The roofs leak. One office was a bathroom. Puyallup police ask voters for new building
The smell of roof sealant is nothing new for employees at the Puyallup Police Department. But it might be for those who get a chance to step foot in the agency’s 50-year-old building.
The facility at 311 W. Pioneer Ave. was established in 1968. At that time, Puyallup had about 23 employees. Now there are about 95 employees that are trying to make use of the building, according to the city’s website.
This November, voters will get to decide if they want to support a bond measure to help fund a new building that would bring the police department, jail and Municipal Court together under one roof. It would also create a police substation at City Hall.
“We’ve gotten really good at putting lipstick on a pig,” Chief Scott Engle said. “We’re at that point where (I have) no more rabbits to pull out of my hat to make this facility work.”
Engle has been giving community tours of the current building ahead of the election.
The project costs $82.7 million in total and would be paid by Puyallup homeowners within 25 years. Those who own a median-priced home would have to pay about $20 per month in property tax, totaling about $240 per year.
About $59 million of the project’s total cost will go toward things such as construction fees. About $23 million will go to inspections and furniture, among other things. More information on how the project’s total cost is divided can be found on the city’s website.
The new building will be at 600 39th Ave. SE, which is next to Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Station 72. Engle said the building is not in a lahar or flood zone, which will ensure the police department is not affected during such an emergency.
Initially, the project totaled about $120 million. City spokesperson Eric Johnson wrote in an email the city’s consultant and staff reconsidered some plans to lower the overall cost, such as decreasing the number of beds for inmates from about 100 to 80. Other structural features like awnings over some parking spaces and windows that would block the sun’s glare were also reconsidered, Johnson wrote.
“There’s been a lot of thought process to make sure that this is a good investment for the next 30 years,” Engle said. “We are being good stewards of our community’s tax dollars.”
Some who oppose the ballot measure argue homeowners would see their taxes increase to build a jail “that is much larger than is necessary,” according to the statement against the measure in the voter’s pamphlet. The location for the proposed building is also “problematic,” the statement argued, because it would be near shopping and senior living.
The current building has leaky roofs — the roof is flat, which is not a good idea in the Pacific Northwest where it rains often, Engle said. There are HVAC issues, the sewer backs up frequently, and there is not enough space to house most if not all employees.
What used to be a bathroom on the first floor of the two-story building turned into an office for the department’s youth explorer program, which was “better than nothing,” Engle said.
The jail was designed to have 23 beds for inmates. Now the department has had to make room for about 52 inmates, Engle said. Some cells have three beds instead of two, and the sprinkler system is outdated.
At the time the building was built, the city had about 14,000 residents. Now, there are over 43,000 people living in Puyallup, according to the city’s website.
“Every square inch of this building is being used for something at the moment,” Engle said. “We’ve been here for so long.”
The Municipal Court is in a leased space at 929 E. Main Ave., and the city pays about $200,000 per year for the space, according to the city’s website. It is just as overcrowded as the police station, Engle said.
The new building would have the police station and the jail on the first floor. The Municipal Court would be on the second floor. The basement floor would hold the evidence items as well as parking spaces, Engle said.
A substation in City Hall would house the traffic unit and provide space for an office and conference room, The News Tribune reported. It would be on the first floor of City Hall.
In June, councilmembers disagreed with how long homeowners should contribute, The News Tribune reported. Councilmembers Dean Johnson, Ned Witting and Mayor Julie Door voted to have a 20-year loan. Councilmembers Cyndy Jacobsen, Jim Kastama, Robin Farris and Deputy Mayor John Palmer voted to have a 25-year loan.
Engle said if the bond measure does not pass, the city will return to “the drawing board” and figure out a plan B, which he does not know the answer to.
The bond measure was supposed to be on the 2020 ballot, but it was put on a shelf after the City Council reconsidered the building’s location. This bond measure needs to receive a 60 percent approval rate for it to pass. Election day is on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
