Elmhurst Council Backs New Police Station

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst aldermen on Monday approved the first step toward building a new police station, which is estimated to cost $48 million and involves a property tax hike.

The City Council voted unanimously for a proposal to go $3.5 million into debt for the architecture and engineering.

Alderman Jacob Hill was absent, but he previously signed onto the proposal as a public safety committee member.

During the council meeting, Alderman Mike Brennan, who heads the committee, explained why members preferred tearing down the 35-year-old station and building anew on the site.

He said it would only be a few million more than the cost of a renovation and addition. The current station, he said, is undersized by 23,000 square feet.

Elmhurst Alderman Mike Brennan (right) on Monday presented the proposal to the City Council for building a new police station. (David Giuliani/Patch)

To pay for the project, officials plan to increase the hotel tax, sell a city building and hike the property tax by $53 a year over two decades for a $500,000 house.

The city aims to start the project next year.

Brennan thanked Alderman Guido Nardini, a committee member, for pushing to get a second opinion on the plan to build anew. That involved bringing in Rob Martinelli, an Elmhurst resident who is an executive at a major contractor, to check out the concepts by FGM Architects.

During a February committee meeting, Martinelli said he thought at first that FGM had estimated the cost of a renovation too high. But after an analysis, he concluded the city should knock down the station and construct a new one.

Around the same time, city officials gave the public a tour of the police station, pointing out its problems.

During Monday's meeting, no one questioned the proposal, which officials had discussed for over a year in the finance and public safety committees. Aldermen quickly voted after Brennan's presentation.

Following the vote, Mayor Scott Levin said he was "fully convinced that the police station is in very bad shape."

"I'm very proud that we're taking steps to move forward," he said.

He said he was "sorry this got a little politicized." He did not elaborate, but he may have been referring to last week's city election.

Levin's opponent, former longtime Alderman Mark Mulliner, opposed building a new station, saying he was concerned about taxes.

All the council candidates, though, supported a new station.

Levin prevailed with 72 percent of the vote.