New Salt Lake fire-police facility urged
$191 million bond is sought to build complex
The most expensive piece of the project would be a new 5-acre headquarters complex to replace the public-safety building at 315 E. 200 South.
The departments also want to build a new east-side precinct building and an expanded Fire Station 14 in the Glendale neighborhood, at 1560 S. Industrial Road, that would include new fire-training facilities.
The hefty request would boost property taxes on a $200,000 home by about $114.50 yearly. The increase would be about $286.25 on a $500,000 home.
The City Council, which heard a briefing on the request Tuesday, will vote Aug. 14 on whether to put the bond question on the Nov. 6 ballot. Initial support seemed strong: Councilman Dave Buhler said he was "very supportive of it," Councilwoman Nancy Saxton called the project "desperately needed," and Councilman Eric Jergensen called it "a much-needed and very timely project."
The current public-safety building fails to meet the city's fire code. It is plagued by leaky ceilings, a crumbling parking garage, elevators that only work part of the time and insufficient space, police say.
The new headquarters complex would be home to a 126,000-square-foot public-safety building and an adjacent 25,000-square-foot emergency operations center — something the city currently lacks, even as smaller cities like West Jordan have recently built new, state-of-the-art emergency centers.
"The city needs a facility that we can be confident will be usable in the event of a major earthquake or catastrophic event," Gray said.
An emergency operations center would provide a location for critical city business to be carried out in the event of a large-scale emergency. On a daily basis, it would house the city's emergency dispatch and 911 services and the police department's Homeland Security Unit.
The east-side building would be jointly used by police and fire precincts, replacing an aging fire station and boosting the police presence east of the Wasatch fault line.
Previous discussions of possible sites for the east-side precinct building have included the historic Garfield School. Many residents have criticized that idea, saying it would disturb the quiet and safety of their neighborhood and would be an ineffective way to get to other neighborhoods because much of the area is made up of low-speed residential streets.
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