(Chief Shawn Heubusch explaining safety and security issues with the current building)
Police Chief Shawn Heubusch along with Assistant Chief Robb Yaeger and City Manager Jason Molino made a legitimate case for a better working and functioning police headquarters building during a two hour tour of Batavia Police Headquarters at 10 W. Main St. today.
Chief Heubusch says there are major safety concerns daily.
A comingled entrance at the back of the building is a big issue.
Suspects, police and the general public all come and go in that one entrance at the rear of the building.
Assistant Chief Yaeger says there have been incidents where suspects have not been cooperative when being brought into headquarters in handcuffs. Getting an uncooperative suspect up the stairs can be difficult for officers.
Also the public waiting area is located in the same entryway where suspects are brought in.
Security is also an issue.
The City Youth Officer's office is located in the same area where adult suspects and criminals are brought in for questioning. This area does not comply with NYS law that says the two areas must be separate.
The parking area for police vehicles is also not secure. A secure, fenced-in parking lot is needed.
"The most important thing is safety and security, not only for the officers but the community," Heubusch says. "We have to be able to provide safety and security for the community. If we can't provide it for ourselves, it is difficult to provide it for the public."
(City Manager Jason Molino discusses the older model boiler that heats the building)
City Manager Jason Molino says the discussion about improvements and or a new police headquarters is 25 years overdue.
Improvements have been discussed at length, but no action has been taken.
In the meantime, the 150-year-old building, originally the Brisbane Mansion, is in need of repairs.
.
Crumbling cement, leaking bricks, rotting wood, leaking ceilings and a whole basement that cannot be used due to asbestos contamination are emergency issues that cannot be ignored any longer.
(Rotting wood below windows on the west side of the building)
(Water damage to drop ceiling in basement)
(What is left of a ceiling in the basement area when the building was used as a home, between 1855 and 1917)
According Molino, consultants who have been working on the project for the last 10 months have come up with four alternate locations for police headquarters and two renovation schemes for the existing building.
Site 1 is listed as 56 Ellicott St. and is located at the former Santy's Tires shop. It will cost between $11.1 - 11.9 million to construct.
Site 2 is listed as 96 Jackson St., which is currently the location of the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Cost is between $11.6-12.5 million.
Site 3 is located at 26 Evans St. and is located next to the Falletti Ice Arena. It would include the current ice rink parking area. Cost at this site is between $11.4-12.3 million.
Site 4 is located at 165 Park Road and is located next to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Cost to build at this site is between $9.9-10.6 million.
Renovation scheme A for 10 W. Main St. will cost between $15.9-17.2 million and includes the demolition of an area of the building built in 1963.
Renovation scheme B for 10 W. Main St. will cost between $11.3-12.2 million and does not include the demolition of the area of the building from 1963.
Site options 1-4 also include improvements to the current building for resale.
The project will be paid for by reserve funds, bonding and grants, Molino says.
A Citizen Task Force Advisory Board made up of citizens, business owners, education and health care leaders will be created next.
City council will meet Oct. 14 and decide if it wants to move forward with the task force and, if so, appoint one in November.
Molino says he expects a task force recommendation by July of 2015. Construction could possibly begin in 2016 or 2017.
The pictures add to the
The pictures add to the argument for relocation. Too bad the mall couldn't be utilized. Other than JC Penney, and Sunny's, what else is there? Problem is, the city dragged ass on maintaining that, kind of like the police station. Now, neither is worth anything.
In a county of 60,000, 22,000 live in the center, the town/city of Batavia. There is no reason 1 single municipal police force(ideally, the existing Genesee County Sheriff) couldn't effectively serve our area. Expand the current location on Park Rd to accommodate the need for cops in the city, sub stations in Leroy and Pembroke, and create one unified police department. I know no one wants to hear it, but "village" and "city" police departments are nothing but redundant.
hey Molino i have issues with
hey Molino i have issues with my house...are you concerned?
It's really too bad this
It's really too bad this historic building was not properly maintained over the years.
The Brisbane mansion is an
The Brisbane mansion is an old lady. It needs constant care and upkeep. We home ownesr in the City constantly have to paint and repair to keep our homes in good repair. The City should do the same.
