Could cheaper building save Hainesville cops?
Hainesville is exploring use of a prefabricated steel building for a police headquarters as an option to keep the village's 2-year-old department instead of outsourcing patrol services.
Trustee Kevin Barrett has promoted the idea, and at one public meeting last month said a quote he received from General Steel Corp. pegged a 4,000-square-foot building at $400,000.
However, Barrett and Mayor Linda Soto said they were unaware, until informed by the Daily Herald, the company and Colorado's attorney general had settled a consumer protection lawsuit in 2007.
Hainesville officials are exploring whether to keep the police force, in part, because revised figures show it would cost about $1.5 million for construction of a station, funded with a 20-year loan. The village board, at a March 9 meeting, may consider whether to pay $5,900 to General Steel for a full site plan.
Soto said police cannot continue operating from village hall. About 150 residents at a town-hall meeting last week were told Hainesville police don't have proper evidence facilities or locker rooms.
Two neighboring villages and the Lake County sheriff's office have submitted proposals to patrol Hainesville around the clock daily, potentially for less cost. A decision on the department's future is expected by month's end.
Complete police costs would be $711,782 with Grayslake and $791,566 through the sheriff in the 2010-11 budget year. Round Lake Park, which covered Hainesville from 1999 to 2008, is offering to police the village for $540,000 to $583,000.
Barrett said last week's town hall meeting showed overwhelming support for a local police department. He told the crowd about General Steel's buildings and said it may be a way to keep the police without constructing a $1.5 million station.
"You saw how emphatic people are about keeping what we have," Barrett said.
While interested in the idea, Soto said she's had problems getting specific information from General Steel and its work on public-safety buildings. She said that task has been assigned to interim Police Chief Wallace Frasier.
General Steel was known for advertising on national radio shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh and the late Paul Harvey when the $4.5 million consumer protection case was settled with Colorado Attorney General John Suthers in March 2007.
Under the settlement, General Steel was required to continue adhering to a previous injunction requiring more responsible sales practices, according to an archived news release sent by Colorado attorney general spokesman Mike Saccone last week.
Suthers said in the release advertisers "must be held accountable for the accuracy of their pitches."
Barrett said he's heard General Steel commercials on local radio. He added he's aware of other companies that build metal buildings similar to what's offered by General Steel. Lakewood, Colo.-based General Steel was required to pay $4 million in restitution to 1,440 consumers involved in approximately 1,800 transactions nationally.