The police priority
Published Monday January 5th, 2009
Urban Report Half of area residents don't consider police station a priority, but mayor and chief say it's beyond that stage
SAINT JOHN - A new police station in Peel Plaza is only secondary in the minds of residents, according to a Corporate Research Associates poll commissioned by the Telegraph-Journal.
Just over 50 per cent of those surveyed considered the initiative not at all important for the city. Only 17 per cent considered it highly important.
While these numbers could potentially scare city officials, Mayor Ivan Court and newly-promoted police chief Bill Reid agree the police station initiative shouldn't be a new priority - because it's an old priority.
"It's not something new," Court said. "It's been ongoing for almost 40 years."
The city's current central police station is divided throughout various levels of city hall, and was only ever intended to be a temporary home for the force.
The mayor said that for the past 11 years of his involvement, he's seen 26 different prospective sites, each with their pros and cons. The lower south end, Chown Field, the Telegraph-Journal site and the eastern side of the Courtney Bay causeway were all considered but eventually shut down.
"At the end of the day, this council and previous council took the direction that they were building a police station, and it was going to be part of a police-justice facility," the mayor said.
Reid says that after so much deliberation over the past few years, the new police station has moved from priority to action.
"We've all but dug the hole in the ground for the facility," he said. "People now have to move on to other issues that will come up over a period of three years, and rightly so people should start looking at other priorities."
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase is still concerned about the costs of the project in terms of money taken from other initiatives. The CRA poll found the police station was the least important out of four initiatives, including a new water treatment system, road repairs and a recreational multiplex.
"My concern with the Peel Plaza police station is that with the cost that's coming in on it, it's really mopping up all our capital spending for infrastructure projects. It's a tremendously expensive project, albeit it's a need for Saint John to have a good police facility," Chase said.
He said he doesn't want citizens burdened with the costs of the project, nor does he want funds allocated from more pertinent infrastructure projects.
"The fact that we've got such an important community need as water, and we're currently about to build a police station that's in excess of $30 million, it concerns me."
Mayor Court notes that if the station was built earlier, costs wouldn't be so high.
"If they had of built it when I first went on the police commission, it probably would have been $10 million cheaper than what it is today," he said. "Just to move it from one spot to another probably costs us another million and a half dollars, just shifting it and getting other plans drawn up.
"Let's get it built, and people can talk about it later"¦It has to be built."
The mayor says it will bring a slew of positives to the city by retaining jobs uptown and bringing potential developments alongside Peel Plaza, such as condominiums above the proposed parking garage. The Saint John Arts Centre will also receive a $2 million upgrade through the Peel Plaza project.
There are also safety concerns.
"What we're doing now in City Hall in the same building as the police is not safe for policemen, it's not safe for citizens, it's not safe for business," said Court, who's vice-president of the Canadian Association of Police Forces. "That office building had to go as a police station. We need a modern police station for a modern police force. They're building these all over the country, so people shouldn't be upset that we're finally building a police station for our police department.
"I'm not apologizing to anyone. I'm apologizing that it's taken 40 years to get here."
Police Chief Reid says the new station is an important step for the city.
"It's important for the community, and it's important for our members who work out of (the current station). Right now we're very fragmented. It is necessary to do our business out of one facility and to do it efficiently," Reid said.
"In 2010, we'll open the new police facility, and that chapter will be put to rest."
On a scale of 1-10, from 'not at all important' to 'extremely important,' the CRA poll found a mean score of 5.7 and a median score of 5.0 for the police station initiative. Fifty-two per cent of 405 area residents polled rated a score of five or below. Men and older adults put slightly more importance on the Peel Plaza police station project.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (14)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.
The mayor says it will bring a slew of positives to the city by retaining jobs uptown and bringing potential developments alongside Peel Plaza,
"We need a modern police station for a modern police force. They're building these all over the country, so people shouldn't be upset that we're finally building a police station for our police department."
"I'm not apologizing to anyone. I'm apologizing that it's taken 40 years to get here."
If he ever did apologize for being wrong it would certainly surprise everyone I know!
With all the benefits of the community policing local offices why is this huge burden on our tax bills still needed?
Not one cent of tax will ever come from this monument and our city is not rich enough to keep spending money this way.
How about toning down the expectations. Think smaller if you want citizens to buy into the wisdom of your decision making!
Why are businesses and the public unsafe with the Police HQ at City Hall? How would the new HQ enable the police to do their jobs better? Why build it Uptown instead of the South End, which is desperate for development? Why is this job more important than our water?
Let's build it now, and talk about it later...is that how things are usually decided when spending somebody else's money?
I think I would have a deeper respect for a council that accomplishes the latter...
Things change in 40 years. What was once a requirement is not necessarily what is best for today's needs. 40 years ago I wanted a big fast car, today I want a small fuel efficient car, and partway in between I wanted a stationwagon.
40 years ago we may have wanted and needed a big fancy police station in the uptown. With the sprawl of the city and other growth would we not be better served with regional stations in the east, west, south, north, and central areas of the city and keep the administration centralized in city hall.
This high-end monument has only been a priority to a few, not the majority of citizens. It's something we don't need and we can't afford. You have wasted enough of our money so far on this
This shows how much of an inadequate Mayor that Court is turning out to be. He is a pompous overbearing bully. He does not care what the citizens want. What did you expect from a staunch union man? Saint John, you got what you deservered.
It is not going to be free for the police to stay where they are now,,They will still have to pay rent.
The new building will cost more, but will be a better long term location.
Economic things have changed, not just for me but for the city also. To go ahead with a 30 (??? it was 20 million just a few months ago) million $$ police station when there are more important and pressing things to spend city dollars on, is a bit fiscally imprudent. When things turn around, by all means, if the climate at the time makes sense to stick all our cops in one spot, THEN build it. Right now calls for a more intelligent decision.
Mayor Court's attitude toward SJ citizens is a total insult!