By Rich Pollack
Faced with a disjointed Police Department located in two separated buildings, and the recent discovery of mold in the police chief’s office, Highland Beach commissioners moved a step closer to spending $750,000 on renovations to Town Hall.
At their June meeting, commissioners unanimously agreed to spend $25,000 for architects to put together construction plans for a renovation to connect the Town Commission’s chambers and two-thirds of the Police Department to the remainder of the department and Town Hall.
The creation of construction documents, the third phase in a four-phase renovation process, signals the town’s intention to go ahead with the sometimes controversial project. Commissioners, however, stopped short of fully committing to the construction.
“We can’t say yes to the project until we know how much it will actually cost, and we won’t know how much it will cost until we get construction documents,” Commissioner Lou Stern said.
Once the plans for construction are completed, he said, the town could begin getting bids.
“We have signaled with a 5-0 vote that we want to go ahead, and, if the bids we receive are realistic, we can move forward,” Stern said.
Funding for the project, which would be done within the existing Town Hall footprint, will be included in the budget commissioners will begin discussing this month. The project could still be cut, however, should commissioners decide to delay the renovations.
Plans for the construction, which would eliminate a breezeway that essentially splits the Police Department and Town Hall into two separate buildings, were included in last year’s budget. Financial constraints and questions from residents over whether the work was needed, however, led commissioners to postpone the project.
“We just didn’t know how to do it financially,” Stern said.
This year, he said, it appears the town may be able to make the improvements without having to raise the tax rate.
In addition to increased property values and new construction, which would generate increased tax revenue, the town could use money from the sale of two parcels it owns in Boca Raton, said Town Manager Kathleen Weiser.
The sale of the parcels to a private developer for $3.5 million is expected to close within the next few weeks.
Until commissioners determine whether the town will indeed go ahead with the renovations, Police Chief Craig Hartmann will continue to work out of a conference room, rather than his office, where mold was discovered.
If the renovations are postponed again, the town will hire contractors to eliminate the mold. If the project gets the go-ahead, Hartmann will continue to work in the conference room until the renovations — which could start at the end of the year and last six months — are completed.
Currently, the conference room, the chief’s office and the office of the department’s training officer are on the south side of a breezeway that splits Town Hall in two, while the rest of the department — including locker rooms, other offices and workspace for officers — is on the north side of the walkway.
“The offices are scattered,” Weiser said. “The renovations will put the Police Department’s existing space together and make it more functional.”
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