Preliminary planning begins for police station renovations

The “shock and awe tour” ­— That is what Washington Police Chief James Kuchenbecker said as he walked through the tight quarters of his police station.

One restroom for female employees, no central break room and a shower blocked by police equipment are just a few of the problems.

“We’ve tried to maximize all of the square footage we possibly can here,” he said. “We have people using old storage closets for locker rooms. We certainly are cramped, and that’s putting it mildly.”

With City Hall completely moved into what was once the old library building, the attention has turned to space issues at the police headquarters.

The Public Services Committee met Jan. 11 and decided to move forward with preliminary planning for renovations to the building, which include expanding their operations upstairs and a possible 10,000-square-foot addition to the back of the building, said Kuchenbecker.

Police department staff will meet with an architect in the upcoming week to discuss the most efficient use of the upstairs space, where City Hall was previously located.

“We have a mayor and a council who unanimously agree that we need to do something with the police department,” Kuchenbecker said. “They have been unbelievably supportive.”

The police department has been located in the old City Hall building since it first opened in 1960 — when about 5,000 residents lived in Washington, he said.

Originally, City Hall operated on the east side of the second floor, and the offices of city council chambers were on the other side.

The main floor was split, too. Half of the main floor was for the police department, and the other half was a community room — where potluck dinners or wedding receptions took place, said Kuchenbecker

As the community continued to grow in the mid-’80s, they expanded the police department to the entire ground floor.

The police department now employs just over 40 people, including both part-time and full-time positions, he said. And they operate out of 2,900 square feet.

Shortly after Kuchenbecker began his position as police chief — about 5 1/2 years ago — he began to stress to city officials the need for additional space.

“My persistence paid off, and about two years ago, the mayor, the council and the city administrator authorized us to have a firm come in here and do a needs-and-space analysis,” he said.

Based on the rate of growth of the community, the firm came up with a figure of 16,000 square feet that was needed to handle current and future police operations. However, the price tag for such a building would have been $5 million, Kuchenbecker said.

“We weren’t in a position, as a city, to fund a project of that magnitude,” he said. “We were sort of at a crossroads. Everyone knew we needed a building, but we couldn’t build a building without any money.”

At that time, Five Points Washington opened up in town, leaving the library space vacant, he said.

First, the idea was to move the police station there, but space and construction standards did not allow for it, said Kuchenbecker

City administrator Bob Morris then suggested moving City Hall operation to the old library building. At 7,500 square feet, City Hall would double in size.

The city could not take on two renovation projects at once, so renovating the police department had to wait until City Hall was complete.

In addition to expanding upstairs, the department wants to add an 8,000-10,000-square-foot addition to the back of the building in the next few years.

Future goals include moving the dispatch center and administrative operations to the first floor, Kuchenbecker said. They also want to include public interview rooms and a community/training room, where they will hold the citizens’ police academy classes and meetings. 

Kuchenbecker said the department will probably not move upstairs until the renovations are complete.

“We understand we have to have the funds available before we do this,” he said, adding budget constraints are a problem. “We have some significant challenges ahead of us.”