LETTER: Go back to the drawing board on $35M public safety building

To Ozaukee Press:

I have questions about Port Washington’s proposed public safety building.

Is the mayor pushing it too fast? In my opinion, the answer is yes. I would prefer the city slow down the process to determine if the proposed site and plan are right for the most effective and efficient functioning of fire and police departments.

Why is the estimated cost of the public safety building so outrageously expensive?  As an architect, it seems to me the city could have used a bit more imagination to reduce overall project costs without serious implications.

I agree that a new fire/EMS facility is needed. However, with a little renovation and an addition to the existing fire station, the police department could remain at its existing location, and the overall project cost could be reduced by $8 million to $10 million.

Why did the city decide not to find a use for the existing fire station as a cost saving measure before going into final design of a joint facility, knowing that such construction would be in the $35 million range?

Why hasn’t the city been more transparent with project planning and used a larger planning group to do more diligence in keeping the costs more palatable to Port taxpayers? Perhaps a larger group of planning members could have kept the existing planning group from looking like kids in a candy store.

I agree with the suggestions by Aldermen John Sigwart and Pat Tearney that the city should slow down the design process until other departments’ needs can be fully evaluated.

Why are the mayor and council so eager to push the safety building without a due diligence study on the needs for the bluff stabilization project, a new public works building, a new or renovated library and a new senior center?

What’s more, if you think the safety building as planned will be built for $35 million, you’re dreaming. Note how the estimated costs of the water treatment plant project escalated from $14 million in 2022 to $23 million at the start of construction.

The citizens of Port Washington need more openness when such capital improvement projects are pushed on us.

Barrett Genson

Port Washington