A public meeting about continuing discussions on River City Hall between Durango, Durango Fire Protection District and Durango Police Department is scheduled for Nov. 10 at the Powerhouse Science Center.
The meeting is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. and last until 7 p.m.
Tom Sluis, spokesman for the city, said the intent of the meeting is to inform the public about the various elements to be considered as the city, fire and police departments investigate the possibility of turning River City Hall into a joint police and fire station.
A variety of items needs to be considered, he said. For example, it’s unknown if remediation work will be required because of waste at the River City Hall site.
“There’s so many moving parts to this project in terms of how this might affect so many other properties that have been historically in play since the fire district decided to buy the (Durango School District 9-R) Administration Building,” he said.
The city and fire department must decide if the location should house police and fire. Some of those decisions will then lead to discussions about design and construction costs.
“We are actively discussing these topics and trying to make as much progress as we possibly can before the MOU expires,” Sluis said.
The city and fire district entered into a memorandum of understanding in July to explore the River City Hall idea.
The city, police and fire departments recently launched a new website hosting the River City Hall project timeline that includes a notice of the upcoming public meeting. Sluis said as discussions continue and more details are fleshed out, the website will be regularly updated to reflect the new information.
The website can be accessed at https://www.rchproject.com/
Sluis said the website will also serve as a place for the community to submit feedback and comments about the project as it develops.
“Ultimately, any decisions will reflect the public will,” he said.
Over the past six years, Durango Fire Protection District has identified over 30 possible locations for a new downtown fire station, but none of them worked out in the end, a city news release about the recently launched project website says.
And, the police department is dealing with a “severe lack of space to properly perform its duties,” the release says; Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer has noted as much during city and fire district meetings about the River City Hall project.
cburney@durangoherald.com
