Property on the corner of 17th Street and Greenup Avenue — that has been a parking lot since the former downtown home of Big Sandy Furniture was leveled more than a decade ago — soon will be a beehive of activity as construction begins on the long delayed Ashland police department.
City Manager Steve Corbitt said he expects that the Ashland Board of City Commissioners Thursday night will award a contract to build the station to Trace Creek Construction of Vanceburg, which submitted the low bid of $3.89 million. Construction could begin by the first of the year.
The commissioners earlier rejected the first bids for the police department because they far exceeded the $4.3 million the city had budgeted for the project. However, changes made by the architects reduced the cost of the project by more than a half million dollars. Trace Creek’s bid was considerably lower than the second lowest bid of $4.15 million.
The police department, which now is housed in cramped space on four floors of the city building, has needed new headquarters for at least 20 years. In fact, about the only recommendations a visiting team of experts that granted accreditation for the police department had involved changes that required additional space to implement. In fact, the promise of new headquarters was a major factor in the department receiving accreditation.
Architects project it will take between 10 and 14 months to construct the new police department, which will be directly across 17th Street from the city building. Not only will the two-story, 17,000 square foot building increase greatly the working space the police have but improve security and create a more pleasant working environment.
The completion of the new police station also will free up a great deal of space in the city building now used by the police department. Just as Boyd County officials should be developing a plan on how it can best use the space in the courthouse and courthouse annex that will become available with the completion of the Justice Center, Ashland officials should have a plan in place for using the space created by the departure of the police department.
The city plans to borrow about $5 million to build the new police department instead of issuing bonds for the new project. Finance Director Tony Grubb said the city is looking for the best interest rate it can get on the loan.
The police department has been a long-time in coming. No one can accuse the city of rushing into the project. It has moved slowly and diligently. But the wait is about over. That the police department is on the verge of moving past the talking stage and into the construction stage is good news for the city.
