N. Aurora secures land for police station

For about $1.45 million, North Aurora became the proud owner of a parking lot.

The 5-acre site at the northwest corner of Route 31 and Airport Road is the future home of the new North Aurora Police Station.

The village board unanimously approved the land acquisition contract Monday after several months of negotiations with the land owner. Earlier this year the village had the land appraised at $1.2 million.

"I'm totally thrilled about the police station," Trustee Linda Mitchell said. "This is a major first step."

"It's step one and we're running," Trustee Mike Herlihy said.

Police Chief Tom Fetzer said he "loved" the location and was "very ecstatic" to see the project moving forward.

Village President John Hansen said the village has been proactively saving money for the land purchase for years. Although it has the money on hand to buy the land, the village will look into revenue sources for the building that could include cash or bonds, Hansen said.

If the village holds to its timetable, the $10- to $13 million project would be complete in summer 2010. But there will be many steps before then, officials said.

Village Administrator Sue McLaughlin said the next step will be to form a project committee, decide how big the building will be and which architect should be hired.

Trustee Mark Gaffino said he already volunteered for the committee assignment. Gaffino spent 10 years as a police officer in neighboring municipalities and has served on the police commission for the village.

"This is long overdue," Gaffino said.

James McClaren of McClaren Wilson and Lawrie Inc., which specializes in police facilities, will meet with the board next week to help decide just how much space the department will need as the village grows.

In a space-needs analysis conducted for the village earlier this year, his report said a new station will need close to 30,000 square feet in two buildings. Right now, the police operate in just over 4,000 square feet, or about the area the jail cells occupy in the survey.