A look ahead at 2017: New public safety office

December 28, 2016 5:46 PM

Courtesy of Tim Ross

Discussion about a new public safety building was revived in 2016, but no concrete steps were taken. This year, Police Chief Tim Ross is confident the plans will move forward.

“We know where we’re going. We know what we want already,” he said.

Preliminary plans from 2011 lay out a public safety building that will gather the Homewood Police Department from its four buildings under one roof. That will include extra room to grow, training space and separate entrances for the public and officers.

“That building is going to answer a lot of whether or not we get what we need to continue to grow,” Ross said.

The final layout is still to be determined, including the size of the jail. The department has more than 20 cells, but Ross said there is a trend of declining use. So, the department must decide whether to make a bigger jail to match overall growth in the department, keep the size the same or even choose to contract out jailing services, so they are no longer managed by HPD.

Ross said the city also must decide whether to sell, lease or otherwise use the current headquarters at 1833 29th Ave. S.

“It’s served us well for 36-plus years. We look forward to being in a new building that will serve us that long, if not longer,” Ross said.

Funding to construct the new public safety building will be part of the same $110 million bond the city took out in late 2016 for its growth plan for the school system and parks and recreation department. Ross said the 2011 estimate put the cost of the project in the $13 million to $15 million range, but that number has not been updated to reflect its current situation.

Ross said he expects to see the plans finalized and perhaps even the first groundbreaking in 2017. If things go smoothly, he said it would be possible that HPD could move into the building in 2018, but a lot of factors will influence the project and could change that timeline.

“That’s coming. I’m very confident that in 2017, we’re going to see a lot of progress toward that goal,” Ross said.