| Council splits new police, fire facilities |
By: JIM HAMMERAND, Staff Writer
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Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:02 am
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NORTHFIELD — The City Council on Monday set construction dates and goal budgets for what are now two new public safety facilities and a library expansion.
Councilors voted in support of building a new police facility at a still undetermined site in 2011 and reusing the Safety Center site on the Cannon River for a new fire hall in 2012. The City Council also scheduled a southward expansion of Northfield’s library for 2014.
The council also set budget goals at least 15 percent less than preliminary estimates for the projects, though councilors have the authority to vote to increase the budgets. Councilors said the all-inclusive goals — $8.5 million for the combined public safety projects and $8.5 million for the library — would encourage those departments to pare projects down to the essentials.
The council set the budgets and timelines as part of a new approach by the city in planning for infrastructure improvements within the coming five years. The council has yet to solicit input and award contracts for design and construction, or choose how to finance the projects.
The decision to split police and fire facilities came despite a recommendation by a task force of community members and city staff to keep them together. But councilors noted that the task force did not examine land costs, or know that a family would offer in October to donate land to the city.
“Even though it perhaps looks like a rejection (of the Safety Center Task Force’s recommendation) we are relying heavily on the work of the task force,” Councilor Betsey Buckheit said.
Council Jon Denison cast the lone dissenting vote against splitting the facilities, saying he was concerned separate facilities would lose the economic benefits of shared spaces.
“I do have a concern that if the facilities are split that we’re not looking at one $10 million project, but two $7 million projects,” he said.
Demolishing the Safety Center could cost up to $50,000 even before lead or asbestos abatement, City Administrator Joel Walinski said, and the city would not have to protect against floodwaters with levees or pumps if the new fire hall is built above above the river flood level.
The fire department could operate out of cold storage after police move out and during construction of the fire hall, Walinski said.
— Jim Hammerand covers the city. He can be reached at jhammerand@northfieldnews.com or 645-1114. |
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Denison seems like the only one that is thinking here. Maybe there is more to it or maybe it just sounds like a nice idea to have two faciliites.
It doesn't make any difference how they split up the depts. and buildings. Just get on with it, let the professionals in the depts. manage the needs and then make sure the Council holds everyone involved to those exact budgets. Forget about public opinion and blog heresay.
Fire Department operate out of cold storage? Who thought that one up?
I thought it was the fire department that really had issues with the current space and that it's harder to meet all of their needs in the current building. Why then is it that we're moving the police to a new building and leaving the fire dept. in the old building???
I don't believe that economic benefits should be deciding factor especially for fire. Fire response time and access is far more important than build size or co-location with police. You can put a police station and jail anywhere as police on on patrol throughout the city. Fire are not and respond currently from the heart of the city which just makes sense.
I noticed that Locally Grown has posted threads regarding the ongoing discussion of relocating the liquor store and ongoing consideration of remodeling city hall. I thought it was pretty obvious that both of these construction projects were scrapped.
The folks over there jumped on the band wagon and started railing on city hall. Until the obvious was pointed out to Griff, that the information he based both of these threads on was from 2007.
With all his and his cronies criticism of the news and it's mistakes, how can he make such an irresponsible mistake and try to mislead people like that? He didn't even discover the mistake himself, one of his bloggers dug it up. Will he apologize to city hall?? Will anyone over there question why he's doing this?
I agree with KevinB. Who thought of putting the fire trucks (water??) in a cold storage facility (ice??) Good job!