From the Plymouth-Review

Date Unknown

SHEBOYGAN – The new Sheboygan Police Department will likely cost at least $18 million to build, according to a study presented to city aldermen Monday night.

Meeting as The Committee of the Whole prior to the regular Common Council meeting, Aldermen received a copy of study completed by Zimmerman Design Group of Milwaukee for the city. Mayor Juan Perez said the study had just been received by him that afternoon and handed out copies to aldermen at the meeting.

While Perez said the study of five possible sites for the location for a new police station contains thorough information, he stressed that some additions are still needed to make it complete.

“It’s in draft form. It still needs some exhibits and visuals. The summary itself will not substantially change in the final report.”

The study considers several factors of each site including topography, demolition, parking and possibility for expansion, as well as engineering considerations. Those factors included utilities, any possible contamination concerns, landscape, location and traffic. Economic considerations such as acquisition fees and taxes as well as intangibles such as the impact on the neighborhood, amenities and visibility of the building were also taken into account.

Overall, the site on North 23rd Street between Kohler Memorial Drive and Superior Avenue rated the highest with a score of 148. The current City Hall location where the police garage is now located was just slightly behind with 142 points. Following were the former city waste recycling site off of New Jersey Avenue (91 points), land on 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue (90) and land by Van der Vaart, Inc. on Broadway and Georgia Avenues (86).

The North 23rd street site came in the most economical with an estimated total project cost of $18, 367, 500. The recycling center site came in next at $18,458,950 followed by the City Hall site ($18,528,650). The other two proposed locations each would have a projected price tag of over $19 million. The Penn Avenue site was listed at $19,388,450 and the Van Der Vaart site at $19,788,950.

The North 23rd location rated high on some items including program, orientation, topography, demolition, constructions and acoustics as well as grading, timing, staging amenities and philosophy. According to the report, the site would provide few design or construction problems.

The report states, “The site is accessible by car, and located in a reasonably good location for response either north or south. The western location will result in longer response time to the east, but established streets exist for this traffic flow and multiple options are present. The site is identifiable and can be easily found with modest signage.”

The North 23rd location was considered the leading site last spring when a tentative land swap deal with the county for the parcel was in the works. The council then voted last August, however, to build the police station at Sheridan Park. After much consideration and input from citizen’s the board decided to rescind that vote in May and look at other options for the station site.

The City Hall site, meanwhile, received high marks for function, co-location, utilities, geotechnical or soil conditions, contamination concerns, location, traffic, transit access, acquisition costs, tax concerns, immediate cost, neighborhood considerations and sustainability. While the site would not involve any cost to acquire the land, the report recommends that $500,000 allocated to “address offsets on parking”.

In other areas the site would warrant strong consideration overall.

“The site presents the most desirable master plan solution if occupying the site with City Hall functions is the optimal scenario” the report states. “One-stop shopping is a big advantage from a perception and service standpoint. The consolidation of site should be strongly considered. This issue should be reviewed with all outlying departments.

“This is a highly visible site and easily recognizable both culturally and pragmatically.”

The Van der Vaart site was considered the most feasible for expansion.

The report states, “If maintained in its entirety, the site has the capacity to encompass an entire civic campus. That would entail retention of the entire parcel, and creation of building ready pads in the south corner of the site. The commitment to the site for other functions must be in place to achieve an appropriate economic result.

In summary, Zimmerman Vice President John C. Sabinash wrote in a letter to Perez accompanying the report, “We will likely recommend the 23rd street site, but only by a hair over City Hall, which we view as tenable although more costly for the building.”

The committee did not take any action on the report or any possible recommendations, giving aldermen time to look over and interpret the study. The committee will likely take up the issue again at its next meeting Aug. 1.

Perez said, “I think it’s a good idea for the aldermen to get it today and have some time to think about it”.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the committee accepted and filed letters from citizen’s Mary Ann Pittner, John Winter, Dimple Adams and Mark Cramer regarding the police station site. Winter was the only one of the citizens who got up to speak.

Winter, who is a Sheboygan police officer, said he prefers the Van der Vaart site.

“I think this place is the perfect fit. You have plenty of room to build. You don’t have to build a multi-story building; you can go ahead and build a one-story building with plenty of room for parking. In addition to that, the location is ideal. If it’s built near the intersection of South Business and Broadway…it would be visible to citizens and visitors. It would be located along one of the main north-south roads through the city.”

Winter said he does not prefer the North 23rd street site due to the possible land swap deal with the county which he described as the city “getting the deal with the county which he described as the city “getting the short end of the stick on that one”. He also questioned the future of any shared services with the county sheriff’s department.

“It’s my understanding right now from talking with some county board members that they don’t have any short-term or long-term plans to even move the sheriff’s department anywhere, much less move it on 23rd street,” he said.