Officials mulling PD move

Fort Scott Police Department Communications Officers Carol Lydic (left) and Allen Schellack work dispatch Monday evening. All together, the police department probably has about 800 square feet of office space for 15 people in the Hawkins Public Safety Building. Police and fire share the quarters. The city is looking into the possibility of moving the police department, but nothing has been decided yet.(Ruth Campbell/Tribune)

When Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin started his job at the end of August 2010, the National Guard Armory had been sold to Fort Scott Community College, the city had purchased 123 S. Main for the new location of City Hall, and the Fort Scott Police Department had been denied an attempt at relocation.

The police department is currently located at 1604 S. National Ave., but it could potentially move to the basement of Memorial Hall, 1 E. Third St. -- the former location of City Hall.

According to Martin, the potential for moving the FSPD into Memorial Hall after the departure of city offices for the new location is something that had been discussed since he took office and he felt it was time to investigate the possibility.

This room, with two computers and one printer, is used by three Fort Scott Police sergeants.

"That was one of the things talked about by commissioners and people in the public that they would like to see," Martin said.

Martin said he wanted to focus on getting City Hall moved before taking on the future use of space at Memorial Hall, now occupied by two Codes Department employees.

"Once we got out of there, I felt like ... we needed to start pursuing ... an opportunity to move the police force in there," he said.

In 1991, the city had looked into moving the police department and got as far as completing drawings and preliminary plans, Martin said.

He added he was unaware of the plans until taking office. He said the city had one meeting with the original architect last week.

The FSPD was one of the agencies vying to acquire the armory as a new location to address the growing concern of having to share the Hawkins Public Safety Building with the Fort Scott Fire Department.

The armory ultimately went to FSCC, which is currently using it for a construction trades class. Next fall, the college plans to expand its construction trades presence at the armory and add the agriculture department, currently located in the vocational technology building on campus.

The ag components at the armory will include meats, horse and livestock judging, Public Relations Director Kathleen Hinrichs said. The cosmetology department, now housed downtown, would move into the vocational technology building, Hinrichs said.

"We know we need to do something with police and fire," Martin said. "Codes need to be down with the fire department ... and we need the police force to have their own facility."

According to the preliminary evaluation of the drawings and plans, Martin said there is enough space at Memorial Hall to "possibly make it work."

Martin said the city is not going to be moving the FSPD anytime soon, noting the process is going to be long and drawn out.

He said there are many things to look at besides the space and one aspect is the condition of the building itself.

One of the reasons City Hall was moved was due to lack of handicap accessibility, which will also be an issue with the FSPD.

"It needs to be a nice, up-to-date, modern upgrade," Martin said. "I'm not going to ask anybody to move into a place that is not renovated properly."

Fort Scott Police Chief Ron Puterbaugh declined to comment on the topic, saying that at this time he will leave the comments to Martin.

Although the city is currently looking into the possibility of moving the FSPD to Memorial Hall, Martin said it was not the only option that was pursued.

"I've had dialogue with lots of different opportunities, looking at possibly moving in there from retail to nonprofit organizations...," he said.