OWASSO - The City Council approved plans Tuesday night for the $1.6 million purchase of a building that will be used to relocate City Hall and allow for the expansion of police headquarters.
The panel voted 3-2 to acquire the former First Bank building at 102 W. Second Ave. City Hall and police personnel now share the 26,655 square-foot municipal building three blocks away.
The First Bank building, built in 1962 and expanded 20 years later, is roughly 27,500 square feet.
"For lack of better words, it's going to be a complete game-changer for us," Police Chief Scott Chambless said after the meeting. "We're moving from 11,000 square feet into 28,000 square feet. It will give us office space for individuals who have been working in cubicles with no ability to really work effectively. It's about efficiency, effectiveness, customer service and quality. I think it's going to take us to a completely different level."
The First Bank properties, which includes nearly six tracts, appraised in July at $1.625 million. The fair market value for the tracts is $1.824 million, according to the Tulsa County Assessor's Office.
A study done by a Kansas City, Mo., architectural firm in 2012 found that expanding the Police Department into the existing City Hall would be more cost-effective than relocating police headquarters.
Councilor Charlie Brown, who along with Patrick Ross voted against the project, said before the vote that he recognized the needs of the Police Department, which he classified as "great." But he said the "20-year solution" deserved input from the new city manager.
The city is searching for a successor for former City Manager Rodney Ray, who accepted a resignation agreement in June after the City Council looked into an undisclosed complaint.
"We owe it to the new city manager to weigh in on this," Brown said.
Other councilors, including Chris Kelley and Jeri Moberly, applauded the thoroughness and transparency of the process.
"The need is so much greater than the opinion of one person," Moberly said.
Staffing increases since the existing City Hall's completion in 2001 have strained both municipal and police personnel, resulting in file rooms, storage rooms and conference rooms being used as offices.
Chambless has said the Police Department has no juvenile holding areas, no sleep center or briefing room, and no on-site property room or records storage.
The assessment study estimated at $4.6 million the cost of relocating and renovating City Hall and reconfiguring the existing municipal building to support the Police Department.
Acting City Manager Warren Lehr has called the proposal practical, saying it would provide long-term stability while maintaining a local government presence in the older Main Street area of town.
Rhett Morgan 918-581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Owasso council OKs building purchase
Owasso
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