Safety center location on hold

No site chosen by council, but voters get their say this summer

James Coburn

EDMOND — While Edmond City Council members did not settle where the city should build a new police station and Public Safety Center, it did decide Thursday night during a special meeting on when voters will have a say in how to pay for it.

Two possible dates for a city election to approve a general obligation bond, which will be paid for by a property tax increase, to fund the project were set for either July 29 or Aug. 6.

“Whether voters necessarily agree to do that, I don’t know,” Mayor Dan O’Neil said. “It’s nice to have those agreements and consensus in our City Council right now.”

The current police station location at 23 E. First St. was deemed inadequate due to its configuration and limited space after a 2005 needs assessment study. The City Council has agreed on a building close to 90,000-square-feet for the proposed $30 million project, O’Neil said.

“We’ve spent a lot of taxpayers’ money on different studies,” Councilman Wayne Page said. “And I think the longer we go, the more muddy the waters will get. I don’t think we need to allow that to happen. We need to allow the citizens to have their say.”

The City of Edmond has spent $50,000 for the needs assessment study rendered by the Benham Companies LLC and $90,000 for a respective study done by Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates, Assistant Police Chief Steve Thompson, project manager for the police department, told The Edmond Sun.

While the Downtown Community Center, 28 E. Main St., has been one of the top locations considered for a new police station, O’Neil said Thursday the City Council unanimously has decided not to tear it down due to expense. They also have agreed not to choose a site that would require four or five stories of construction, a basement or a complicated entryway to the building.

The City of Edmond is the largest property owner in downtown Edmond. O’Neil opened discussion for considering alternative sites for the project in the downtown community area.

“We will leave no stone unturned to try to find the best place for our police station,” O’Neil said. City Manager Larry Stevens said the city still will consider the Kelly and Main site on city-owned land now known as Barnett Field.

City consultant Philip McNayr, vice president of Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates, said the 5-acre Barnett Field site at Kelly and Main is considered a good site for security purposes because a building could be set back from the road. The property also would allow for a parking lot and future construction growth, if needed.

Sites being considered near the railroad tracks introduce further security concerns, McNayr said. And Page asked how far a building should be placed away from the tracks should there be a chemical spill or train derailment. Berms or concrete shields could shorten the distance from the railroad tracks to 100 to 150 feet, McNayr said.

“You might put your parking lot between your building and the railroad tracks,” he added.

Attorney Barry Rice, who has an office downtown, said the city should approve a downtown site for the Police Department to continue attracting development downtown.

“We have a parking problem, and in looking at your police needs assessment of 2005, they stated downtown is the preference but for parking,” Rice said. But parking can be resolved, he said.

Gene Brewer, an Edmond resident for 46 years, said she would like to see the Police Department to be constructed in the present location of the Festival Market Place. And Judy Thorwart, a downtown business owner, said she supports the police station being built at the former Homeland site to enhance the visual appeal of the area.

Downtown business owner Karen Moore worries that other city offices eventually will follow the police station if it leaves downtown. “If you start taking away some of these things that are already here then it’s going to be destructive to all of us downtown.”

Edmond Police Chief Bob Ricks dismissed the practicality of constructing precincts to compliment a police station in Edmond.

“To build a facility that at this stage only meets our present needs and say we’re going to build precincts completely dilutes our officers’ ability to communicate with one another,” Rick said. “It dilutes the chain of command between myself and my officers and reduces the ability for us to deliver consistent services throughout the facility.”

The city is trying to achieve a building that will accommodate both the needs of the Police Department and the Central Communications Department, which currently are not housed together, as well as provide room for future expansion needs.

jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114

The Locations

What you need to know

Possible sites for the Public Safety Center and their assessed values are:

Smith Carpet at Second and Littler plus two adjoining properties, 2.7 acres, about $2.13 million.

City-owned land on Third to Fourth streets from Littler to Broadway, 1.7 acres, $1.2 million.

Swanson’s lumber yard on West First Street, 1.7 acres, $527,000.

From Hurd to Campbell, west of Broadway, 3.4 acres, $873,000.

Edwards to Ayers, west of Broadway, 6 acres, $1.6 million.

Southwest corner of Hurd and Littler at .7 acre, $154,000.

Original Edmond High School on Boulevard, 1.9 acres, no assessed value.

Union Bank site, Boulevard and Littler, 2.4 acres, $461,000.

City property on Third to Fourth streets, from Littler to Boulevard, 3.2 acres, $1.3 million.

West Third Street south, 1.4 acres and property across the street from the alley west of Broadway, 1.7 acres, is assessed together at $221,000.

Private property west of railroad tracks at Santa Fe and Edmond Road, 5.1 acres, $641,000.

Source: Assistant Police Chief Steve Thompson and Oklahoma County Assessor’s Web site