Voters will decide whether Puyallup police move to $82.7 million South Hill building
Puyallup has resurrected plans for an $82.7 million public safety building, planning to put a bond measure to pay for it before voters in November.
City Council discussed the building June 8. All seven council members agreed the issue needed to be on the Nov. 2 ballot, but they disagreed on the length of the loan.
The city has two bond options: a 25-year or 20-year loan. Puyallup finance director Barbara Lopez said the annual cost in property tax for someone who owns a median-priced home would be $271 for the 20-year loan and $239 for the 25-year loan.
Council members Dean Johnson, Ned Witting and Mayor Julie Door sided with the shorter time frame, saying the higher annual cost would be better than incurring an extra $11 million in interest.
“I wouldn’t support that for the city anymore than I would do it for myself,” Witting told the council.
Council members Cyndy Jacobsen, Jim Kastama and Robin Farris and Deputy Mayor John Palmer supported the longer loan.
Palmer and Jacobsen said a less-expensive annual cost to taxpayers could mean a better chance at passage. A bond measure takes 60 percent to pass in Washington.
“It very well might not pass. It could end at 58 or 59 percent. I think we need to put our best foot forward here,” Palmer said. “The taxpayers care about the extra taxes.”
The council was scheduled to make the decision official with a vote on June 15.
Site design
The new public safety building would bring together police headquarters, the jail and Puyallup Municipal Court.
The current police station and jail were built in the 1960s, and the municipal court is in a leased commercial space on Main Avenue.
The three-story building proposed for 703 39th Ave. SE would be about 76,000 square feet. The first floor would be below-grade secure parking with a basement for evidence, K-9 kennels and an armory. The ground floor would house the police department, with the jail and courtrooms on the top floor.
Police also would have secure parking behind the building. Total secure parking would be 90 stalls with an additional 100 public parking spots. The jail would grow from its current 50 beds to between 80 and 100 beds.
The South Hill site includes designs for a downtown “substation” in City Hall for four officers. The consulting firm Mackenzie presented plans last year for a substation that would hold the traffic unit, an office, a conference room and a space to write reports or talk to victims and witnesses.
The price has been whittled down over the past 3-1/2 years from the initial estimate of $104 million.
Among other changes, the square footage was shaved down and exterior glazing was replaced with brick to make the cost more palatable to voters.
A building in disrepair
The current police building at 311 W. Pioneer Ave. has a leaky roof, little storage and sewage problems. The department also is renting space in three buildings.
Capt. Dan Pashon said the department is excited about the project.
The police department building was built in 1968 when the city population was under 15,000.
“Other then a remodel in 1992 that converted some of the fire bays into useable space for the police department, we are working out of the same building,” he said in an email.
Now, Puyallup has grown to almost 44,000 people and the police has about 100 employees.
There is so little storage, deputy chief Dave McDonald said in 2019, the department has rented storage units for lost items and equipment and is using a nearby credit union for office space.
The station currently has 15 parking spots for 69 officers, Pashon told The News Tribune in January 2020.
Right before the pandemic hit, the council intended to put the bond measure on the ballot, but plans were tabled after the council decided on the South Hill property rather than building behind city hall or renovating the existing building.
Architect Brett Hanson is an architect with Mackenzie has been hired by the city for the project.
Hanson told the council in January 2020 that trying to build on the current site was a “nonstarter.” He said the building is too old and the jail is not up to standards. Rebuilding on the same property would cost $88 million and not include a court.
The estimated costs for a public safety building attached to City Hall would be $128 million and also would not include space for Puyallup Municipal Court.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
