Council weighs police entrance upgrades and status of a planned safety campus

Council members pressed administration staff on March 10 over proposed short‑term safety upgrades at the police department and the status of a previously studied safety campus.

Administration said roughly $200,000 is being requested to make entrance and safety upgrades at the existing police facility and that earlier preliminary work on a new safety campus had been funded. The administration confirmed $1.5 million had been allocated previously for the safety campus planning and that about $800,000 had been spent on programming and preliminary design work, including site selection and meetings with police leadership.

Several councilmembers questioned whether investing in the current building makes sense if the city intends to construct a new facility. Staff said preliminary design work produced usable deliverables and that the city should re‑evaluate funding stacks and funding mechanisms before committing to a full construction appropriation. Councilmembers and staff discussed using the remaining design funds, evaluating funding options and convening committee meetings for longer‑term decisions.

Separately, staff described near‑completion of a second‑floor renovation at City Hall and modest planned expenditures for furniture, IT build‑out and a backup generator tied to use of that space by CPED and other city offices.

No formal appropriations were made at the hearing; council members asked staff to return with more precise financial options and any ordinance language needed to implement either short‑term upgrades or the longer‑term safety campus.