North Liberty police could be in new station in two years under proposed schedule

NORTH LIBERTY - At the North Liberty police station, evidence is stored in a furnace room, meetings are held in the hallway and if you're looking for parking, good luck.

'We've completely outgrown this place,” said North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga.

But now there's hope on the horizon. On Tuesday night, the North Liberty City Council is set to discuss a proposed timeline that would see the construction of a new police station on city-owned land. If approved, the police department could move out of their current station at 5 E. Cherry St. and into a new facility a block away at the intersection of Cherry and Main streets by May 2019.

The proposed timeline does not include a designs or the anticipated cost of the facility - just an outline of the three phases of the project schedule.

The public outreach and education phase would last for about a month and include various efforts to educate the public about the issues the police department faces in its current facility. Those efforts would include social media posts, a virtual tour video, an open house on the project and tours of the police station.

Venenga said when the police department moved into the building - a farm house converted into a doctor's office that previously served as city hall - the department had only 13 full-time officers. Nowadays, the roster has 20 officers, as well as records staff. Venenga said there's not enough room for civilian or police parking at the site.

There's not enough room for storing police gear, lost and found property and evidence, Venenga said. The basement floods, as well.

In addition to addressing these issues, Venenga said she'd like to have an actual meeting space so briefings don't have to take place in the hallway. More numerous and spacious interview and meeting rooms would be helpful, as well, she said.

'Right now, we have two (interview) rooms,” she said. 'One is more for suspects and one is for the public. They're so small, only two people can be comfortable sitting in those rooms.”

'The wishlist goes on and on,” she added.

Under the time line, the financing phase would take place in April and May. Design and construction will follow with the construction tentatively scheduled to begin in May 2018 and be complete in April 2019. The police department would begin operations out of the new station on May 7, 2019.

City Administrator Ryan Heiar could not be reached for comment.

Venenga said she is looking forward to showing the public the kind of conditions her staff is working in.

'When the public comes in, they can't believe this is a police station,” she said. 'We're in dire straits.”

But Venenga said she's also hopeful Tuesday will mark the beginning of a two-year project that will end with her in a new facility.

'It's a long time coming,” she said. 'We're looking forward to having something that is actually built and designed for a police department.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com