THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2007
Kick-Off Revamping
By STEFAN SCHUMACHER
Journal Reporter
Elk Grove Village has taken the first step towards building a new police station, according to Mayor Craig Johnson.
The Village Board of Trustees approved the hiring of a building company, MTI, at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, which will hire an architectural company to design and create the new facility.
Johnson said that this new police station will be built in place of the current one, which has been there for 40 years. Once the current facility is torn down, a two-story building will be built with an underground parking garage.
The total cost of the project will be in the neighborhood of $25-30 million, and the new building will be 60 to 70,000 square feet. Five to 15,000 square feet will be left as unused office space in case of future expansion.
"We're going to completely revamp how the local village government works," said Johnson, explaining that the new station will be part of a re-organization of the entire village governmental campus.
The Mayor's and Trustees' offices will be moved from the first floor of Village Hall to the second floor of the new facility. Meanwhile, the engineering department will move from the basement of Village Hall to the first floor to be alongside the finance department.
The health and community service departments, which are combined, will reside on the first floor of the new police station.
Also, the fire department's administrative offices and the local cable access station, Channel 6, which are currently off-site near the old library on Kennedy Blvd. and Brantwood, will move to the basement of Village Hall.
It may all sound a bit confusing, but Johnson said it will make government services for residents more efficient.
"The other big thing," said Johnson, "is we'll have underground parking for our squad cars."
He said much of the technological equipment used in the squad cars needs to be kept warm, and currently officers have to drag the equipment to and from the cars so as not to leave it out in the cold.
Johnson said it will be several months before final plans are in place.
"Before everything was going to be spread out," he said, "now we can get them all together working well and efficiently."
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