Columbia Heights firefighters' new digs has space to burn

Police and firefighters won't miss the cramped quarters they left behind last week as they moved from Columbia Heights City Hall into a new public safety building six blocks away. They tell some sardine-type tales:

• Three police sergeants shared an office in a former janitor's closet, and two cops had an office in an old jail cell, said Police Chief Scott Nadeau. "It was medieval," he said, noting that suspects waiting to be interviewed had to be handcuffed to a hall bench.

• The old fire station garage was so small that the aerial ladder truck, with 4 inches of ceiling clearance, had to pull outside, even in winter, to find enough room for engine work, said Fire Chief Gary Gorman. Departing fire trucks rattled City Council chambers on the floor above.

• Police had to drive offenders to the county jail in Anoka to be booked and fingerprinted. That can be done in the new building, which has four holding cells.

Ringing in a new era

The two chiefs gush about their new quarters, which blends the latest technology with artifacts from the fire department's 102-year-history.

• A 100-year-old fire bell, hanging in a 39-foot bell tower, rang during the recent dedication of the $12 million building, which came in slightly under budget, said city finance director Bill Elrite. The two departments now have a lobby for visitors, complete with a digital bulletin board and a late-1800s horse-drawn, hand pumper.

• The building will leave a minimal carbon footprint, as it uses geothermal heat and cooling. Motion sensors dim lights after people leave a room.

• The 25-foot-high fire department garage easily holds the aerial truck and six fire trucks, including a 1951 white Mack truck used in parades and special events. Squad cars now enjoy the luxury of indoor parking in a basement garage.

• Officers and the six full-time firefighters have their own desks, assistant fire chief John Larkin noted during a tour of the 47,000-square-foot building.

• Briefing rooms for cops and firefighters have smart boards, sort of like chalk boards that use magnetic markers and are connected to computers that download data or maps of crime locations.

"We look forward to getting 75 to 100 years of use out of the building," Gorman said.

City Manager Walt Fehst said the new building has the technology "needed to run police and fire departments in the modern world."

Fehst said the project construction manager was able to trim costs and get low bids from subcontractors that allowed the city to add special features. They include paneled-glass windows on fire garage doors and a training room where firefighters can inject smoke and spray hoses. Workers also extended rose-bordered sidewalks a half block east along 41st Street to Central Avenue, and expanded the entry plaza where a bronze statue will be dedicated next Wednesday.

The $50,000 statue, which depicts an officer and a firefighter holding a child's hands, was paid for by spaghetti dinners and other fundraisers and donations by city staff and residents.

A voice of dissent

On the City Council, only Bruce Nawrocki voted against the project, although he later voted to sell bonds to pay for it, records show.

"We needed space for the police department, there was no question," Nawrocki said. "I argued that we could leave the fire department where they were and give them the [adjacent] police space in the existing City Hall."

He said the new building's size and cost grew as extras were added. He said the savings could have been used to reduce taxpayer expense by paying down building debt. The building's annual debt cost will be about $760,000 for the next for 28 years, said finance director Elrite.

"I'm not sure they need all that inside parking," Nawrocki said. "You have to make judgments on what you need versus what you can get by with."

The other four council members disagreed with Nawrocki, said Mayor Gary Peterson. "Rather than building for the past, we want to build for the future. The fire department was antiquated. We figured if we going to do it, we will do it right."

Future additions?

Peterson said the new building has footings strong enough to support a rooftop addition if that is ever needed for city offices. For now, City Hall staff will make use of about 13,000 square feet of space vacated by police and firefighters.

The new building covers about half of its 5-acre lot, which was the site of the city's first high school and its sunken football field. Peterson said the site has space for future needs, possibly a new library.

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658