I wanted to update you on an important milestone in our multi-year effort to plan for the replacement of the Police Station and Municipal Court.  This week, the City Council approved a "letter of intent" to purchase the Harrison Medical Building.  Once the purchase is finalized, the City will retrofit that building to meet "essential facility" standards and provide 18,000 square feet of space for the Police and Court functions.  The combined estimate for the purchase and the retrofit is roughly $20 million.

This project is likely to be the most significant financial investment the City will make in the next 20 years. The decision to purchase this site and to renovate this building follows several years of professional and detailed analysis. Last year, we performed an extensive review of the building and have confirmed that it is feasible to retrofit for our Police and Court functions, and that the result will be a building that works well and also provides the flexibility to accommodate future needs.

In the last four years, we have been intentional in our financial planning and have included this project in our budgets.  We have planned for a total project cost of $20 million and have confirmed that the City has sufficient resources to support that level of spending without impact to existing City services or staffing.

In the time we have spent considering our site selection, we have seen other major public projects built for both the Fire Department and the School District. Both agencies experienced challenges due to higher than planned project costs. We are not well-served by underestimating the complexity and cost of this project.  But I do expect we can deliver a successful retrofit of this building within our target budget of $20 million. Meeting that goal will require careful management of key decisions, but I believe it is feasible.

The decision to purchase this site is in some ways more complex than if the City were buying vacant land for a new building. But this option also creates an opportunity for us because it significantly reduces the complexity of our project going forward. All the site development decisions have been made. Many of the structural features and mechanicals are able to remain as is. By reducing the project's complexity, we also reduce our risk of the unknown, and the risk of cost escalation and unexpected issues. 

This decision is, in my opinion, an important example of the City meeting our responsibility to plan for the future and our critical infrastructure in an organized and proactive way.  I believe this option is also one that is financially prudent. This project is central to the City's commitment to provide high-quality policing services, and I am pleased that we are moving forward.

Thanks to the many staff in Police and Municipal Court who have helped us assess various options in recent years. The next step will be Council consideration of a formal purchase and sale agreement, which I anticipate will be ready for their review in the next few weeks.