Construction to remodel and expand the Fairfield Twp. police station is likely to start later this year as it’s anticipated trustees will hire a contractor this spring if everything goes as scheduled, said Fairfield Twp. Administrator Julie Vonderhaar.
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The township is seeking qualifications from developers by Friday, and proposals would be due this spring. The contractor hired would determine when construction starts, but Vonderhaar said the project could take up to a year.
Included in the remodeling of the 3,500-square-foot building is an expansion on the front side that will include nine offices and a new lobby, records room, secure properties office and conference room. There will be three restrooms and the possibility for additional rooms. The remodeling of the existing building will include relocating partitions, and new floors, ceiling tiles and lighting.
The expansion will also require additional fencing to the southeast corner with a gated entrance and redeveloped parking area for police vehicles.
The existing under-roof parking bays to the rear of the building will also be enclosed as part of the remodeling project.
“We’ve outgrown the department,” said Fairfield Twp. Assistant Chief Doug Lanier. “When we first moved into this department, we just had an office at the administration building.”
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The department moved into the building in 2002 with about 10 fewer full-time employees. Today they have 21 sworn officers — with two more to be hired later this year — and two full-time clerks. They also have a part-time property room clerk.
The remodel and expansion will address three key areas of improvement needed, Lanier said: more space, better operational efficiency and better workflow.
“We’ve got a lot more people doing a lot more work,” Lanier said. “We’ve moved personnel from one office to the other, we’ve turned offices into storage, we’ve moved the property room and evidence room around.”
The working conditions are not unlike Fairfield Twp.’s old fire station 212 on Tylersville Road before it was relocated to a new building last year on Gilmore Road.
The township has boomed in population since 1990 when it was 9,753 residents. Today, there are nearly 23,000 residents living in the township, a 130-plus percent growth over the past 30 years. Lanier said that growth does not include the township’s business growth and day-time traffic, which is also growing.
Vonderhaar said the project could cost about $1.2 million.
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