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West Lafayette introduces
plans for new police station
By Jamie Teibel
Summer
Editor
The final report regarding the conceptual design
phase for a new West Lafayette police station was presented Monday by
RQAW Consulting Engineers & Architects.
The new building, which will be adjacent from the
West Lafayette City Hall, has a January or February 2002 bid date and
is scheduled for a spring 2003 completion date.
When designing the new building, the design team
took into consideration the growing population of West Lafayette and
Tippecanoe County.
Brent Dodd, RQAW architect, said their research
showed that in the year 2000, West Lafayette had a population of 28,778;
Tippecanoe County had 149,653. Estimations for the year 2025 bring the
West Lafayette population to 39,155 and Tippecanoe County to 195,720,
making West Lafayette the seventh fastest growing city in Indiana and
Tippecanoe one of the top five fastest growing counties in the state.
Because of the steady increase in population, the
design team also had to take into consideration the accumulating number
of employees. The police department has 45 sworn officers, but will
increase to 109 in the year 2025, according to the design phase summary.
Even though the number of officers isn't large,
sharing City Hall does not provide ample space.
"They have been very crowded for awhile, even with
the present number of officers they should have double the amount of
space they have now," said Mayor Sonya Margerum.
The growing number of employees, added to the amount
of public traffic, increased the need for more parking spaces. Anticipated
total parking is 251 spaces, 115 more than the current amount. Margerum
said the design of the new building "will be able to take care of the
parking needs of City Hall and the police station."
Margerum said the building will not only accommodate
present needs, but also the needs through 2025. The building, which
will be two-stories high and may include a basement, has an estimated
budget set at $4.2-$4.9 million, if the building is 26,00 square feet;
and $4.8-$5.5 million if it is 29,671 square feet. If a basement is
added, between $46,000 and $54,000 will be tacked on to the bill.
Margerum said construction will be paid for with
economic development income tax; not property tax.
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Library
to provide services for area residents, students
Commissioners
approve jail expansion plans for Lafayette
West
Lafayette introduces plans for new police station
Fiddlers'
gathering to host various musical groups, genres
Commission
discusses subdivision development
CITY DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111
ext. 250
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send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org
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