Study shows need for new police station

The Sidney Police Department sorely needs a news headquarters, according to a recent feasibility study.

Chief of Police B.J. Wilkinson agreed that the police station’s current location wasn’t ideal for the growing community.

“Geographically, it’s probably not gonna be a great place anymore,” Wilkinson said. “It’s not centrally located, it won’t be in the new Sidney.”

Sidney Police, in collaboration with Carlson West Povondra Architects (police facility designers), Baker & Associates (local architects and engineers) and Voorhis & Associates (law enforcement programmers) completed the feasibility study at the end of last month. This study considered the department’s mission and goals, the community it serves and a functional analysis of the existing facility in addition to other factors.

When deciding future needs, the study factored in that around 40-45 percent of Sidney’s workforce comes from other communities in a 60 mile radius around the city. The study assumes that the city’s police department may serve anywhere from 14,500-15,500 people on a daily basis and that population trends suggest more people are moving into the city of Sidney as opposed to the rural portions of Cheyenne County.

The entire population of Cheyenne County is projected to grow around 4 percent between 2010 and 2030, according to the study.

“We need to be thinking about not tomorrow, but we need to be thinking about where are we gonna be 10 years from now, 20 years from now and what those spatial needs and what those technological needs are gonna be,” Wilkinson said.

The study identified a number of problems with the department’s current headquarters, in which it’s been housed since 1986.

“This building has long exceeded its life expectancy,” Wilkinson said.

Members of the public are often not sure where they should enter the former restaurant and there is no separation of public areas from rooms that should be restricted to law enforcement only. Police are cramped in current quarters with almost no space for storage. The evidence locker is located in the basement and there is no area to process evidence.

Wilkinson echoed concerns about the building. The police station’s current location suffers structural issues, space issues and noise control issues, he said. In the current building, 15 employees work in a space about the same size as a single family home, Wilkinson pointed out. It’s crowded and hard to use. The department needs increased security, among other things. This would amount to an expensive conversion in the current facility.

The study made several conclusions about the best future for the department.

“The existing facility analysis indicates that it is very inadequate in size and layout and its location and site should not be considered as a future option for expansion,” the study stated.

Wilkinson agreed that if there continues to be only one police station in the city, it needs to be centrally located.

Those conducting the study also considered several local buildings for possible renovation and re-purposing for a new police station, but concluded that none of these were both suitable for the police department and cost effective.

The study suggested the possibility of building a new police headquarters on land already owned by the city directly east of the Legion Park t-ball fields along Fort Sidney Rd. The police department identified this location, which has been targeted for a possible site for the Sidney water park as well. The police must wait for the council’s decision on this project before deciding if the area can be shared or if the department should look for another possible location.

“We’re not married to that site, it was just something that was already in the mix,” Wilkinson said. “It would require very little prep work and certainly wouldn’t have any real estate costs associated with it.”

The possible conceptual design for a new facility built on city-owned property would cost nearly $3.8 million. Financing the project over 20-25 years will make it more manageable for the city each year, Wilkinson said.

“It looks like the best option we created in the feasibility study was a new brick and mortar project, hopefully in a place that would allow for expansion, additional development, changes as the needs of the business change,” Wilkinson said.

He hopes the city council recognizes that the need for a new building is dire, that the city could make the financing work and that the station needs to be constructed in a better location.

“I’m in hopes that the feasibility study shows and that we get the public support for the idea that now is a good time for us to be thinking not only about Sidney this summer but Sidney 20 years from now,” Wilkinson said.

Although the city council was presented with the 58 page feasibility study at this week’s meeting, the department will hold a presentation of the study’s findings at the March 25 meeting, when representatives from the consulting firms who worked on the study will be present.