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 Fort Scott Chief of Police Ron Puterbaugh addressed attendees of Thursday's Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Coffee hosted by the Fort Scott Police Department at the Hawkins Public Safety Facility. During the event Puterbaugh publicly announced the FSPDs interest in moving into the Kansas National Guard Armory. (Tribune photo/Michael Pommier) [Click to enlarge] |
According to Fort Scott Chief of Police Ron Puterbaugh, the Kansas National Guard Armory, which now sits vacant at 2301 S. Horton St., is a natural fit for the Fort Scott Police Department.
"To me it is a natural fit," Puterbaugh said. "It was public safety facility when it was built in 1953, albeit at a federal level, we'll now bring it back as a public safety facility at the local level."
The FSPD hosted the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Coffee Thursday morning to give the public a look into space issues the FSPD, Fort Scott Fire Department, and the county-wide 911 center deal with at the Hawkins Public Safety Facility.
"We want people to see what we're working with," Puterbaugh said. "I think we had a very good turnout, I think people understand there is a space need."
The three organizations share 4,200-square-feet of administrative space, according to Puterbaugh. That space includes the dispatch center, one interview room, one office shared by both lieutenants, a combination copy room and break room, a combination locker room and work room, a room with three desks which houses the two full-time detectives along with the School Resource Officer and the K-9 Officer, and a small evidence storage space. He added, the FSPD can only store about two year's of records before having to send them to city hall for storage. In addition, the FSPD currently stores evidence in four separate locations across the city.
"It is not a very efficient to do things, it's also not a very secure way to do things. It takes away from our physical presence," Puterbaugh said. "We just don't have an ideal situation on our hands."
Another benefit that would come with a move to the vacant armory is that the dispatch center would be moved into a secure vault made of concrete walls.
"(The Hawkins Public Safety Facility) would not survive a catastrophic weather event like a tornado," Puterbaugh said.
During Thursday's announcement, Puterbaugh had drawings copied for attendees (see sidebar) of how the FSPD would modify the building to make it work. He said the hard part has already been done because the building was recently remodeled with new windows, a new roof, new heating and air, and new floor coverings.
"It is not a pie in the sky dream, there is enough room for this to fit in there," Puterbaugh said. "If they give us the building, the space is there to do the job they've charged us with."
The design shows three interview rooms and another room which could be converted when needed. He said one of the interview room would be child-friendly. It would also allow the FSPD to house all of its records and evidence in one secure location. It would also allow the officers to park their patrol cars in a garage which would help extend the live of the vehicles.
"It is the most economical solution to the over crowding problem that we have here," Puterbaugh said.
Puterbaugh said the Kansas Highway Patrol would also have a space in the facility which would allow local and state law enforcement to work together more effectively.
With the proposed modifications to the armory consisting mostly of the construction of walls and the running of electrical wires, and HVAC equipment, Puterbaugh said the project would cost $350,000 at the most and would create 14,000-square-feet of space. This price tag comes in at about 15 percent of the cost of 17,000-square-foot expansion to the Hawkins Public Safety Facility in April, 2009 which would cost $2.2 million. The expansion would no be necessary if the FSPD moves to the armory.
Puterbaugh said he is looking into possible grant opportunities and said he has contacted United States Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., and U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., for possible funding.
In addition to adding more space in which to work, Puterbaugh said the move would allow the officers to serve the city more efficiently.
"It opens us up, gives us the room to do the job they've charged us with, which is to provide safety and security to the city and the community at large," he said. "It give the officers the tools to do that job."
The Fort Scott City Commission will be hearing public comments at the Feb. 16 and March 2 meetings prior to deciding on the future of the vacant building.
"What I'm looking for is for the citizens to stand up and say what they think," Puterbaugh said. "If they think it's a great idea, great, show up and tell their commissioners. If they don't think it's a great idea, great, show up and tell their commissioners."
According to Fort Scott City Manager Joe Turner, the future of the armory is not yet determined, he said the FSPD is not the only organization that has shown interested in the building.
