City of
Placerville Regina O'Connell <[email protected]> Comment for Tonights Meeting - Please forward to Council and EDC Fire Protection District Board
Kara Taylor <[email protected]> Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 11:44 AM To: Regina O'Connell <[email protected]>, Cleve Morris <[email protected]> Dear City Council and EDCFPD,
I am sorry I will not be in attendance at this meeting to discuss this important project. I wanted to take an opportunity to voice my strong support for Option 1. The current Police Department and Fire Station are not only outdated, but completely deticient. We are incredibly fortunate for the men and women in law enforcement and emergency services who are so dedicated to our community that they have been willing to overlook the failings of these buildings and working conditions. The time to take bold action and plan for current and future needs has come.
Given the state of the two buildings and the increasing needs for law enforcement and fire protection, inaction is simply not an option. Over the last several decades, we have utilized band-aid approaches to maximize the life of these buildings and now they are maxed out.
By combining the two facilities into one brand new Public Safety Building, we can build more efficiently, making use of shared spaces like locker and break rooms, conference rooms and outdoor spaces. While also sharing the costs of design and engineering, site work and utilities. By having Police and Fire in the same building, we will increase opportunities for collaboration and camaraderie. We will avert the need for interim facilities during the build-out of the new facility, which would be logistically challenging if not impossible. When the project is completed there will be two properties, not one, that could be repurposed in a way that better compliments a downtown shopping environment and/or leveraged to help fund the project or other needs. This approach just makes sense.
These cost estimates actually came in significantly lower than I was expecting for this project, that being said, it is still a big number which we do not have in our current budget outlook. There will be some in the public who will balk at the price tag. I have full confidence in the ability of our City Engineer, Chief Wren and Chief Cordero, and the project team to acquire the funding needed to complete this project if the political will is there to do it and the decision is made to move forward. I encourage you all to make that decision.
Lastly, I want to thank Chief Wren, Chief Cordero, Rebecca Neves and Dewberry Engineers and the entire project team for their work on this feasibility study. It is clear a lot of time and hard work went into this and it is really exciting to see the options for this Public Safety Building taking shape.
Best Regards,
Kara Taylor