$15-20 million Redmond Police HQ proposal still in early stages
Update: Adding video, comments from police chief)
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A growing city and an older building has the Redmond Police Department struggling with capacity issues, and considering ways to create more space.
Chief of Police Dave Tarbet said Friday that overcrowding has caused a number of issues.
"We’ve outgrown the building we’re in. We’ve been over capacity for years,” Tarbet said. “We're out of parking. The building isn't conducive to good work habits."
Tarbet said they're submitting a proposal to Redmond City Council to buy new land and eventually build a new police station.
Tarbet emphasized to NewsChannel 21 that the proposal is still in the early stages.
But he said both Redmond police staff and the public will benefit from a larger building.
"We're out of office space. We have no conference rooms,” Tarbet said. “If we have more people, we don't know where we're going to put them."
The current, active police station is 12,850 square feet.
Based on their current staff of 58 people, Redmond Police said they need a building of at least 20,880 square feet.
Estimated costs are between $15 and $30 million.
Funding could come in several ways. One option is a voter-approved general bond that could cost around $100 a year on property valued at $350,000.
Financing is another option listed in the proposal.
Redmond police explained there is no set funding plan at the moment.
The proposal also includes a “mental health triage facility.”
Tarbet could not detail exactly what this would look like, but it’s a service he expects to add, no matter what.
"Law enforcement is called upon to handle more and more situations where the people are in mental or emotional crises,” Tarbet said. "We just know that's a service we want to be able to provide."
The initial proposal will be presented at Redmond City Council on Tuesday evening.
If approved, a rough timeline has the construction process starting as soon as the summer of 2022.
