[Dallas Snob]

From a Bukrlington Free press article on 12/16/08

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- The list of possible locations for a new South Burlington police station grew shorter at Monday night's City Council meeting -- but not by much.

The council eliminated three of 22 possible sites forwarded by landowners as alternatives to the crumbling and mold-ridden station on Dorset Street -- and approved a $2,400 study that would determine the cost of razing and rebuilding on the current site.

City Manager Chuck Hafter said recent results from test borings at the Dorset Street site showed that a rebuilt station would need a stormwater runoff pond (perhaps in the Interstate 189 cloverleaf) and a foundation strengthened with concrete pilings.

In order to preserve competitive bidding, the council did not price or rank the sites that survived the first round of elimination. Several of its members remarked that a depressed real-estate market might work in favor of the city's needs.

The council has not finalized the space requirements for a new station, but Hafter offered some working numbers: up to 29,000 square feet of space on 2 1/2 to 5 acres of land; and about 100 parking spaces.

A temporary relocation of the police facility -- an option that garnered tepid support on the council and with the public -- remains on the table, Hafter said.

Police Chief Trevor Whipple said he was encouraged by the amicable discussions at Monday's meeting.

"These are baby steps we're taking, but it's going to result in a better public buy-in for the project," he said. "On the force, we're trying to balance a sense of urgency with the knowledge that a permanent solution is worth the wait.

"We still need to have moved out (of the Dorset Street station) yesterday," he added.

In November, voters rejected a ballot item that would have placed a new station on open land set aside for conservation.

Council member Meaghan Emery, who opposed that measure, said early and frequent updates on the cost of the project would help avoid any further setbacks at the polls.

Several members of the public voiced concern that the discussion did not sufficiently address an issue that surfaced at many of the pre-election forums: Should the new police station be a part of the proposed city center along Market Street?

Others asked the council to consider bundling a station with other long-awaited municipal projects, such as a new public library, a senior citizens' center, a central post office and a new City Hall.