Durango Fire Protection District is asking the city of Durango to commit nearly $133,000 to help pay for the design of a joint police and fire station at the former Durango School District 9-R Administration Building.
City councilors said Tuesday they want to explore other options for a new police station before committing to funding. DFPD Chief Hal Doughty said he needs an answer before he can move forward with designs so his architect knows what to include in the design.
The $133,000 would cover designs of a new police station; the fire department would pay to design its portion of the building, Doughty said. When reached Tuesday afternoon, he did not immediately know how much the fire district is paying to design its portion of the building.
The design cost is significantly lower than what it would be for a separate police building, but councilors said they want to keep their options open as they search for the best opportunity to house fire district administration and the police department. Both organizations are seeking new facilities.
The proposal is for police and fire to share the Administration Building at 201 E. 12th St., which the fire district purchased in December.
The fire department’s proposed move has drawn considerable opposition from some residents who say the Administration Building is no place for fire operations. They question the impact it would have on the downtown and surrounding neighborhood, especially as it relates to noise, parking, Buckley Park and overall character. Some say 12th Street is too narrow to accommodate frequent travel by ambulances and fire trucks.
Doughty made the case that placing fire and police in the same building with shared space is more cost-effective for the city and the fire district while addressing the needs of each department.
The police department would be designing for 16,153 square feet of space, Doughty said.
“That’s an increase over what they currently have, and it allows for design features that not only meet their current needs, but (offers) room for expansion for what they believe future needs will be as we move forward,” he said.
The fire district’s administration would have 10,071 square feet. An additional 19,285 square feet would be dedicated as shared space between the agencies, Doughty said. He proposed the city and fire district would be half owners of the shared spaces.
Shared space would include a gymnasium with workout space for employees of both agencies and men’s and women’s locker rooms where they can shower, dress and store gear while exercising. It would also include a large auditorium with a capacity of up to 300 people for emergency meetings and community events such as Snowdown, Doughty said.
“I feel like the opportunity there is that both agencies would benefit greatly from being half owners of the space that each of us use,” he said.
If City Council agreed to place the police department in the Administration Building, the next step in the design phase would be to design infrastructure, such as wiring and plumbing, door systems and other items critical to police department functions.
“Which ends up leading us needing to answer the question before we draw those pages of the plans,” Doughty said. “Are we designing for the Durango Police Department?”
The total cost of moving the police department into the Administration Building is estimated at about $9.5 million, oughty said. He said it was about half the projected cost of getting a new building for the police department, which was estimated to cost $19 million in a 2015 study undertaken by the city.
He said the Administration Building is a great opportunity for a new police department and cautioned that it is unlikely the city will find a better deal.
José Madrigal said he would like to look over Doughty’s request of $132,892 before he would be comfortable making a formal recommendation to City Council in favor of providing the funding.
Likewise, councilors said they wanted more information and they don’t want to rush into any commitments.
Councilor Kim Baxter said she is concerned about the potential drawbacks of placing the police department into the Administration Building with the fire district. She said she wants to know the pros and cons of such a move and how it would affect the city and its community.
Councilor Jessika Buell said she doesn’t want to miss this opportunity – design costs alone for a $9.5 million police building range between $389,000 and $769,000, and so a price tag of $133,000 is a deal, she said. Yet, the city must determine the best location for a fire department and a police department.
She said she also wants to make sure the public’s voices are being heard through the process of finding a new home or homes for police and fire.
Councilor Melissa Youssef recognized that previous attempts to find a suitable new location for fire district administration have failed, despite the project being the city’s “No. 1 priority” in the past. But she also wants the council to have more information as it considers the feasibility of pairing police and fire together in the Administration Building. She said City Council needs to be fiscally responsible with city money.
Wayne Barger, vice president of the fire district board of directors, said he is surprised that City Council wants to look for other opportunities for fire and police locations.
He said a new fire administration building is needed because conditions at the River City Hall facility aren’t tenable. He said if a department tried to move into the building today, the city and the fire district would reject it because the building is out of code.
“But we have people living in there – 48-hour shifts – that live (in) that environment every day,” he said. “And we’re (saying), ‘It’s OK. It’s only been that way for 30 years. Why would we want to change it now?’ Because we have the opportunity to change it now. For something bigger, better, nicer, more feasible, more functional. More efficient.”
Barger said despite City Council directing the city manager to investigate police station opportunities, “days, weeks, months, whatever years ago,” a decision still hasn’t been made.
“We’re still waiting,” he said. “I don’t think that’s being responsible.”
He added that he hopes City Council isn’t stonewalling the progress “from the standpoint of spite.”
Should police and fire departments be approved to occupy the Administration Building, the Big Picture High School portion of the building would be used to house the fire operations, Doughty said. It would take at least 18 months to make the building functional for fire responses.
It would take a couple of years before the historic building, the proposed location of the police department, would be remodeled, Doughty said.
Doughty said other organizations, including emergency and educational services, have approached him about using shared space in the Administration Building if the city chooses not to pair the police department with the fire district.
Resident Sweetie Marbury, who is also a former Durango mayor, provided a letter expressing support for the proposed joint police and fire building that she and other former councilors and Dick White, another former mayor, submitted to City Council in October.
cburney@durangoherald.com
