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Police union doubles down on opposition to rehousing HQ

City council members are still weighing their options for relocating city police and fire headquarters, including a proposal from the mayor’s office that the two be combined into one building.

Outgoing Mayor John Hamilton’s administration has said it hopes to buy a portion of the downtown Showers building, which includes city hall, and rehouse the two departments there after the headquarters were damaged during 2021 flooding.

Police representatives on Tuesday reiterated their preference for an option that would keep them at their current location on East Third Street. While police and fire administrators hope to renovate the Showers building, the police union does not.

“If we’re moving to a new location, the worst thing that we can be doing is going backward,” said Bloomington Police Detective Jeff Rodgers, citing the possibility of less space if police headquarters get moved into the Showers building.

Rodgers argued that police need more room for evidence storage, interview rooms and restrooms than the Showers building provides.

Also present was FOP President Paul Post, who said he’s concerned by the floor lobby space as laid out under the plans to move police to the Showers building. He said the centralized space could become overcrowded.

“Having that giant open white space there, which is the current existing lobby, is just kind of unsafe,” Post said. “We don’t need a giant space where you can have, you know, 50-75 people standing around.”

Read more: Bloomington city employees get raises, new benefits

A schematic outlining the first floor of the Showers building shows that the lobby connects units including evidence and processing; staff facilities, including restrooms, breakrooms and training; records and an interview room.

Post was also concerned about what that could mean for confidential informants.

“A lot of these people aren’t comfortable with coming into a very populated area. Those folks want to come in a back door (and) not be seen talking to us,” he said. “Having the Showers being a very populated area … there’s always something going on. That can become a concern.”

City leaders are currently considering three separate options for rehousing police and fire headquarters.

The first is Hamilton’s proposal, in which the city would buy a portion of the Showers building and convert it into office space. The second option, which the police union supports, would keep the police department at its current location and expand to include the fire department. The city is also considering moving the headquarters into an entirely new building.

The second plan would require a perimeter drain to prevent future flooding and construction to create a new parking deck and add space for the fire department. 

Council President Susan Sandberg said she would support bringing in an outside contractor to validate some of the estimated costs for renovations.

Read more: Sandberg announces plan to run for mayor of Bloomington

"I would certainly want to be sure ,with this kind of money on the line that we have very carefully earmarked ... I would like to make sure we're making the best possible decision."

In response, Councilmember Steve Volan said it's likely any such assessment would be done in-house.

Councilmembers plan to reconvene at 3 p.m. Friday and hear input from a public works representative. They will hold a vote on Jan. 18.

Want to contact your legislators about an issue that matters to you? Find out how to contact your senators and member of Congress here.

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