St. Charles aldermen favor new police station in new location

It will cost St. Charles residents up to $21.8 million to fix the problem of their aging police station. But a cheaper long-term solution is available if city officials don't mind moving the department - and most aldermen said Monday they like the idea of moving it somewhere else.

City officials began looking at the idea of moving the department last year when a study of the downtown police station showed it needs more than $1 million in exterior repairs. Spending that cash would not fix a "spaghetti" entanglement of utility infrastructure, a shortage of workspace by about 10,000 square feet, or the department's current location in the floodplain.

Public Works Director Peter Suhr told aldermen it would be "probably irresponsible" to not address the building's problems in some fashion. He presented four scenarios for change.

The cheapest idea is a $6.24 million remodel of the existing police department building. Suhr estimated the remodel would buy up to 15 more years at the current location.

A basic remodel doesn't fix any of the long-term concerns. But that's also where the big costs come in.

A partial demolition and new addition on the current station would cost about $20.4 million. Tearing down the police department and building new on the existing site would cost about $21.8 million.

All the remaining options involve moving the police department to a new location. Suhr suggested a move to a piece of land the city already owns at Red Gate Road and Rt. 31. That 3.2-acre site was originally intended for the creation of a fourth fire station. Putting a police station there would cost about $18.6 million.

Just about all the aldermen agreed the police department needs a totally new station. Many of the aldermen were not excited about the Red Gate Road site. The location is close to the border of the city and further away from the visibility that the current downtown site provides.

Aldermen asked staff to research moving the department to the existing public works campus or the Valley Shopping Center on the 1600 block of West Main Street. The costs and feasibility of those locations are not yet known.

Suhr and police Chief James Keegan said they will work with architects to investigate the sites proposed by aldermen.

Any move of the current department would also likely involve the sale of the existing police department building and site. Suhr said a market value study shows the current station is worth about $2.3 million.