Council must make police station decision Monday

CHAGRIN FALLSIt was standing room only during Monday's town hall meeting at a public hearing to discuss the proposed police station.

Architect Dave King presented two revised designs for the station on Solon Road.

To get the issue on the Nov. 3 ballot, council must pass a resolution of necessity and decide the bond issue's amount at its Monday meeting. It may choose between the two designs, or opt not to put it to a vote this fall.

On May 5 residents defeated a $5.4 million bond issue and a .70-mill operating levy that would have paid to build and maintain the 16,400-square-foot station.

Council is now considering two smaller and cheaper alternatives after a village-wide survey disclosed that many people who voted no did so for those reasons.

The first design -- which was reviewed at a Committee of the Whole meeting June 30 -- is a two-story structure with a half basement and unfinished space that could eventually be used as a community room.

This 15,900-square-foot design would cost about $4,514,000, or $886,000 (16.4 percent) less than the station on the May ballot.

The other design is a one-story structure with a full basement that eliminates the community room. This design is 13,600 square feet and would cost $3,995,000, which is $1,405,000 (26 percent) less than the original proposed station.

The main difference between the two new designs, King said, is the space for the community room.

"This (one-story design) does not eliminate square footage from the core function of the police department," he said.

King also said that the exterior would change from a two-story mill building to a Western Reserve style structure. Residents speak

Residents offered comments on many aspects of the proposals, from whether Solon Road was the right location to whether the village should seek both the bond issue and operating levy on the same ballot....