Reports Suggests Using Public Safety Building for School Administration, Central 9-1-1 Center

VILLAS — Lower Township’s Public Safety Building is portrayed in a consultant’s report as larger than needed and running up over $70,000 per year in energy bills.
Township Council is considering a council-citizen committee to ponder whether the township should spend a substantial amount of money to repair/upgrade the Public Service Building or consider moving police back to the Township Hall complex in Villas.
The VHE Group Inc. of Millville presented a report to Township Council in December 2004. The report questions having a public safety building measuring 50,000 square feet in a township of 23,000 residents (in 2004). It notes the township chose to relocate its police department and municipal court to the airport, a location not served by public transportation.
The township spent $4 million to meet the demands of the building’s occupants, said the report. Prior to 1995, the police department was housing in annex located next to Township Hall, 2600 Bayshore Rd.
That one-story brick structure, measuring 4,200 square feet is now occupied by the township’s construction official, code enforcement, zoning and planning.
“Many of the former police areas remain fully intact and could be easily utilized,” said the report. It noted the area given to construction and code enforcement “could be considered excessive given the fact that in many similar municipalities 1,000 square feet or less is directly allotted to this function.”
The report notes about 39,600 square feet of the 50,000 square foot Public Safety Building was devoted to police functions. A garage consumes 14,750 square feet, said the report, which requires heating fans to insure fire suppression water lines and lavatory supply lines do not freeze in winter.
Lower Township Police Chief Brian Marker told the Herald he understood the financial reasons for the inquiry of use of the building.
“We support any way to be more efficient,” he said.
Marker said the police department would like to be part of a solution. He said he supported citizens being part of a committee to look at options for the building.
According to the report, the police area behind the reception desk is laid out with 10 interview rooms, one family waiting/interview room, five squad and locker rooms, four sergeant offices, seven conference rooms, one communications area, three storage and evidence areas, one clergy room, 16 additional conference rooms and offices, one computer room, four additional administrative offices including lieutenant, captain and chief and 12 detective areas including juvenile, interview and back entrances.
The report found the communications center area adequate and operated in an efficient manner.
“Rooms within the police portion of the building have little access to outside light,” said the report.
In 2004, a police staffing chart indicated 71 persons assigned to the building, “however, less than 20 could be reasonably expected to physically occupy the building at any one time.” The report said no other police departments in the county occupied a building of that size.
“Interviews held with various levels of Lower Township police personnel indicate that most police are in the field nearly 90 percent of the time, said the report.
“Assuming all staff could be moved forward in the building, we believe that less than 10,000 square feet would be sufficient to meet the needs of this department rather than nearly 39,000 square feet…” said the report.
The report notes the municipal court uses about 3,000 square feet or just under 6 percent of the building. It notes a lease of 7,000 square feet of the building by Lower Township Rescue Squad for $1 per year would remain intact whatever the use of the building.
From 2001 to 2003, electric bills for the building ran as high as $54,000 per year with annual natural gas costs from $15,000 to $23,000. The report notes 12 bathrooms inside the building to service “no more than 20 full time employees found inside the building on a regular basis.”
In order to return police to Villas, the VHE Group recommended a 9,500 square-foot, ground floor addition to the annex building next to Township Hall housing the construction, zoning/planning offices. The report noted holding cells were still in place.
“We do believe, however, that given the amount of public funds already spent, the use or disposition of the current public safety building must be accounted for to the taxpayer and presents some serious decisions to be made by city council,” said the report.
It noted a real estate office in a former home located next to the Township Hall complex as a candidate for purchase to house the construction, zoning/planning offices. The report suggests court personnel return to their original offices in Township Hall or excess space in the annex.
Estimated costs for the entire project including purchase of the adjacent property was $2.5 million in 2004. The option is dependent on finding new use for the Public Safety Building.
The report suggests both Lower Township school boards move their operations into the Public Safety Building with continued use as a communications center for police.
The garage could be used for school bus maintenance suggests the report. The school districts would be required to contribute to the cost of operation of the Public Safety Building.
A second option suggested by the report suggests the Public Service Building as a central communications dispatch center for the county’s police and fire departments.
A third option suggests installing zoned heating and air conditioning in the Public Service Building with water/sewer connections to be re-engineered throughout the building leaving about 15,000 square feet dedicated to police only use. That would not include the garage area, courts, fire or rescue. Unused space in the building would be downgraded to record keeping. The re-design would bring administration forward and return the rear of the building to deliveries and warehousing.
Option four would be to place the building under state or private control to provide a “regional state service or