Police station, West Ward won't be rebuilt

As the McCook City Council continues to grapple with options for a new public safety center, the idea of remodeling either West Ward or the existing police station was removed from the table.

The McCook City Council eliminated both at the regular council meeting Monday night and directed city staff to hire architects to look at costs for a new law enforcement/city administration building at the National Guard Armory on West Seventh, as well as square footage needs for a new building on the West Ward site.

The council had planned to demolish the West Ward school using funds from a CDBG grant. But federal funds could not be used when the Nebraska State Historical Society recommended the school could potentially be listed as a historical site.

The council then included the costs of renovating the old school, when the architectural firm Prochaska and Associates of Omaha was hired to design a preliminary plan for a new police/city office building.

At the public work session Jan 25, the council learned that walls in the school that architects had originally thought could be removed were actually load bearing and would have to remain.

Initial cost projections of rehabbing the school -- gutting the school and removing the walls -- came to $6,015,270, according to estimates. This is about $50,000 less than the $6,068,270 that Prochaska projected to construct two new buildings at the site, one for the fire department and one for law enforcement/city offices.

But the council determined Monday night that cost savings of rehabbing West Ward would be eaten up with new studies to re-design the school around the walls.

The city is not alone in determining that renovating the school is more costly than building new, Mayor Dennis Berry pointed out.

The McCook Public Schools did not pursue remodeling as it was too expensive, he said and two private individuals who later purchased the building concluded the same. "Sooner or later ... we have to say it's not worth rehabbing."

That didn't appease two individuals who asked the council not to tear down West Ward.

Dale Cotton and Jerry Neiman both read prepared statements that asked for the city to preserve the school and asked for a city-wide vote on the project.

Cotton said saving the school, as well as preserving other historic structures in the city, could bring tourism to McCook

City Manager Kurt Fritsch took issue with Cotton's claim that he had a letter from the ICMA, an organization of city managers, that recommended that the lowest cost option should be pursued. Cotton later said it was information taken from the ICMA Web site.

Neiman said they needed more evidence that renovating the school would cost more.

"None of us deny that we need a new fire station or cop shop," Neiman said. " If (West Ward) can't be rebuilt, we understand that, but we need proof."

Councilman Aaron Kircher explained that the city would have to spend additional money, more than the $50,000 estimated to be saved by renovation, to re-design the building to include the walls, as well as to remove asbestos and mold contamination.

There is a difference between an old building and a historic structure, Mayor Berry said. It's inaccurate to categorize West Ward as historic when in fact, just the potential is there, he said.

He added that the city will now have to use $150,000 of local tax payer dollars to demolish the building, rather than using the CDBG funds the city received.

Everyone has a right to an opinion, Mayor Berry said, but not to his or her own set of facts.

The option of remodeling the current police station was supported by Councilman Aaron Kircher, who said if the city was looking at remodeling the Armory, it should include remodeling costs of the existing police station as well.

If the fire department moves to a new building, this would give the police more space to work with, he reasoned.

Councilman Jerry Calvin "respectfully disagreed" and said remodeling would not change the current location, next to railroad cars. If a derailment caused a spill of hazardous chemicals, the public safety center would lose all capabilities to respond to a disaster, he said.

City Manager Kurt Fritsch pointed out that with enough funds, any building can be renovated, but that doesn't mean it's worth the cost. In his estimation, the current police department is in worse shape than West Ward.

Mayor Berry said he wasn't "overly interested" in renovating the current police station, and Councilman Lonnie Anderson agreed. Councilman Mike Gonzales leaned in the same direction.

"I'd hate to keep throwing money at studies and I really don't see it as an option," he said.