Moscow voters approve police station bond

MOSCOW — The vacant field north of Moscow’s Pape Machinery will be occupied by a new police station come 2021.

Moscow voters passed, with 69.28 percent approval, a 10-year, $9.64 million general obligation bond Tuesday to fund the construction of a new Moscow Police Department facility, according to initial results from the elections office. There were 1,723 votes in favor of the bond and 764 against.

The new $7.89 million facility will be located on the corner of South Main Street/U.S. Highway 95 and Southview Avenue. The bond will also cover the cost to remodel the existing police station on East Fourth Street to accommodate other city office needs, at $1.5 million, and the Paul Mann Building next to Moscow City Hall, at $132,043.

Although voters showed overwhelming support, the bond passed by just a little more than 2.5 percent since it required a two-thirds supermajority.

Mayor Bill Lambert said he was excited about the election results.

“It’s a good day for the citizens of Moscow,” Lambert said.

The anticipated interest rate on the bond, based on current market rates, is 2.21 percent per year. The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the bond is $85 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. The city has no bond debt.

Moscow Community Development Director Bill Belknap said city staff will work on the police facility’s design this summer and early fall with the goal of seeking bids on the project this winter.

Construction would then be expected to start in April or May 2020.

Belknap said the facility will take about one year to complete, with construction set to be finished in the spring or summer of 2021.

The larger, more efficient facility will include a two-story, 16,000-square-foot police station with a 4,000-square-foot outbuilding that will house storage spaces for bicycles, motorcycles and evidence.

Plans call for the first floor of the main police building to include a public lobby, interview room, reception area, records center, evidence storage and labs, wellness center, locker rooms, armory, break room and various offices. The second floor will comprise a training room, various offices, a parking enforcement center, an administration center and a storage area.

The development will provide 22 spaces for public parking and 74 stalls for employee parking. Covered parking will be available for patrol cars.

As for renovations to the existing police station, Belknap said the office layout will be reconfigured, the primary entry point will be relocated, the exterior will be restored and the roof will be replaced.

He said stabilization work will be done to address the cracking on the Mann Building’s masonry block exterior, and new siding will be installed to protect the building from water intrusion. The roof, which is nearing the end of its lifespan, will be replaced.

Renovation of the existing police station is estimated to be completed by October 2021, and the Mann Building remodel is expected to be completed early in the summer of 2022, Belknap said.

Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.