GEORGETOWN, Del. - The town of Georgetown is looking to update its current police station and public works building. Georgetown officials say the town's current police station and public works building are in need of a serious upgrade.
Georgetown Mayor Bill West said that while all employees in the building deserve better working conditions, it is necessary for the police to be given a better building to operate out of.
"This is a great opportunity for the town of Georgetown. We want to keep the officers we have, but we're not going to keep them when they're working in a place that is rundown. We need to do something to try to recruit new people to come to Georgetown," explained West.
In order to fund the construction, the town is looking to borrow up to 18 million dollars in general obligation bonds.
West said it is not official that the project will cost exactly 18 million dollars, but that's the maximum amount the town looks to borrow.
James Archie, a Georgetown local, is all for giving the police an upgraded facility to operate out of.
"I think they need to update the building with better technology. They have to expand it to deal with the crime that's going on in Sussex County," explained Archie.
A public hearing for the project took place on Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m.. Mayor West says attendees will be able to see a display showing the town's vision for the project. He added that other towns like Milford and Millsboro have had great success with updating their police stations, and he wants Georgetown to benefit as well.
Two major concerns were presented at the meeting, one being the requested amount of $18 million. The other being the location of the new buildings.
Georgetown Mayor, Bill West says he doesn't believe the cost of the two buildings will meet or exceed $18 million mark. "That's just a threshold mark we put in place just in case," said West.
New Georgetown Police Department proposed funding shown in a presentation at a public hearing held on Monday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m.
"We're doing an appraisal on the property and we've developed a private-public partnership," West told CoastTV. West says when you agree to this type of partnership, some things can be traded off.
He says the town council is looking at using some of the impact fee money that the town would get from newly built apartments and houses and trade off for the proposed location of the new building. "So we don't have to take any money out of pocket to pay for that," continued West.
West says the town has a good working relationship with the developers, The Onix Group.
In regards to an increase in property taxes, home owners would pay an additional $17 per month, totaling $204 a year. In a presentation shown at the meeting, the additional money was compared to buying a large pizza.
Potential impact on residents in Georgetown is there is a property tax increase to help with the funding of the new police department.
Locals voiced their concerns about the proposed location and feel the building should be located on the other side of the town near the Delaware Coastal Airport.
Proposed location for the new Georgetown Police Department.
Mayor West acknowledged that only 1% lives on the side of town closer to Delaware Technical Community College, but says it's a growing 1% and an ideal location for the new buildings.
Georgetown Police Chief, Ralph Holm, spoke on having the department at the proposed location on University Drive.
"Having a building there would be good for that area that we get called to extensively," said Holm.
The hearing ended with a 3-2 vote from the council to pick this topic back up at the first town council meeting in October.
To view the presentation shown at the public hearing, click here.
To view the resolution, click here.