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The rooms numbered in the drawings are identified thusly:
1. Patrol shift room
2. Sergeant's office
3. Reception entry
4. Chief's Office
5. Conference room
6. Lieutenant's office
7. Lieutenant's office
8. Sergeant's office
9. Sergeant's office
10. Sergeant's office
11. Public report room
12. Men's locker room
13. Women's locker room
14. Special services
15. Classroom
16. Interview room
17. Interview room
18. Audio/Visual equipment
19. Detective offices
20. Interview room
21. Janitor's closet
22. Men's restroom
23. Women's restroom
24. Kitchen
25. Kitchen storage
26. Evidence room
27. Evidence processing
28. Evidence custodian
29. Evidence vault
30. Records room
31. Dispatch room
32. Dispatch break room
33. City/County storage and possible Kansas Highway Patrol office
34. Prisoner processing
35. Secure vehicle parking
36. Break room
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I hope that the city will allows the Police Department to take over this building. Thanks for posting the building plans. They were very interesting to look at and would provide our local officer's enough room to do their jobs more effeciently.
Anyone who has been in the Hawkins Public Safety Building must be aware of the severe lack of space that facility offers to all departments housed there. Appears to me that the move for the FSPD to the Armory Building would benefit all. Nice to see good planning before the decision is made, sometimes not the case here. Too bad the location is not more centralized in the city, but who can complain if it fits the needs.
This potential windfall to the FSPD is a no brainer.
Lets invite Chuck E. Cheese pizza to take over the old Cowboy's resturant, Bobo
I believe that City Hall and the PD could fit in this building and they could put Dolly the trolly in the out building and get it out of the way of the street dept.
I agree that the Police Department desperately needs this space. This looks like the opportunity of a lifetime. Plus, to quote Chief Puterbaugh, "...this price tag comes in at about 15 percent of the cost of 17,000-square-foot expansion to the Hawkins Public Safety Facility in April, 2009 which would cost $2.2 million." NO BRANER!!!!
If the city offices moved to the building, then what would become of Memorial Hall, and who would maintain it?
you should probably keep city hall as far away from the police dept as possible! :)
So, if someone wants to walk in and report a crime or visit with an officer after hours or on weekends, is the front door going to be open 24/7? Right now, we have dispatch handling these but they'd be in the very back of the building. For security reasons, I doubt they're going to let folks come in and wander around til they find the dispatch center. It seems to me that with this plan, you're going to have to have a manned dispatch center and someone at the reception area full time. You're adding more cost for salaries.
You have 6 offices for sergeants and lieutenants, which seems like a lot. Aren't they out patrolling most of the time anyway? I'd think these could be shared office spaces and if they need privacy, there are rooms where they could go. Why not take some of those spaces and the garage area on the north, rearrange all of it and put city hall there too? They've been screaming for years that they need new space that is handicap accessible. Even if you had to add a little more space, that could easily be done on the east side. That seems to be more logical and the city staff could help man the front reception area for PD and city offices during their regular business hours. The fenced area on the south side could be used for patrol car parking (they shouldn't be parked there much anyway but rather out on patrol).
As far as space for KHP, they've got their own office space elsewhere. The state should supply them with their office space. If they want to be near the PD, maybe they could work a deal to take over the shop building out back & re-model it to provide space for their officers.
Fort Scott Resident's idea seems like a well thought out and great idea. This really needs to be shared with the city commissioners who can be accessed through the City website.
I do hope the FSPD get the space they need to do the job yes I agree the old pd does not fill the bill the armory would. I think it is a good idea I hope the city commissioners agree to it. The KHP and the Bourbon County Sheriffs Office should be allowed to work with FSPD more besides many of them are former FSPD officers. I hope it goes through.
Go ahead & share it if you want, EyesOpen.
I think this is a great opportunity for the city to fix some problems they've been wanting to do for a long time. I'm just not convinced that PD needs the entire building. It looks like there'd be enough room for both.
As for KHP, they do have their own space and I don't think the city should have to supply offices for them. The state should bear that expense. KHP officers could still have access to the facility if they want but no need to provide office space for them, free of charge.
Eyes Open and Fort Scott Resident, how much space do you think a police department needs? I don't think the plans shown above is showing anything extravagant at all. I think it is the perfect amount of space for a police department alone. If you put the City Hall and the Police Department in the same facility the police department would end up having a tiny bit more space than they do now. It wouldn't solve any of their issues.
As for someone asking above why Lieutenants and Sergeants need their own offices, I think the answer tho that is simple if you understand what their jobs actually entail. They supervise the patrol officers, and have much more paperwork and office type things than a regular officer does. They all need their own offices to be able to store their individual paperwork properly. I don't think they are asking for anything extravagant at all; they are just asking for space to do their job properly.
Fort Scott Resident...The Police Department surely needs the whole building, I don't think City Hall needs to be moved out there with them, they need to stay downtown, they missed several opportunities to move into more appropriate accommodations.
