VIENNA - Vienna City Council gave approval Thursday night for an engineering contract of $69,900 to build a police department annex.
City Councilman Paul Thornton worked with the Vienna Police Department to present a bid to council to expand the police department facilities. Pickering Associates was awarded the bid.
The Vienna Police Department building was built in 1985, Thornton and Vienna Police Chief George Young said. The department has expanded since the '80s when there were about 10 officers to the current 17 officers under the chief.
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Photo by Mandi Cardosi
Officer Jeremy Bradley with the Vienna Police Department shakes hands with Mayor David Nohe after accepting an award on behalf of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
"If anything I need carpet in this room," said Young about the squad room. "It's torn up really bad."
Thornton said expanding the police station would be another way to improve the city's infrastructure.
"It's a tool in getting businesses and restaurants interested in coming to the city," he said of the city's law enforcement.
About 50,000 cars travel along Grand Central Avenue on a daily basis, and the presence of police officers is one reason why the accident rate is low, Thornton said.
A resident who recently passed away donated land to the city, and the department would be able to expand on the fire department's building located directly behind the law enforcement office building.
"Expansion of this building (the police department) is viable to Vienna and growth," he said.
Young and Thornton said a meeting place, or classroom, is needed where all officers can gather. The gathering now takes place in a tiny room that can't accommodate everyone, they said.
The bid was approved with a few questions from Councilman Roger Bibbee. He thought it was odd the annex for the police could be added onto on the other side of the fire department.
"It just seems odd to me that we couldn't attach a fire department to a fire department," said Bibbee. "But we can attach a police department to the fire department."
The project will move forward with more consideration and review, officials said.
Thornton said the building would not be open to the public and would be used for the police department to accommodate more space for officers and visiting law enforcement.
"I'm not satisfied with the issue of connecting the buildings, but I guess we'll work with it as we go," said Bibbee.
Mayor David Nohe said adding the fire department annex to the fire department building was not cost effective.
Nohe offered a moment of silence at the beginning of the council meeting for mayoral candidate Jack Roush, who died before Tuesday's election.
Councilman-elect Steve Stephens was congratulated by Nohe for his newly elected position on council, starting next year.
Nohe presented an award on behalf of the International Association of Chiefs of Police to officer Jeremy Bradley for his bravery in a law enforcement incident last summer.
