Shelby Police Department May Break Ground in February

Ground may be broken by the end of February on the new $4 million police building, now that Shelby Township has approved The Garrison Co. as the general contracting firm.

The Farmington Hills-based contracting firm was the lowest of 19 bidders at $3,188,000 for the police department construction and renovation project.

Its closest competitor was The Dailey Company of Lake Orion.

Bids for construction of the stand-alone structure to house police operations were submitted in December and ranged from nearly $3.18 million to $3.7 million.

Board Approves Construction Company, Additional Costs

All of the trustees, with the exception of Trustee Doug Wozniak, approved The Garrison Co. on the recommendation of the Police Building Committee, which was made up of Police Chief Robert Leman, Building Department Director Tim Wood, Parks and Recreation Director Joe Youngblood, a representative of the township’s engineering firm Fazal Khan, and a project manager from the design company.

Wozniak told Patch he voted against the first of two motions on the new construction project because he has always taken issue with the new building's location, the new estimated price per square feet was higher than the original estimate and because he has concerns with the future of the police department's operational efficiency budget.

The board of trustees also approved an additional $767,400 for the construction and renovation project to include direct expenses such as furniture, painting, utility hookups, IT and other unforeseen expenses, bringing the total paid to The Garrison Co. to $3,232,600.

However, trustee Michael Flynn raised a red flag on why the taxpayers were going to spend more than $5,000 on oak plywood wall paneling for the building's entrance.

“All surfaces are hard. We thought it might give a feeling of coldness, and we didn’t want to have that," said project manager Steve Lodge with French Associates. "It was a minor small thing to add to make the situation warmer. It’s not a nice day when you have to go to the police department."

Flynn said the police department personnel is friendly enough, and he didn't care to spend that kind of money on "warm and fuzzy feelings." The township voted to strike the paneling from the project's total cost.

Also, trustees asked whether or not a $45,000 fence around the building was needed, and if in the future, they would have the opportunity to vote against it.

Lodge agreed that he would check with the board before going ahead to make the final purchase on the steel for the fence.

New Police Department Will Be State-Of-Art Facility

The total cost for the entire project is $4 million, which will be drawn from the police department’s budget. That figure includes new asphalt parking, landscaping, irrigation, fencing, sliding gates, an impound yard and underground utilities.

Leman said the police department received about $400,000 in federal grant money, which will be used to purchase additional training equipment and security for the department.

The single story building, which will be built on the grounds of the municipal complex on 24 Mile Road and Van Dyke, will include a sally port, offices, a meeting room, and holding areas.

Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Stathakis said the police department needs about 25,000 square feet of space. The new police building will be 18,000 square feet, and the existing Shelby Township Police Department, which is 7,000 square feet, will be repurposed with additional office buildings. However, renovations on the existing building will not begin until after the new building is complete.

Lodge said he expects construction on the new police department to be complete in about 300 days, weather permitting.

New Police Building in Works for Years

For more than seven years, township officials had planned on building a $19 million criminal justice center that would house the police department and the 41A District Court.

However, the plan was divisive and fell through. An offer by the Macomb Township to relocate the courthouse to their community is being considered.