ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – The City of Ithaca may consider different options in its plan for a new police station.
On August 19, Common Council members discussed an amendment to the existing capital program for the public safety facility project.
The proposal authorizes city personnel to use existing funds to commission a study to explore and identify cost-effective alternatives for constructing a new facility.
“I think it’s in [the] best financial interest of the city to explore the option of, rather than relocating the Ithaca Police Department to somewhere like the Bowl-O-Drome, which we purchased for this potential purpose, to actually look at expanding the police department into the court facility, which is already attached to the police department,” said Acting City Manager Dominick Recckio.
The need for a new police department facility has been discussed at the city level going back at least a decade. Those needs have only increased in recent years.
“Having toured IPD, it needed it,” said Alderperson Ducson Nguyen. “The two main things that really stood out to me were the victim interview room being where it is and how it’s furnished, and also, we have a higher proportion of women officers now, and seeing the condition and size of the women’s locker room was atrocious, frankly, and they deserve a lot better.”
Nguyen added that the recent experience of trying to identify a new public transit facility has him fully on board with considering all potential options.
“Having gone through a very similar process for finding a new TCAT facility, which just didn’t work out, and seeing the price tag, which has probably doubled in the five or six years since we last looked at that, I was increasingly thinking this was never going to happen anyway,” said Nguyen. “And so, a more modest proposal, I think, definitely bears exploring.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Acting City Manager Dominick Recckio, who believes moving the court facility could be a faster and cheaper solution due to square footage needs.
“Being able to explore this, I think, gives us the flexibility to try and meet IPD’s needs on a quicker timeline, and it may be easier and potentially more cost-effective to relocate the court.”
The city has been in contact with the New York State Unified Court System for several months to assess their needs. In addition to more space, the courthouse is facing a significant amount of deferred maintenance costs.
“I’m only bringing this to you because I think that we have a [potentially] more cost-effective solution, relative to the cost of a new construction of a police station, which is unlikely something within our current borrowing capacity that we can afford at this time,” said Recckio.
Common Council approved the amendment, effectively sending it to a voting meeting to occur in September. If passed, the city will issue and RFP to consultants to conduct the study.
“I am always in favor of spending a little bit in order to identify cost saving measures,” said Alderperson Pat Sewell. “I think that is prudent, especially because often times you can spend a little bit in the short-term and save long-term.”
You can watch the full meeting here.
