City seals deal for safety building land

The City of Port Washington on Friday purchased almost seven acres at the corner of highways LL and 33 from Ozaukee County for its new public safety building.

The city paid $275,000 for the land, exercising an option that it has held for several years as planning for the public safety building progressed.

The purchase, which was announced at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, marks a major step forward for the $33.5 million project.

“We’ve made the zoning adjustments needed, and now that we’re in possession of the land we can start to move dirt,” Mayor Ted Neitzke said.

“I’m pretty proud of the council’s action, the collaboration it’s taken to get us to this point.”

The building, which will cost the owner of a house with an assessed value of $300,000 an additional $575 in taxes annually, has been controversial.

But the facility, which will house the city’s police and fire departments, is something officials said is sorely needed.

The fire station is overcrowded, isn’t handicapped accessible and lacks accommodations for women and paramedics who will be working around the clock and need a place to sleep, they said.

The police station is also inadequate, both in terms of space and infrastructure, they said.  Ventilation isn’t adequate, nor is the garage, there isn’t enough space — and proper spaces — for everything from offices to interview rooms and the layout is not conducive to police operations.

Officials have started to address deferred maintenance in all the city’s buildings, something Neitzke said he and the aldermen are committed to.

Requests for bids for the safety center went out last week, Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said, and bids will be opened at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27.

“We anticipate we will be awarding that project in March and head right into construction,” he said.

Of the expected $33.5 million pricetag for the building, $28.6 million is the estimated construction cost. The cost to buy the land and acquire access rights from the Department of Transportation is set at $430,000. Another $2 million is for design and engineering and almost $1 million is for furnishings and fixtures.

Vanden Noven noted the city has not heard from the Department of Transportation in regard to obtaining access rights to the property from both highways.

The DOT recently informed the city it had received an appraisal determining the value of the access,  but Vanden Noven said he hasn’t heard how much the agency will seek to allow the city to access the roads.

A Casey’s gas station and convenience store previously was proposed for the property, and the access rights at that time were expected to cost about $175,000.

Work on the building is expected to begin this spring, and the project is expected to take 14 months to complete, clearing the way for the police and fire departments to move into the new building in the summer of 2026.