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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – We learned this week that Wausau is interested in a new police station. The city is inquiring about the old UW-Stevens Point-Wausau building near Marathon Park.
Not so fast.
Our neighbors in Marshfield were gifted an existing building for their new police headquarters. It it will take at least a year and millions of dollars to modify that building for law enforcement use. Yet in Wausau we’ve heard nothing about a timeline of the costs or a new police station. Why not?
The proposed new building is much, much bigger than the current one. I take police chief Barnes at his word that space has become tight. Officers are working out of modified closets and there aren’t enough lockers to go around. But, where is it predetermined that the size of the Wausau Police Department will only grow? Our population is steady – not growing. With new technology, Flock cameras and the like, shouldn’t we expect our public safety goals to be achieved with the same manpower, not more? We narrowly approved an unnecessary firefighters referendum after being told that our houses might burn down and grandma might not get a timely ambulance ride to the hospital if we don’t.
And speaking of the fire department, they imagine a new headquarters for themselves. There’s been little to no public information about it, but this project has already moved to the land acquisition stage. Will they be satisfied with their current location if the police move out?
I am not necessarily opposed to the police department’s headquarters moving to a few blocks from my home. But I am hyper-sensitive about ever-rising property taxes. Before this train begins to roll down the tracks, city leaders owe us some answers. To start, what are the costs? And what is my share?
Chris Conley
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