Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Chiefs: City Hall is inadequate

Police Department headquarters called ‘horrible’

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Reviving a long-standing debate over whether Ketchum should replace City Hall, the chiefs of the city’s police and fire departments last week said the civic center on East Avenue is inadequate and unsafe.

Lee Edgerton, Ketchum police investigator, right, uses her "desk," a file cabinet drawer, to show files to Wayne Yorita, a police intern. Express photos by Willy Cook

During a special budget hearing Thursday, July 22, City Council President Randy Hall asked Police Chief Cory Lyman if his department’s headquarters—which is located on the ground floor of City Hall—is adequate for conducting day-to-day police operations.

Lyman replied with a smile: "The facility is, I’ll sugar-coat it, it’s horrible."

The police chief said the facility is not only too small, it is also inadequately equipped.

"We’re pretty squeezed," he said.

This week, Police Investigator Lee Edgerton said Police Department staff "are like chickens in a chicken coop."

Edgerton said the department has no plumbing in its kitchen, forcing staff to wash dishes in a jail-cell sink.

In addressing the same issue last week, Fire Chief Greg Schwab told City Council members that the section of the building in which he operates has numerous flaws that could pose a hazard to employees.

Fire engines stored in the aged building have cracked the cement floors of the department garage, he said.

"We have to start getting the public to acknowledge that this building has served its purpose and we have to do something," said Mayor Ed Simon.

The city has researched options for building a new city hall but has not yet drafted or funded a specific plan.

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