Residents Weigh in on Station Site

Tammy Kregel for The Beacon, Tuesday, July 26, 2005

SHEBOYGAN – Despite some concerns about the cost, the view of many people attending a public input session on locations for the city’s proposed new police station seemed to simply be – get it built as soon as possible.

About 30 people attended the second of two public input sessions Wednesday giving citizens a chance to voice their opinions on sites for a new station. The Common Council is considering five sites for the station: land owned by the county on North 23rd Street between Kohler Memorial Drive and Superior Avenue; the current City Hall location where the police garage is now located; the former city waste recycling site off of New Jersey Avenue; land on 13th and Pennsylvania Avenue; and land by Van Der Vaart, Inc. on Broadway and Georgia Avenues.

According to a study completed early last week by Zimmerman Design Group of Milwaukee, the North 23rd Street site had a slight edge over the city hall location based on numerous factors. The North 23rd site would have the lowest projected cost of $18,367,500 while the city hall location would be just slightly higher at $18,528,650.

Though many residents spoke in favor of the North 23rd Street site, many echoed Sheboygan resident Ken Barbian’s feelings.

“I say let’s pick a site, vote on it and get it built”, he said.

Mary Danen, a Sheboygan resident and the wife of a city police officer, said she hopes the plans for a new station can be settled quickly.

“I hope everyone sets aside their personal opinions,” she said. “After all, it is OUR police station. Don’t worry. If you build it large enough, they will come.”

Resident Scott Lewandoske agreed. He s aid he recently took a tour of the current police facilities at City Hall and said he was convinced that there was a need for a new building.

“I did not realize how bad it was until I took a tour. I think we need a police station as soon as possible,” he said.

In addition, Lewandoske said he recently viewed past issues of The Sheboygan Press at Mead Public Library and saw an article dating back to 1980 concerning a new police station. He said it was time to pick a site and continue on.

“Will there be a perfect site? No,” he said.

Dimple Adams lives in the neighborhood of Sheridan Park, where the Common Council originally voted to put the police station last August before rescinding the vote in May, and said she wants to see a location that’s desirable to the police department.

“This is the house of the police department. I support the Sheboygan Police Department. I think it’s one of the finest in the country. I think it’s one of the finest in the State,” she said.

“There’s not going to be a site that everyone is going to 100 percent agree on.”

Adams said there are still some crime and drug issues in the Sheridan Park area and that the park is still underutilized. In the end, she hopes the police station location issue can be resolved.

She said, “You couldn’t make this up, staring since 2001 what has transpired here. What is it that we cannot make a decision and stick to it? I just don’t understand this.”

Several residents voiced concerns over the cost of the project, which has risen from an estimated $12 million last year.

Gina Steinhardt, who also had supported the Sheridan Park site, said, “It seems to me the cost of this police station is excessive for any of the sites. We do need a new police department, but we don’t have to go crazy. Let’s cut back on some of this. Some of these costs are outrageous.”

Steinhardt cited the cost of a radio tower ranging from $100,000 to $350,000 and cable television hookup ranging from $2,500 to $3,000 depending on the site.

Overall, she said she hopes the council can come to a decision and get the station under construction.

“It’s silly to be going over and over the same issues and not getting anywhere,” she said. “I think we need to move on.”

LeRoy Ottensmann urged aldermen to “Make sure this building is built to serve the needs of the police department and not necessarily the wants.”

Dolyce Jonson, a city resident and former alderwoman, agreed with the price of the project being high and asked aldermen to be careful in their decision.

“It sounds like an above and beyond Taj Mahal…As elected representatives you need to be responsible to your constituents and eliminate the gravy.”

Johnson said she supports the City Hall site and questions whether the North 23rd site would provide a better opportunity for sharing services with the county.

“What services could be shared at North 23rd Street that could not be shared at city hall?” she asked.

Ben Kunert, meanwhile, said he was concerned about access at the 23rd Street site and how it would affect police response time to calls, which he said is critical.

He said, “I’m sorry, there is no easy north-south exit from that building. When you’re in a life and death situation, a couple of minutes could mean death.”

Tom Roethel, added, “I hope someone will look into the traffic situation there, because it’s quite a problem already. Pretty soon what happens is you’ve got no choice but to put stop and go lights at practically every street that T-bones into Superior Avenue.”

Finally, Sheboygan resident Lee Montemayor thanked the council for the opportunity to provide input and said it has been a key part of the process that has been missing in the past.

He said, “If we would have done this years ago, this thing would have been built already.”

Mayor Juan Perez assured the citizens that the police department has been consulted and kept involved in the process of planning the new station. In the end, however, he said the council must make the final decision.

“There’s a clear distinction that needs to be made between the decision-making responsibility that the police department has and what this council and I have,” he said. “The people ultimately hold us accountable for the decision, not the department heads. Their involvement is critical, it’s crucial, it’s key, but then there’s a point where that involvement has to stop and the decision-making responsibility lies with the council and the mayor.”