Cottage Grove makes its case for new building

After 42 years, the roof is prone to leaks. Instead of a commercial-sized furnace, a half-dozen jerry-rigged home models chug away, but can't keep some pipes from freezing. Three remodels have resulted in a labyrinth of cramped offices that are uncomfortable and lack privacy.

And, most important, it makes the job of being a Cottage Grove police officer more difficult and less efficient.

Craig Woolery, Cottage Grove's public safety director, is not a complainer, but is compelled by a sense of duty to take on the unfamiliar role of advocate in lobbying for a new combined public safety/city hall building.

"I'm not a salesman, I'm a police officer," he said, during one of several recent public tours of the current building that would be replaced. In many ways, though, the building's condition speaks for itself.

"I get the [problems with the] economy, I get the concern about budgets," Woolery said. "But this building has been deficient for a long time."

The city has been planning for a new public safety/city hall building for the past several years, and has its financing in order -- by refinancing debt and using cash reserves -- to the point where construction will not have any impact on property tax bills, said Ryan Schroeder, city administrator.

An architect has been chosen to come up with a conceptual design at a site on county-owned land in Cottage Grove East Ravine Regional Park. Once the concept is set, the city will hold a community meeting, possibly later this month, to explain it.

The city has been prudent in spending, Schroeder says, and a new building will not be extravagant. In 2010, the city's property tax bill on median-priced home ($228,000) was $745. That compares to $738 in 2004 (when the value was $187,700). In 2011, the bill is expected to fall $16. "Find me another city that's been able to do that," he said.

Population expected to double

Even though Cottage Grove's population has grown to 34,000, and is expected to reach more than 65,000 by 2040, the city has not added police officers in five years, Woolery said. When he started working for the city in 1983, 25 people worked in the Public Safety Department's portion of the building; now there are 52, which includes 39 police officers.

The new building would take advantage of historically low interest rates for financing, allow the Public Safety Department to share more staff with other departments and save money by combining facilities such as heating/cooling systems, kitchens and conference rooms with city hall, he said.

While police on patrol are the most visible to the public, the headquarters is a buzz of activity where crime victims, witnesses and offenders come together in extremely stressful situations. Some notable sights from the tour:

• The lobby area, perhaps 8 by 10 feet in size, can be a particularly chaotic place, especially on weekend nights, Woolery said. Teens picked up for curfew violations are forced to mingle with drunks, or crime victims can't avoid seeing or hearing their perpetrators. "I hate to see people be re-traumatized," Woolery said.

• Six of the 39 officers don't have lockers to store their bulletproof vests, winter coats, extra uniforms and other gear. The lockers themselves are the size of those in schools.

• The evidence intake and storage areas are woefully inadequate, Woolery said, and raise concerns about security -- especially for sensitive DNA evidence that is becoming more common. The evidence area consists of 10-foot high shelves crammed to the ceiling and overflowing with weapons, drugs and other material.

• Employee restrooms are used to search prisoners and collect evidence.

• Some dispatching equipment was actually taken out of a dumpster when St. Louis Park upgraded its system four years ago.

Schroeder said the city has slowed the process to give residents a chance to see the need.

Four of the five candidates for City Council support the plan by varying degrees. One, Derrick Lehrke, opposes it, and has been pushing for the issue to be put to a referendum.