Martinsville is building a new police station. Here is everything you need to know.
MARTINSVILLE - The city of Martinsville's ongoing efforts to construct a new police station continued this week after the board of works approved an underwriter and placement agent agreement to move forward with the project.
The agreement is with Stifel, a brokerage and investment banking firm, and involves the issuance of lease rental bonds to help the city finance the new police headquarters. Stifel will function as the underwriter or placement agent throughout the process.
City Attorney Dale Coffey said Stifel will provide guidance to the city as it determines the structure, timing and terms of the presented lease rental bonds.
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"This is our underwriting and insurance carrier for our bonds for the construction of the police station. This is for their fees for the work they do," Coffey said. "We have used Stifel for the last several bonds that we have done. This is identical to their previous agreements."
The city has spent the last several months exploring construction a police station at 110 W. Morgan St. for the city's police department. This site is the former Chrysler building and previously housed the offices of the Martinsville Clerk-Treasurer and building inspector.
Each month has brought more progress as the board of works entered into agreements with Peters Franklin, Ltd. and Barnes and Thornburg, LLP in October to assist the city with securing lease rental property tax bonds.
The city is currently in the final demolition stages. Temporary road closures were in effect on Nov. 14 on Morgan Street from Main Street to Marion Street and on Mulberry Street from Washington Street to Pike Street as demolition crews got to work. As of Nov. 15, Morgan Street is now open for motorists.
The board approved a $36,200 bid submitted by Martinsville-based Lafary Group to demolish the property. This decision was made Sept. 26 and demolition work has been occurring since Oct. 25.
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The demolition was temporarily paused to allow the city time to remove around 300 square feet of asbestos from the basement.
How big could the police station be and how much will it cost?
City officials hosted a workshop to discuss the design of a new police station in August. Renderings of the new station were provided and analyzed, with the initial design schemes being provided by the architecture and engineering firm RQAW.
According to the renderings, the station would feature two floors containing 13,100 total square feet, with the first floor being slightly larger than the second. The first floor will include multiple departments and rooms, including a large gym and more space to better serve the department's organizational needs. The first floor also includes a reception, lobby, property storage room, evidence processing and laundry.
The second-floor plan is projected to hold the offices of the police chief, deputy chief and additional conference and storage rooms. The detective's office will also be located on the second floor.
The projected floor plans could change throughout the conceptual design and construction process.
Gary Oakes, the city's planning and engineering director, previously indicated the station is estimated to cost around $4.5 million.
In the meantime, the Martinsville Police Department continues to operate without its own headquarters.
The next meeting of the Martinsville Board of Works is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28, in council chambers at Martinsville City Hall, 59 S. Jefferson st.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Martinsville police station project moving forward, demo nearly done
