Item A: City Council Priority Issue - City Hall Complex

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City Hall Complex – Police Patrol Options structure leads to higher cost and reduced efficiency. As well, locating the main patrol function in a downtown City Hall building adds approximately 30,000 square feet of below-grade structured parking – parking that could be provided at lower cost if the patrol facility is not collocated with City Hall. These issues are further exacerbated in the half-block concept. The inclusion of police patrol adds at minimum one floor to a new City Hall building when constrained to a half-block site as well as the very substantial structured parking requirements. Although the EPD has enjoyed a single office location in the past, the organization is too large to effectively office and stage from a single facility. As the City and department continue to grow, efficient use of facilities becomes increasingly important. Many cities similar in size (and virtually all larger cities) divide their police operations between multiple facilities. Though it might be preferable from a purely in-person communications perspective to locate all police functions in a single facility, technology has significantly mitigated this concern. As was discussed in the previous section, patrol officers and their district commanders are not normally in the City Hall building even now, except at the start and end of shifts. Information from the most recent public forum indicates that a substantial majority of those involved in the discussion view the addition of the patrol function to the new City Hall as both more expensive than necessary and as detracting from the functionality of the City Hall building since patrol offices and parking are not public access facilities. Options Although there are several options remaining for the City Hall project, the project scope can be further narrowed by making a decision on the police patrol options. Police Administration needs to remain in close proximity to City Hall administrative offices and Police Investigations needs to remain in close proximity to the courts. For this reason, separating police functions entirely from City Hall is not presented as an option. Unlike other decisions, to do nothing is not a viable option in this case, leaving essentially two basic options: 1. Develop the City Hall project with the main police patrol facility collocated within City Hall. 2. Develop the City Hall project with the main police patrol facility separate from City Hall and develop a separate project for locating the main police patrol facility elsewhere. There is no community policing benefit or detriment to either option. Option Two is functionally and operationally preferable. Police Chief’s recommendation In this case, operational and cost reasons lead one to the same conclusion as apparent public preference – continue the development of the City Hall project without the inclusion of the main police patrol facility and engage a separate project to serve that need (Option Two). The best balance of cost containment, efficiency, and effectiveness of facilities would suggest that a good general site area for a patrol facility would be near the Roosevelt Yard where police nd vehicles are serviced and fueled and 2/Chambers where the Training Center is located. The single greatest generator of extra vehicle trips is to fuel and service vehicles. Most of EPD’s larger meetings are already held at the Training Center. Similar to the 9-1-1 and Training Center, a patrol facility in this area can be discretely secure and utilize surface parking. EPD’s downtown patrol presence would be retained, perhaps enhanced with the addition of a City Hall public safety station. Page 3 of 4