Advocates for a ballot measure that would fund a new police station and the land for a new fire station hope voters who rejected a similar measure in May will support their proposal this time around.
A revised and trimmed version of May’s Measure 20-31, Measure 20-36 calls for the construction of an 80,000-square-foot police station — 17,500 square feet less than originally planned — that meets earthquake safety codes and eliminates overcrowding. The new station would be located on city-owned property on East Eighth Avenue, across the street from City Hall.
The station would provide the “same square footage other similar-size police departments in the Northwest have,” said John Brown, a real estate appraiser and former member of the Eugene Police/Fire Station Task Force. “That’s what they need.”
Eugene Police Department Lt. Rick Ziel said space in the current police facility is cramped, and cited the 12-foot by 14-foot waiting room as an example.
“There’s no privacy,” Ziel said. “If you’ve got a girlfriend or wife that’s just been raped, you have to stand in a room with other people and tell [the officers] what you want to tell them.”
The city formed the task force last summer to ascertain why voters rejected the original measure. The force concluded that voters found the levy too costly, disapproved of the proposed location and wanted to see design plans before devoting money to the project.
The new levy would be almost $6 million cheaper, would use city-owned property and includes plans for the police station. The measure also provides funds for the purchase of property for a new fire station that could be built within the next two years, Brown said.
Opponents of the measure say the $21.1 million cost for the proposed municipal facilities is too expensive and unnecessary. They argue that taxpayer dollars could be saved if the city were to better use the office space it already has.
“There are other, less expensive options they’re not looking at,” said Gary Kutcher, citizen activist and opponent to the measure. “I think they’ve become fixated with the idea of a fancy new police station.”
But Brown said though some disagree with tactics employed by Eugene police officers, they deserve safe facilities taxpayers would want themselves. He said seismic studies conducted by three outside architectural consulting firms showed that a minimal earthquake could flatten the existing police station, an unacceptable possibility for essential services like police because they must be on call during disasters.
“The city has not paid much attention to it, but it’s a fact they’ve known for 10 years,” Brown said. “In Western Oregon there have been 10 moderate earthquakes — measuring between 2.0 and 6.3 on the Richter scale — since 1993.”
But Kutcher said there were seismic studies completed a year ago that concluded existing facilities could be updated and made earthquake resistant with a cost of $3 million to $5 million.
He also said taxpayers aren’t getting what they pay for in Measure 20-36 because only property for and the design of a new fire department facility are funded by the measure — not the facility itself.
“I’m really troubled by the ballot title [in the City of Eugene Voter’s Pamphlet],” Kutcher said. “I believe they’re trying to fake voters out by implying they will get a fire station.”
The line in question, printed on page six of the voter’s pamphlet, reads: “Shall City of Eugene issue up to $25,120,000 general obligation bonds for downtown police facilities and a fire station?”
Kutcher said the line is biased rhetoric attempting to sway voters to cast their ballots for the measure.
But Brown disagrees and said the City Council drafted the language in question.
“It’s not misleading to me,” he said. “I know what [the general obligation funds] are for. If you read the ordinance, you’ll see a fire station is not included in this measure. But let’s say we build [the police station] for $22,500,000. The excess money will go toward a fire station.”