The Grantsville City Council set tentative parameters for the design of a new justice center combining a new police station and court during a work meeting Wednesday night.
Grantsville City Police Chief Kevin Turner pushed for a suggested $3.6 million price tag for the project, which would create a space of more than 13,500 square feet, including a 3,434-square-foot court area.
The council agreed that designs from architects could be based around that figure and the best location for the new facility would be north of the city’s library and east of Bowery Street.
Turner called more space for the police department a need, not a want, as it has outgrown its current offices in City Hall.
“We have well over 38,000 man hours per year working out of a 1,300-square-foot (space),” he said. “We are just on top of each other. I’ve got people literally working at a desk in the hallway.”
To finance the building’s construction, the city would contribute $400,000 in public safety impact fees and $500,000 from the city’s general fund’s reserved fund as a down payment, and a $2.7 million loan to cover the remainder of the cost. Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall said he believes the city could get 2.5 percent interest on a 30-year loan for the new justice center.
The total cost of the project can be covered up to 44 percent by public safety impact fees, which are generated from building permits. For each building permit, the city receives a flat rate of $1,235 in public safety impact fees.
According to Sherrie Broadbent, the city’s finance director, Grantsville has averaged 80 building permits annually over the past 13 years, with the highest and lowest count removed. As a result, the city has generated an average of $98,800 in public safety impact fees.
The city is on pace for 118 building permits this year, Broadbent said.
The money generated in public safety impact fees can only be used for a narrow selection of capital projects related to public safety, including new construction or renovations of an existing building to be used by public safety agencies.
“This is a brick and mortar deal so that communities can build the infrastructure that’s needed as they’re growing,” Marshall said.
While the total annual loan payment by the city would be approximately $137,000 over the 30-year life of the loan, the city could use 63 percent of its public safety impact fees collected toward that total. The city would need to make a payment of approximately $77,000 from the general fund, which Turner insisted could come out of the budget without raising taxes.
Marshall said stained concrete floors and open ceilings were a couple of ways the city could save money on the cost of the building. Turner also said the building would support additional hiring for the next 30 years, but additional desks or cubicles could be purchased later due to the open floor plan favored for the space.
Councilman Neil Critchlow questioned the necessity of creating a new court building due to the cost of the combined justice center. Turner and city attorney Joel Linares said there are concerns related to safety, as well as lawyer and client confidentiality, in the current arrangement in City Hall.
Without a separate bathroom for prisoners, the lobby bathrooms at City Hall have to be cleared so they can use the facilities while an officer stands guard outside, Turner said. With no private rooms for defense attorneys to meet with their clients, meetings occur in the lobby or outside of City Hall, Linares said.
The current plan also involves refurbishing and renovating the current recreation center north of the library to serve as storage for vehicles and evidence. Councilman Mike Colson said he wanted to investigate demolishing the recreation center and putting storage under the new justice center building instead.
Turner said the department didn’t include a basement or second floor in the conceptual floor plan for the building because the city would be required to install an elevator to make it accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
When asked about the plan to locate the new justice center north of the library, Turner said it was the recommended location because of its proximity to the bulk of the department’s calls, other city buildings and utilities, as well as the flatness of the land.
With the parameters for the project agreed upon, the city will now put out a request for proposal for engineering and architectural design for the facility at the Bowery Street location at the $3.6 million cost figure.