Police
station size and cost won't change
BY JAMES RADA JR.
Thurmont News Editor
THURMONT,
Md. – The Thurmont Police Commission approved the size
and cost of the new Thurmont police station in February with
the expectation that the station would open on July 4, 2007.
Now one member of the commission wants to re-evaluate the size
and cost of the building even if it means delaying its opening.
“Now
that I’m seeing it on paper, I’m just not sure
we need that much,” Police Commission Bob Lookingbill
told the town commissioners recently.
The new
police station will have 8,100 net-square-feet of space and
cost an estimated $1.8 million. This is what the commission
unanimously voted for in February, which included Lookingbill.
“Mr.
(Gary) Seiss (the town’s project manager) is confident
we will not exceed the estimate of the architect,” Commissioner
Bill Blakeslee.
The bids
are expected back by the end of November and 15-18 bids are
expected on the project, according to Blakeslee. The project
will be paid for with a 15-year bond financed at 4.12 percent
or less.
“Do
we really need a building that big? Do we really need a building
that expensive?” Lookingbill asked.
For instance,
he questioned the need for a workout room in the new station
even though Chief Greg Eyler believes he can have the room
outfitted at no cost to Thurmont taxpayers. This was also
part of the conceptual plans the police commission unanimously
approved in February.
“If
they need to workout, get out of their cars and walk the streets
a bit,” Lookingbill said.
Blakeslee
defended the size and cost of the building, saying, “We
don’t have a Taj Mahal here. We don’t have a homeless
cardboard box.”
Lookingbill’s
main concern appears to be the fact that a large building
planning team met only once. Other meetings included only
a few members of the committee and now the building plans
have gone out for bid.
Mayor
Martin Burns said that no matter what the commission recommended,
the final decision is up to the town commissioners.
“We
will decide on every facet of every bid that comes in,”
Burns said.
He said
the building is big, but it is the right size based on the
police commission’s analysis. Also, the building is
sized to accommodate 20-30 years growth in town.
The following
day, Lookingbill brought up the same topic with the police
commission.
“No
one was ever excluded from any meeting,” said Commission
Chairman Tom Iaccarino. He added that he had been at many
of the meetings even though he wasn’t listed as attending.
“That
may be true, but you have to know about it to attend,”
Lookingbill replied.
He said
he wanted residents to understand the cost that would be involved
in operating the large station.
“Everything
in this building is designed with economy in mind,”
Commission Member Kenny Oland said.
By the
end of the meeting the commission voted 6-1, with Lookingbill
against, to reaffirm the size of the building they had recommended
that the town build, at an estimated cost of about $1.8 million.
