[ back ]
BLOOMINGDALE - Closing on new police HQ property is imminent
(by Deborah Walsh - Staff Writer - August 20, 2008)
BLOOMINGDALE - Now that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has cleared the property, a closing date for the Union Avenue land earmarked for a new police station is imminent.
Yesterday, Mayor William Steenstra said that the borough has received notification from the DEP that no further action is required on 182 Union Ave. in order for the community to close on the parcel where a machine shop currently sits. Eugene Yuhas of Ortley Beach owns the property. This past winter, the Borough Council adopted a $1 million bond ordinance that funds the purchase of the property for a police station and for the construction of a new Department of Public Works building.
Borough Administrator Ted Ehrenburg said he anticipates that the borough will close on the property in September, but does not envision work getting underway until 2009 because no funding was contained in the 2008 municipal budget for any work relative to the police station besides the purchase of the property. Ehrenburg said the borough will be applying for whatever county, state and federal grant money is available to convert the machine shop into a police facility. Police Capt. Raymond Muller has been working on grant applications, he indicated.
“We will get facts before we act. Some assessment work needs to be done,” said Ehrenburg. “First, we need a plan. It’s an open canvass now.”
Police Chief Joseph Borell said Police Department members will begin visiting different police headquarters in September to formulate ideas for the new station. The borough has applied for a $1 million Department of Homeland Security Emergency Operations Center grant for the new site.
“The entire Police Department is on board. We will have teams looking at other departments before we have an architect come in,” said Borell. “We will absolutely reach out to volunteers. Some of the guys around here are handy. We’re looking for anybody and everybody to chip in.”
Mayor Steenstra said providing the police with more space was one of the council’s top priorities in 2007. The police moved into the building in 1971 when there were nine officers. Today, there are 17.
A borough facilities report compiled by the Planning Board indicates that 1,000 square feet is allocated for the existing police station, which is located inside the municipal building. The first public view of the police station is a window to the 48-square-foot dispatch area. This is where calls for police assistance are answered and where National Crime Information Center entries are made. It serves as the central greeting area for the department and has a records storage area.
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) contains 126 square feet. Soon this office will be moved to the new firehouse on Union Avenue. Currently, the room serves as the main staging area for the OEM in major events such as flooding. This room also is used as an interview room when complaints cannot be accommodated at the window of the dispatch desk. The OEM room also houses the department’s fax and copy machine and current records. Some records are kept in Butler because there is not enough space at headquarters.
The police chief’s office of 110 square feet contains the chief’s desk and his secretary’s desk. It also holds the department’s personnel files. The 156-square-foot locker room contains the department’s 49-square-foot restroom. Police evidence and weapons are stored in lockers in this room.
The main area of the department is comprised of 180 square feet. It includes two computer stations and a small counter for the fingerprinting of those arrested. Those arrested are processed and photographed at this location. The main area contains filing cabinets. The holding cell, which does not meet state Department of Corrections standards, is a 24-square-foot space off of the main area. The cell does not contain a door and is open to the main area. Those needing to be locked up are handcuffed to a bar on the wall. The cell area contains a cot and chair.
The interview room off the main area is 100 square feet. It houses the department’s main computer system and records storage. This room is used by detectives interviewing suspects for serious crimes, where audio- and videotaping is required. The evidence room is a 56-square-foot closet located off of the interview room. Evidence spills into the interview room because there is not enough space for the evidence in the closet.
[ back ]
