Questions remain about plans for new Elmhurst police station

Elmhurst officials seem to agree that their 28-year-old police station is approaching the end of its useful life, but questions remain about how, when and where to replace it.

The city council's public safety committee on Monday reviewed a space needs analysis from FGM Architects of Oak Brook that looked at the police department's needs for the next 30 years. Issued this summer, the report indicates the station at 125 E. First St. is vastly too small and its design flaws negatively affect departmental operations.

The report suggests the city has three options: make basic but costly repairs to stay in the station; build an addition and renovate the existing building; or build a new facility.

Alderman Scott Levin, who heads the committee, said its consensus is that "doing nothing is not an option."

But while committee members agree changes need to be made, they told staff they also need more information on several fronts, including:

• Whether it's cost-effective to move some operations, such as long-term evidence storage and a shooting range, to a separate location.

• Whether a larger station should be built downtown or elsewhere. Officials said they need at least three to four acres for a new station.

• What the value of the existing site would be if sold to a developer.

• What the possible impact would be on operations and response times if the department is moved out of the central business district.

Director of Public Works Howard Killian said staff members, including representatives from the police command structure and the architectural firm, are beginning work to answer those and other questions. There's no specific timetable, he said, because the city won't be ready to tackle design work on a new building until 2020 and construction on a new station or an addition to the current structure likely wouldn't take place until 2021 or 2022.

Officials already are studying new stations in other towns, he said, including Arlington Heights and Carol Stream, where facilities are being built on the original site and police operations temporarily were moved to other locations.

Levin agreed there's no rush, but said the city needs to move forward to create a design and "get a plan ready to go."

He said officials and others are disappointed the current station "was obsolete the day it was open." Elmhurst was facing financial hardships in the late 1980s, he said, and "instead of building to need, they built to budget."

In its report, FGM said police need 54,119 square feet to operate effectively - far beyond the current building's 31,310 square feet.

"Increasing the square footage of the building by 73 percent will provide the optimum amount of space for the department and includes provisions for long-term growth," the report says.

The report says building an addition and renovating the station would cost between $21.1 million and $22.9 million. Building a new station at a different site would cost between $28.6 million and $30.7 million.

In either case, the analysis says the current station does not function effectively.

First, police operations have "changed dramatically since the building was designed in 1988," including legal, procedural and technological changes. Among other things, Killian said, has been the emergence of technology that was largely unheard of when the building was constructed.

Second, there are poorly designed spaces, including the Sally port that is not large enough to provide for the safe transfer of detainees from a vehicle to the lockup area and poses a liability risk for the city.

Third, there are concerns about parking that will become more problematic if the building is expanded to the south or west.

Finally, FGM factored the department's potential growth into its analysis. The department is authorized to have 70 sworn officers (it currently has 68), 15 part-time officers and 22 civilian employees. Based on population estimates that show moderate growth in the city, the department could add four sworn officers, 10 part-time officers and eight civilian positions.