You will never be able to
You will never be able to build anything close to the quality that is at the current location . My question is , how much to renovate rather than build . What happens to the current location ? Do we except someone else to renovate ?Any building needs maintenance and a building will have more equipment to maintain. If you can not maintain what we have then what makes you think you will do any different with a new building .Are we spending money on an Assistant Manager when we should be spending money on maintenance of our current buildings . Who is in charge of maintaining our buildings and were these items ever addressed . It seems to me that most all of the issues could have been addressed over the past 20 years if not more but for some reason nobody has been held accountable.
Howard, you were on this
Howard, you were on this tour. Did anyone ask why the building's maintenance was neglected?
I wasn't on this tour.
I wasn't on this tour.
According to City Manager
According to City Manager Jason Molino, the problems with the building were brought up with the building when City Hall moved in at the mall.
Creating a combined police force was discussed along with the condition of the building.
Nothing was decided then and the issue with the building continues to be discussed without any action.
With site plans 1-4 the building will be revamped and brought up to code. The cost of that is built in to the price.
Alecia, thanks for the
Alecia, thanks for the information.
Some of this appears to be routine building maintenance that was neglected. I wonder if the plan was to ignore the health of this facility until the only option is to tear it down.
There is no replacing the historic buildings that give a community charm and a connectivity to the past. We learned that with the destruction of our Main St.
Very sad
PS. I had her name spelled right when I put it in. My fault for not checking to see if the auto-spell feature didn't change it. Sorry.
It's Alecia. I'm quite
It's Alecia.
I'm quite certain it's not on the city's agenda to tear the building down. Part of the cost factored into building a new structure at a new location is rehabbing the Brisbane Mansion so it can be occupied by another service or sold to a private party. The city is well aware it's a unique and historic structure.
H.
That building, like others,
That building, like others, had maintenance put off to hold down taxes by prior City Councils Very poor decisions because the needed repairs do not go away, but get worse.
John, thanks. A case of
John, thanks. A case of penny wise and pound foolish, I guess. I find it disturbing that the city would find it ethical to neglect the building to the point of the present condition then sell it to a private concern (for example) and, not only expect, but require the building be brought to code within a designated time frame.
Howard, that may be the case, but how much are they willing to spend.to rehab the building? Maybe I'm being myopic, but I can't see them allocating a great deal for this.
Bea, the building will be
Bea, the building will be brought up to code and repaired by the City before it is put on the market for sale, that is if the task force decides to use site plans 1-4.
Bea, the same thing took
Bea, the same thing took place with the old firehouse, the water plant and the DPW building. And the public has to take an equal share of the blame. They do not want to pay for repairs at budget time. It's always cut or put things off to another time.
Good news is that if they do build a new police HQ, they will put money into the old building to make it attractive for another buyer.
A bunch of BS is coming out.
A bunch of BS is coming out. There is a maintenance budget and that should take care of anything that we are looking at . Why was the budget never in line with the needs of the buildings.
Now the water treatment plant. Is this the next building to crumble . We all know its in bad shape and the water dept. makes money but yet zero dollars are invested back into the facility . Why do we keep robing Peter to Pay Paul and why are we giving raises to people that are not performing up to par . Why are we being lied to ?
Why do I live here?
What's this... a maintenance
What's this... a maintenance problem? Why worry about maintaining government buildings? Use them up, wear them out, run them down... the taxpayers get to build a new one. Problem solved.
All of the complaints about
All of the complaints about prior (lack of) maintenance are legitimate gripes, and should be used to focus attention on making sure maintenance dereliction does not happen again.
However, concerning whether the building needs to be replaced, complaints about past maintenance are moot points. The building fails code, is laid out in a way that creates dangerous situations, and will become more and more costly over the years. It needs to be corrected/replaced.
That sucks...it truly does...and I'm not even one of the folks on the hook for the coming expense. But proclaiming "we've already paid for the maintenance that should have been done" does not address reality.
I wish you well, I really do. The City is in a really tough place, and there are no easy solutions. Heck, I wish I had one for you - it looks like there may be another consulting contract in your future. ;-)
bring it up to code to sell
bring it up to code to sell it?? then keep it...how much would bringing it up to code as opposed to renovating it cost lol...just bring it up to code....every one wants new fancy state of the art stuff