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Proposed New Police Facility

The City of Redding is in the process of exploring how to construct and finance a new police facility to replace the 60-year-old building the Redding Police Department currently occupies. In February 2008, the Redding City Council appointed a 15-member citizens committee to study the project, directing it to report back by July 1. The following are frequently asked questions about the project – and the corresponding answers to them.

Why do we need a new police building? The current one doesn’t look so bad.

You can’t judge a book, or building, by its cover. The current police headquarters building on California Street is a converted car dealership originally built in 1948. It became a police station in 1977, when our city population was about 45,000, or half what it is today.  At that time our police force totaled 85 full-time personnel, compared with 173 today. There are an additional 70 to 80 part-time personnel such as police cadets and chaplains, as well as citizen volunteers, who also use the building. Behind the brick walls, the building is cramped and deteriorating. The roof leaks and needs costly renovation.  The building lacks adequate storage space, break room facilities, access for shipping and receiving and the public, and vehicle parking.  There is not enough space for our current-day force to work efficiently.

Aren’t police officers supposed to be out on the streets?  Why does the building need to accommodate a bigger force?

Yes, but a building houses numerous personnel besides officers. Support staff, such as records technicians, secretaries, computer programmers, analysts, and others spend most of their day there, along with command staff. Many officers  may be in the station at the same time, such as during a shift change or briefings. Certain activities, like report-writing, are normally done at the end of a shift; having adequate room for multiple officers to write and edit those reports is important.

How will a new facility improve service to the community?

Currently the police force is divided into two locations. The Patrol Division and the Administrative Services Division are housed in the headquarters building.  The Investigations Division is located in rental office space in the Downtown Mall.  The separation hampers internal communications. There is not adequate storage for evidence and property.  The building does not have adequate restroom facilities for the public or the employees.  It lacks ample parking for citizens and employees.  A new facility would correct these problems and allow officers to be more efficient.  Better daily communication between Patrol and Investigations may lead to more crime trends being identified, suspects being found sooner, and increased efficiency of resources.

How big would the new facility be? Why so much larger than the current one?

A Space Needs Assessment completed by architectural firm Nichols, Melburg, and Rosetto (NMR) provided us with an estimate of how big our current facility should be to accommodate our existing staff. A projection was then made, based on population growth of the Redding area, to determine how big the facility should be in the year 2025. NMR determined the building should be approximately 67,000 square feet – double the current size.  An additional 10,000 square feet would be needed for storage/out buildings.  A facility this size would allow all of the police functions to be in one building, rather than two as is now the case. It also would provide adequate room for police vehicles, equipment and evidence storage (which has increased due to new laws.) 

The new Police Facility will include a community room for use by the public for a variety of community meetings, training sessions, and events.  The same room will double as the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during disasters and large-scale emergencies.  The current EOC is located in a small meeting room at the Corporation Yard. The new EOC would house modern communications equipment, be large enough for the city organization, and be located near the Civic Center for easier access. 

The building will be constructed with some room for growth.  It would service our community for the next 30 to 40 years.

How does the proposed facility compare with those in similar-sized cities?

It is difficult to compare building costs without knowing what costs are included at each site, such as contingencies, change orders, design fees, furniture, fixtures and equipment, landscaping, construction management, and so forth.  In 2005 a committee traveled to other Northern California cities where public safety building projects were recently built, to tour their facilities and talk to local officials.   Cities visited included Concord, Davis, Lodi, Rocklin, Vacaville, and Woodland.  With the escalated inflation rate of the last few years factored in, the proposed facility compares very favorably with similar-sized cities. It's very difficult to compare costs with facilities in other states, since California can be more costly to build for various reasons. Those include environmental review, seismic standards and other requirements.     

How much will a new Police Facility cost?  Why is it so expensive?

The cost of the Police Facility project is about $35 million.  That is just an estimate.  The estimate includes design and architecture work, environmental review and mitigation, infrastructure, fixtures, furniture, equipment, land, insurance, and project contingencies – much more than just the structure itself.   The estimate also accounts for California’s “prevailing wage” laws, which easily force the labor costs up more than rates in other areas of the country.

How much is that per square foot?