How much trouble would it be for KHP to take one room?
As far as the new building being 24/7 accessible, I'm sure they've got a way to work that out. The plans up above are subject to change and are a "concept only" now, not a finished plan.
It's a good idea to put the 911 center away in the vault of concrete walls. Think about it, this 911 center would be our only hope for communications and help if/when a major disaster strikes. When I call for help, I want them to be there.
I still don't buy into the PD needing the whole building. There is plenty of room there for them to include city hall. It is not currently handicap accessible and they need space too. If we don't put them somewhere else, the taxpayers will be asked to fund a new building a a much higher cost in the future.
They may have a plan to work out the 24/7 accesibility. I think we need to hear it. If it's going to involve paying salaries for one or more people to sit at a reception desk then there' added cost and perhaps this isn't the best option but we should go back to looking at adding onto the existing facility, especially if grants would be available to do that.
As far as the communications center being in the vault, I agree that would be good place for it. However, you don't communicate much if a disaster takes out all the phone lines going to & from the center...
Just trying to throw some things out for folks to consider. If we're going to spend the money to do this, it needs to be well thought out this time. PD evidently outgrew the last facility that was built for them in just a few short years. The next one needs to last them a little longer.
Also wonder why the PD seems to be "growing" in a town that is not.
Fort Scott Resident, have you ever been inside the current Police Department? I have taken a tour of it before, and they are seriously cramped there. Putting City Hall in with them would not make sense if they are needing more space. They would not be gaining much if any at all. Are you going to go to one of the public meetings being held? I am sure any questions you currently have could be answered then. Chief Puterbaugh seems like he has put a lot of effort and time into the plans that have been thought up. I'm sure he would be more than happy to answer any questions you would have. I think the Police Department is lucky to finally have a Chief that seems to truly care about his officers. I will definitely be there to state my opinion on making it our town's police department.
Yes, Fort Scott Mom, I have been inside the current PD but it has been several years.
Moving the PD to the armory building would provide them with a lot more space and I still think would be more than they need. I'm not in agreement that everyone needs their own office. The officers need to be out patrolling and making their presence known in the community. I understand they have paperwork that needs to be done but there should be no problem if they shared spaces with other shifts to provide a suitable work area. You can reduce the proposed number of offices they're recommending, include the city offices and put them all at one location. Utilities and some services could be shared to cut costs as well. I think this plan just makes more sense, especially in times like this when people are out of work and struggling financially. I don't believe our city should be spending extra $$ if they can do something to cut costs, resulting in lower taxes (the savings could also be used to provide raises for city employees and possibly retain or attract quality workers...I'm sure you'd be in favor of that). Lower taxes would also encourage new business then more jobs resulting in growth and a wider population to share the tax burden.
If you put only the PD in this building, you have done nothing to solve the problem with access to the city offices, which I think has been a problem much longer than space issues in the Hawkins building. It is something that will still need to be addressed in the future along with the issues with our correction facility which will both be expensive to fix.
It's time we used the tax dollars wisely to get the best bang for our buck and this is where it should start.
Another option...they could always tear it down and turn it into a parking lot....
Most of this building has the space to put 2 floors in. The city Hall & the Police department are adjoined in most of the places that I have lived.
To those of you who have opinions here, please come to the meeting at City Hall on the 16th at 6 pm and make your wishes known to the City Commission. Without YOUR input at the meeting, the words written here may not be enough. I'm planning on being there.
Probably a good idea. (At least on the surface.) I will probably be working on the evening of the 16th as well as the 2nd. Can someone here answer 3 questions or pose them at the meetings for me?
1. How much money will really be saved on the storage of the automobiles in a garage? --Sounds great, but is FSPD willing to agree to extending the amount of time/mileage on vehicles before the purchase of replacements? If it is time only, then how much can really be saved by waiting to purchase?
2. Whom/what is to blame for the current Hawkins building being unable to house the current FSPD needs. I guess I missed out on the talk of plans for additions to take place in April (2009?) but why is it that a somewhat recently constructed builing doesn't meet our needs? I won't argue that they need more space. (I don't work there and it seems cramped when I've been there.) However, why was it not done correctly in the first place?
3. How will the space freed in the current Hawkins building be used?
Will, I can answer one of your questions. The Hawkins building was originally intended for the fire department only. FSPD needed a place to go, so they stuck them in there with the firemen. That is why the current building doesn't fit their needs, it wasn't meant for them to be there in the first place.