St. Charles closing in on firm to help envision new police station

St. Charles officials advanced toward a $1.44 million step toward building a new police station in the city Monday night.

City council members viewed a proposal to hire Oak Brook-based FGM Architects for basic architectural services for a new station. The agreement would lock in the firm as the company that will guide the city through the visualization and construction of a new police station.

The firm is the same company city officials hired two years ago, at a cost of $72,000, to evaluate the current police station. That evaluation showed it would cost up to $21.8 million to tear down the current station and rebuild on the same site. Aldermen, at the time, dismissed the $6.24 million option of remodeling the facility to buy another 15 years of use.

The discussion since then has been about where to locate a new police station. The city owns land at the intersection of Red Gate Road and Route 31 that could host a new station. There is also some thought about adding onto the existing public works facility to keep city services somewhat centralized.

Putting the station somewhere in the downtown or at the Valley Shopping Center on the 1600 block of West Main Street are also on the table. Those options may involve some additional costs, as the city may have to purchase or lease space. Selling the current police station location could provide some of that cash.

Alderman Maureen Lewis joined Alderman Jo Krieger as the only two "no" votes on the $1.44 million contract for FGM Monday night. Public Works Director Peter Suhr promoted the firm as both the most qualified and having the ability to seamlessly transition into the next phase of the project because of the work already performed.

Lewis didn't dispute that, but she felt the selection of FGM was premature. Aldermen met in private for about an hour before the committee meeting Monday. Lewis said the city council is split on the best location for the new police station.

"Before we committed to this contract, we needed to have that site picked," Lewis said. "We needed our ducks lined up before we took this kind of a vote."

Lewis indicated the council is divided between the Red Gate Road location and a downtown site. The Valley Shopping Center remains as a potential compromise location.

The full city council must take one more vote before the agreement with FGM is official.