BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LAWRENCEBURG -- Police and fire officials hope that by this time next year, they will be moving out of cramped quarters and into a spacious new downtown home.
City council recently approved purchase -- for $620,000 -- of a property at 423 Walnut St. Now they are waiting for engineers to submit bids to design a roughly 100,000-square-foot police, fire and emergency services building on the site.
The project is expected to cost an estimated $2.5 million, according to Roland Horney, municipal development director.
The new center will replace two fire department buildings: one at Short and High streets at the east end of town, the other at U.S. 50 and Shipping Street. Downtown, fire engines and ambulances would no longer have to force a break in the stream of U.S. 50 traffic to answer a call.
"With all the increased traffic, that was becoming a real safety issue," said Fire Chief Randy Abner. "The city is growing and the county is growing, and we need to get prepared for the future. That's what this is all about."
Police officers, who are now crowded into offices in a building across an alley from City Hall, will gain a holding cell, interrogation room and more office space. The new building will also have a reception area and ample parking to improve public access.
"I'm hoping we can bring the police to the people and let the people get to the police," Mr. Horney said, noting that the new site is centrally located. "It will give us quicker and easier access to all parts of the city."
Mayor Melvin Gabbard said the police and fire buildings are not only too small and inconvenient, but they are also "old and worn out." Maintenance bills are adding up.
"It's just like pouring money down the drain to fix some of that stuff," said Chief Abner.
The new emergency services center will include a public meeting area and ample space for police and the roughly 75-member volunteer fire department. There will be storage areas, public parking and easy in-and-out access for firetrucks and other emergency vehicles. Mr. Horney said he hopes construction will begin in the spring and be complete by the end of next summer.
In the meantime, the fire department will gain an addition to its northern station on Bielby Street near Dearborn County Hospital. City council approved a roughly 1,000-square-foot garage addition to accommodate an aerial truck bought last year but without a permanent home so far. The weight of the large, extension-ladder truck is too much for the floor of the existing station, Mr. Horney said.
Contractors must submit bids for the work by Sept. 15, and city officials hope they will be able to begin work immediately. If all goes well, the addition could be complete by Thanksgiving.
