Pasco council approves special permit for new $8M police department

Pasco police are one step closer to having new digs after city council members on Monday approved a special permit for the proposed site next to their current station.

The Police Community Services Building will cover the grassy ballfields just east of the City Hall parking lot. The city hopes to go to bid on the project in the next couple of weeks.

The $8 million budget for the proposed 30,445-square-foot building will be paid by the public safety tax approved by Franklin County voters in 2011.

“We’re excited for it,” police Capt. Ken Roske said after the council meeting. “It has been a long time coming.”

Also Monday, council members set new voting district boundaries that give two of the city’s five districts a Hispanic majority. The city also has two members who are elected at-large and represent all of Pasco.

Councilman Tom Larsen voted against the redrawn districts, which was done to ensure that the population within each district doesn’t deviate by more than 10 percent from the others.

Larsen said it would be better if the city has three districts with two council members in each district, and a seventh member holding an at-large seat.

The boundaries had to be realigned in advance of this year’s election cycle. The candidate filing period begins May 11.

However, Larsen agreed with his fellow council members that the Pasco Police Department has outgrown its current station and is in need of a larger facility.

“We’ll look forward to the next step in the process to be able to expand City Hall,” said Mayor Matt Watkins. “It is much needed space and a new home for the police officers.”

The Police Community Services Building would remain at City Hall’s 525 N. Third Ave. address, but would be situated farther back on the property between Nixon and Sylvester Streets. Public access to the new station would be from Sylvester.

The entire block from Third Avenue to First Avenue is 7.7 acres, which includes the existing City Hall building.

In April 2014, council members agreed that building the new station was one of 17 goals to tackle over the next two years.

City Hall was renovated in 1995 after the vacant facility was bought from the Pasco School District. The building is 73,900 square feet and since city employees moved in 20 years ago, the Pasco population has more than tripled and the police force has grown from 32 to 83, including non-commissioned staff.

“The community is currently at a point where the present police facilities are no longer adequate to serve the needs of the city,” Associate Planner Jeffrey B. Adams said in a staff report.

The Pasco Planning Commission in February recommended approving the special permit.

Rick White, Pasco’s community and economic development director, was asked by the Planning Commission in January if the new station will take up too much of the green area used by neighbors for recreation.

White said even after construction a large amount of grass will remain for the soccer field.

The permit has several conditions, including the landscaping strips along Nixon and Sylvester must meet city requirements for commercial buildings; all safety, architectural and parking lights need to be shielded so the light doesn’t encroach on nearby properties; architecture of the new facility will complement City Hall; and a building permit must be in place by Aug. 1, 2016.

City officials have previously said they would like the project completed by 2016.

Also at the council meeting:

One man told council members they will continue to attend the meetings as concerned citizens and plan to forward a list of questions to Pasco about what he called abuse and negligence by law enforcement and “the current injustice system.” He also encouraged city officials to have a conversation about fundamental reform.

This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Pasco council approves special permit for new $8M police department."