Mayor Steve Collier & Guests Talk New Lawrence Police Department Headquarters Coming 2019
The Towne Post Live series continued August 30 at Murphys Craft House for the monthly Friday live show. This time, Geist Magazine publisher Tom Britt was joined by Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier, Lawrence Chief of Police David Hofmann and Paul Okeson with Garmong Construction.
Recently, the City of Lawrence held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Lawerence Police Department Headquarters. Over the years, Lawrence PD has never really had its own headquarters for operations. The police department’s temporary headquarters has been located at the Lawrence Government Center for 9 years.
The new headquarters will be located at 5150 N. Post Road, which is the former location of the Snafu Saloon.
“We made it work over those years (at the Lawrence Government Center), but at the end of the day, it isn’t a police station,” says Hofmann. “We are excited to be moving closer to the community with this new location where we have the most cause for service and interact with people.”
The project will cost about $12M and construction is already underway. The city is excited about the new headquarters and a project that has been visualized for quite some time.
“I’d been thinking of a new police headquarters before I even took office,” Collier says. “This police station is going to make a big difference in the area. The good news is, that $12M cost will have no impact on taxpayers’ dollars. Taxes will not be going up at all.”
Garmong Construction is leading the project with hopes of the new police headquarters being completed in the fall of 2019.
“It will be about a 37,000 square-foot facility,” Okeson says. “The design really has a softer design to it that will be inviting to the public. It will have many needed amenities like a storage facility, a fitness facility, a track, public meeting spaces and more. The chief has really made it a priority to make sure that the building is a part of the community.”
Lawrence residents will soon see construction moving forward for the new police station as the Snafu Saloon has already been demolished for the project.
A special thanks to owner Craig Stonebraker for welcoming the Towne Post Live team and the City of Lawrence for lunch at Murphys Craft House and space to host the live show.
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