The proposed Police Facility would be about 67,000 square feet (double the current one) with an additional 10,000 square feet for storage or outbuildings. Subtracting non-structure costs, it is estimated the cost would be approximately $265 per square foot for the main building and $150 per square foot for the outbuildings.

Isn’t it still more than most office buildings?

Yes, but a Police Facility serves a unique purpose, making it more costly. The California Essential Services Buildings Seismic Safety Act of 1986 requires the building be built to “essential services” standards.  This means the building has to survive a natural or manmade catastrophe and still be a functional public safety facility.  In addition, the building has to be able to stand up to the wear and tear of use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Walls must stand up to bumps and scuffs from equipment or evidence, and fixtures must be extra-durable because of the around-the-clock use.   The public-accessible areas of the facility must meet the stringent requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Due to the nature of law enforcement work, the building must be equipped with certain security features to allow protection from theft, vandalism, surveillance, acts of terrorism and the like.

But other local law enforcement  buildings aren’t built to these standards – why not?

The “essential services” building requirement applies only to new or remodeled structures built after 1986.  Some agencies occupy buildings built prior to that date.

Why can’t we use one of the vacant office buildings around town?

It’s possible, but most are inadequate. By law, any building used by certain public safety agencies such as police or fire must meet more stringent structural  requirements. Thus, an existing building would likely need retrofitting to comply with the “essential services” security standards, and those costs could be moderate to significant. That could be more costly than building a new facility. Also, a Police Facility has unique needs not generally reflected in the original design of average office buildings. They include secure storage for evidence and weapons, vehicle facilities, prisoner holding cells, locker rooms, complex communication equipment, and laboratory areas for testing and investigation work.  Lastly, proximity to other city government functions, such as the Civic Center, has benefits not realized in an existing building located elsewhere.

Where will the money for this project come from?

That’s the $64-dollar question.  The City could use about $7 million in one-time funds from Redevelopment and block grant funding, sale of the existing building and other sources.  And it would save $50,000 a year by not having to lease the Investigations Division office space.  The remaining $28 million could be financed, resulting in debt service of approximately $1.85 million annually for 30 years.

Doesn’t the City have a budget of more than $290 million? Why can’t it find room for $1.85 million?

That total budget figure includes a number of “enterprise funds,” such as Redding Electric Utility, water, solid waste and others, which are essentially independent departments whose monies cannot be used for a police facility. Money for a new police facility would have to come from the general fund, which is approximately $74 million and pays for many of the City’s general services.  If public safety, street maintenance and fixed debt-service expenditures are excluded, about $19 million is left for services like planning, code enforcement, parks maintenance and recreation programs.  Many of those services would be cut back significantly if the $1.85 million were taken from the general fund.

What about Redevelopment funds? Doesn’t the city have millions there?

Use of that money would have to be justified by showing the project (in this case a Police Facility) directly benefits the Redevelopment area in which it lies.  Some funding would be available from the Canby/Hilltop/Cypress Redevelopment Project Area, but since the proposed Police Facility location is outside that area, benefits to it – and therefore funding – are limited. The proposed Police Facility would be located within the Market Street Redevelopment Project Area. There are not any funds available from Market Street for the project.

Some have mentioned increasing the sales tax rate – how would that work?

Increasing the sales tax, even by a small amount and for a limited time, would require a two-thirds vote by the City Council to put it on the ballot and a majority vote of the electorate in the City of Redding. Such a measure would have to stipulate how large the tax would be and how long the tax would remain in effect.  Residents of the City of Woodland, for example, voted for a sales tax increase, implemented for five years only, to specifically pay for new police headquarters and other specified civic improvements.  In Redding a quarter-cent sales tax, for example, if passed by voters, would generate about $6 million per year. How much additional sales tax each household would pay would depend on its purchases. For example, a quarter-cent additional tax would mean two cents more on something like an $8.99 T-shirt, $1.19 more on a $475 washing machine and $62.50 more on a $25,000 new car.

How can I get more information about the project or tour the current facility?

For more information about the proposed Police Facility or to schedule a group tour of the current facility, please contact Police Administration at 225-4292 during business hours. In addition, the City Council has appointed a 15-person citizens committee to examine the project and make recommendations about building a new Police Facility. Those meetings are open to the public and will be publicized.