VOTE YES for the Public Safety Building

I'm a member of the Board of Police Commissioners and have served on the Planning Workgroup for the proposed Public Safety Building since 2021.

Everyone who opposes the current proposal to build a new Public Safety building for the Police, Career Fire, Volunteer Fire, EMS and Dispatch departments insists that they “support our First Responders BUT ...” The “No” folks don’t offer an actual alternative; just criticism of the design, location, planning process, and cost.

We have all known for more than 20 years that the current Police and Fire headquarters are too old, too small, and totally inadequate but we’ve delayed doing anything about them. Attempts in 2002 and 2008 failed because the voters wanted to wait until the $90 million debt for the schools and rec center "Bundle” was retired. As it approached that point in 2019, planning began again for new facilities for all our First Responders.

More than five years and $400,000 of taxpayer funds have been invested to reach this point for this plan. The building is expensive but it’s the most cost-effective option of the many we considered. It’s in the best location of the few suitable parcels available. It meets our needs now and for decades to come. We have cut everything that can be cut. If this referendum question is defeated, we will have to start the planning process all over and the years and funds we’ve already invested will be wasted. Again.

Starting over won’t make more suitable building sites magically appear. Construction costs won’t go down. Traffic won’t decrease. The current buildings will just continue to deteriorate and the costs to replace them - and to keep patching them meanwhile - will continue to grow. Worse, we will have chosen to leave our First Responders in unhealthy and unsafe buildings for years longer.

Our First Responders support us every hour of every day. If you truly support them, vote yes. They deserve more than just your words.