In today's edition of the Herald-Advocate we read about a New site for police station is under consideration. The article reports that nobody is willing to say which property is being looked at.
Of course, you know the PRU Crew is willing to say which property is being looked at. It's the American Insurance building on Garden St. City staff made a low-ball offer that was rejected by the owner, but that doesn't mean a deal is dead. The owner is said to be getting his own appraisal done, and the back-and-forth on dollars will probably continue.
The article goes on to report that Ald. Frank Wsooooolman (7th Ward) has asked that the city council review the "action plan" passed by the council last April; an "action plan" that Ald. Wsooooolman voted in favor of - Council Minutes 4-2-07 minutes-pdf.
The article notes that a list of preferred properties was included for consideration in the "action plan". But, in our reading of the Police Station Resolution-pdf we must have missed the specific list discussed in the article.
City officials are sure hot to trot for building a new police station in Target Area 4. We hear some interesting things about why that may be so. Do you think any elected officials or their spouses may have any interest in property in Target Area 4? Inquiring minds want to know!
While the city council, the Mayor, and city staff again take up the yackety yack about building a new police station, the city continues to sit on two properties it owns and on which a new police station could be built, 1) the old public works service center at Greenwood & Elm, and 2) the house on Courtland adjacent to the City Hall parking lot, which was specificially purchased as a site for a new police station.
And our cops continue to sit in a 9000 square foot shithole, while the politicians continue to dick around playing the property purchase shell game they love so much.
December 13, 2007
Shell Game.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Didn't Hay Carumba just refinish their new restaurant space? Why would they want to sell their property now? Is the City going to use eminent domain on them?
I am just a tax payer and thus will never be asked to vote on this new police station. While I may agree that a new facility is required, it has not been proven to me that we need a 37,00 sq ft building let alone the 12,00 sq ft secure parking area. I just wonder what the voters would say if given the opportunity?
hopefully they are not eyeing something similar to the new police station in Glenview.
Hey..............why not!
They seem to spend our tax
dollars like drunken park ridge
people they are.........
go ahead....throw it all out the windows.......voet for hillary while you're at it too!!
B.O.H.I.C.A.
Many citizens talk of better spending money on computers, equipment and more officers but fail to realize the greatest tool for any officer is the station where they process eveidence before it goes to the lab, hold their records, and safely store the already good equipment they have. Training is a big issue becuase not only can a City be sued for the officers actions but for the failure to train those officers as well. The PR Police Department have taken their lumps recently but a new staion could improve their morale, give them more opertunity for more and better traiing, and provide for better service overall to us, the citizens of PR. I encourage any citizen to call an d request a tour of the currnet "shithole" just to se what all the fuss is about. The named sites on Courtland and the old PW building are not suitable for a proper station. "They're doing a great job inspite of the conditions.." Moore during the proposal of the new station May 2006.
To Anon@9:33am
The PRU Crew sincerely appreciates your thoughtful addition to this thread.
However, we disagree with you about the suitable nature of the two sites mentioned in our post.
We caution everyone interested not to simply rely upon the opinion of architectural consultants who would always prefer to build something entirely new.
We also caution against the mis-use of police station building plans as either a morale booster or as some sort of a punishment to the PRPD through withholding the building of a station.
The current station is a shithole.
Either the PRPD needs a new and improved station for proper functioning and service to the citizens of Park Ridge, or it does not. Morale and police conduct are not relevant to the discussion.
Having worked in a number of different companies, facilities, and geographic locations, I can positively state that the condition of the workplace (beyond some minimum requirements for safety and comfort) has very little to do with the professionalism and morale of the workforce.
The morale, professionalism, training, and performance of the police force is a direct reflection on the leadership of that police force and the leadership of the city. If we don't like what we see, we need to change the leadership, not the facility.
I also think that the police facility needs some improvement. But, I'm reminded of the situation with the library. Before the vote on a larger facility, the library looked horrible - piles of books and magazines everywhere. Now it looks like a library again. No changes to the facility, they just have no reason to be messy now. Same with the police station - they're trying to make a point, so they make it look as bad as possible.
In addition, the "expert" consultants make their livings recommending larger and nicer facilities for police departments. How long would they stay in business if they recommended something that the police did not like? No referrals results in no work and no food for their families. Can anyone realistically say that this is an independent and unbiased recommendation?
I'm pretty much undecided about how I feel about a new police station and do feel if it's needed then it should be built but here's my question.
Both PD and City Hall have been at it's present location since 1962.
Now I don't know what the popualation was back then just from knowing some town history the town hasn't grown too much is size to the best of my knoweledge and the fact it's been said that they're cramped and mention how their cramped, well if so them how have they managed to exist there for the last 45 years?
Was it never big enough in the first place?
Post a Comment