Selah voters will decide this November if the city will borrow money to build a new home for the police department.
While approving a bond ballot question at its March 22 meeting, Selah City Council members held off on the question of how long the city should take to pay off the debt for a law and justice center until they get additional information on interest rates and payment schedules.
The city is in the process of designing a new building to house the police department and the Selah Municipal Court, as well as serve as a council meeting venue.
Currently, the department operates out of a rented building at 617 S. First St. The city pays $5,000 a month to rent the building, as well as cover costs for maintenance and taxes.
Police Chief Dan Christman, in an earlier interview, said the current building is in a location where traffic makes it difficult for police to respond at morning and afternoon rush hours. It also lacks a secure entrance for bringing in detainees, soundproof interview rooms and places where officers can write reports in relative privacy.
Selah city officials are looking at plans to build a new police station on this property in the 300 block of West Naches Avenue. The city-owned lot is now used as a soccer field and parking lot.
The city commissioned Mackenzie, a Seattle-based architectural firm, to design the new building. Earlier, council members opted to go with a design priced at about $12.6 million, but are looking at places where costs can be trimmed back, such as exterior landscaping and flooring materials.
At the council meeting, council members initially discussed putting a 25-year bond out for public approval in November, but Council Member Jared Iverson questioned if a different time frame would affect interest rates and the city’s ability to pay it off sooner.
“I agree with the motion to go forward,” Iverson said. “I don’t want to close the door on the term just yet.”
Selah Clerk/Treasurer Dale Novobielski said a 30-year bond could be more likely paid off in a 25-year time frame, and that as the city will have a better sense of interest rates closer to the election.
The council unanimously passed the motion without stipulating the term of the bond.
If voters approve, the city would build the planned law and justice center in the 300 block of West Naches Avenue, across the street from Lince Elementary School on city-owned property.
