Bartlett plan commission to review police station plans
Bartlett officials hope to soon exchange a long outdated and overcrowded 20-year-old police station for one specifically designed to remain expandable and relevant for the next 30 to 40 years.
Village plan commissioners will hold a public hearing and review plans for the proposed new station and its parking lot Thursday, in anticipation of an August groundbreaking for the nearly $20 million project.
The planned two-story building, to be built on the site of the current facility at 228 S. Main St., will total 48,982 square feet. Even the 23,233-square-foot first floor will exceed the entire size of the 22,900-square-foot police station built in 1991.
Police Chief Patrick Ullrich said the current station is inadequate for the people who work there, and in many ways for the public they serve.
One example is the main lobby provides the only building access, creating the potential for crime victims and offenders to unintentionally cross paths, Ullrich said.
Also, the station was built for 40 employees but now houses about 77.
The proposed station was designed to accommodate more employees in decades to come, and technological improvements, Ullrich said.
"We're excited to see a shovel go in the ground and for this project to get started," he said. "I think it will be a building our residents will be proud of."
Community Development Director Jim Plonczynski praised the cooperative relationship the village has had with Williams Architects of Itasca.
"We're satisfied with the design," he said. "It's a good looking building."
The new station will be built in two phases - the first from August 2017 to May 2018, and the second completed in late 2018.
Police personnel will accommodate the construction by squeezing into one portion of the old building, while the rest of the structure is demolished for phase one. They'll move into the completed portion while phase two is built.
Because the current area for detainees will be demolished for phase one, the department is working out an arrangement with one or more nearby departments to house prisoners during that time, Ullrich said.
The village has acquired nearly half an acre west of Oak Avenue for an additional 29 parking spaces for the new station. The station will have a total of 63 spaces.
Village trustees approved a $16.2 million bond issue for the new station in November, and a 12.8 percent increase in the property tax levy in December to fund that debt.
The project is expected to trigger an average property tax increase of $91.11 on the annual bills for the owner of a $250,000 house for the next 20 years, village officials said.
Thursday's plan commission hearing starts at 7 p.m. at the Bartlett Municipal Center, next to the police station. The proposal is expected to go back to a village board committee, then to the full village board for final approval in May.