Marion City Council Approve Lease for Land for New $10M Police Station

The Marion City Council unanimously approved a lease agreement for the land that will eventually host the proposed new Marion police station, if all goes according to plan.

Council members held a public hearing on the topic prior to the vote. No voices of support or dissent were heard.

The lease agreement is a legally necessary measure. The city currently owns the land, but will need to lease it to a trustee until the building is payed off.

The current lease is for 50 years, but Marion City Manager Lon Pluckhahn said they'll pay it off well before then.

The next step in the process is to approve the over $10 million construction contract with Miron Construction for the building. That vote will take place during the next council meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Pluckhahn estimated the construction would begin this fall and is set to be completed by the end of 2013.

The current building was built for 20 police officers in 1984, when Marion a population of about 18,000. Since the, Marion's population has nearly doubled — the number of police officers has more than doubled.

"I have eight detectives all in a little cubicle. I have six sergeants in an office that is two desks," said Marion Police Chief Harry Daugherty. "I had to turn one of the garages into a evidence room."

The construction cost has come down since earlier estimates placed the price as high as $12 million.

Police Lieutenant Doug Slagle told the council the savings has come from lowering ceilings and forgoing the purchasing of equipment for the indoor firing range.

He also said the police station would be three times the size of the current police office. It's built to be expanded to, which could give extend the life of the building 20 years past when it reaches capacity.