At a series of public meetings during the next month, the city will gather citizens’ thoughts on where to locate four new Tacoma Police Department substations.
The meetings will take place in each of the four policing sectors:
– Central Area: 6 p.m. April 10, Catholic Community Services, 1323 S. Yakima Ave., Alberta Canada Room
– North End: 7 p.m. April 10, Wheelock Library, 3722 N. 26th St.
– South End: 6:30 p.m. April 18, South End Community Center, 7802 S. L St.
– Northeast Tacoma: 6:30 p.m., April 25, Centre at Norpoint, 4818 Nassau Ave. N.E.
A facilitator will ask citizens to share the criteria they would use to evaluate potential new neighborhood station sites, then prioritize those criteria. Citizens will answer questions such as:
– Is co-location with other city services important or should the substation stand alone?
– Is locating in a business area or near a school important?
– Is a newly constructed facility more important than remodeling an older building?
At the meetings, Police Department representatives also will share the factors the department has identified as critical to its successful operation of the neighborhood stations.
The citizens’ criteria and police criteria will be used to narrow down the list of potential sites.
Tacoma voters passed $34.3 million in bonds in February to build a new police headquarters and four new substations at approximately $1 million for each substation.
The stations would serve as drop-in workspace for police, increasing visibility and a presence in each neighborhood.
The stations would include:
– Office space
– A community/officer meeting room
– Report writing room
– Resource room containing computers for police use
At a second round of public meetings in July, the city will share the top three to five sites and gather more input for the final substation selection process.
The Police Department will recommend substation sites to the City Council in early August.
The Police Department plans to build the new headquarters and renovate the old Costco warehouse by October 2004.
The substations will open during the same time period.