expenses.
Mr. Piper also questioned the Solon Road location and has submitted ideas for meeting current police needs by adding to the existing station.
Resident David Hageman said the office building at 57 E. Washington St. is more centrally located for a larger police station. It is for sale and could be modified for police use at less cost than the proposed new building on Solon Road, he said.
In his study of the construction costs of the three options, village Engineer Timothy Lannon, of CT Consultants, has determined that the East Washington Street site would be the least expensive at $2.8 million. However, it would yield 10,800 square feet and is smallest of the three, he said.
Adding to the present police department would provide the largest facility at 15,200 square feet and a cost of $4 million, he said.
However, costs for those two options do not include equipment relocation, temporary facilities for police following the West Washington Street building demolition, extra costs of working in a dense environment with traffic control and need to close streets plus premium pay rates for weekend and evening work and inflation, Mr. Lannon said.
The East Washington Street alternative does not include purchase of the building and handling lead paint and asbestos, which could be encountered there or at the current police station, Mr. Lannon said.
Also unaccounted for are the costs of legal services and construction loan interest.
There also will be lost revenue from displaced taxpayers now working at the office at the proposed East Washington Street property, according to the report.
Village Council's preferred building option on Solon Road, which is the one voters will consider Sept. 7, is 13,600 square feet. Its basic construction cost is $3.4 million.
The entire study is available at Village Hall, 21 W. Washington St.
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