September 24, 2024
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Elburn expected to break ground on new police station in 2024

Village President Walter: ‘We’re hiring an architect, getting final drawings and we have a general contractor hired’

By Brenda Schory
Elburn Police Deputy Chief Erich Schlachta shows the area that holds evidence, armory and some storage are kept in the cramped police department space. The department’s referendum for a new station was voted down in the April 4 Consolidated Election.

Elburn Police Deputy Chief Erich Schlachta shows the area that holds evidence, an armory and storage in the town's cramped police department building. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

ELBURN – Years of planning since 2017 when Elburn Village President Jeff Walter first took office are coming to fruition as a groundbreaking for the new $10 million police station is expected in the summer this year.

“We are moving forward on our police station. … We’re hiring an architect, getting final drawings and we have a general contractor hired,” Walter said. “We bought six acres next to the water tower by the Blackberry Creek subdivision for $25,000 at a tax sale. It was a bargain. We knew years ago we needed a new police station. We have been undersized for a long time.”

Voters did not approve a referendum for a new police station, but Walter said the cost was within the village’s bonding power, so the village will sell bonds to pay for it.

“The police station is 1,150 square feet, is tiny, and in a town our size, it’s way behind the times,” Walter said. “Our breathalyzer is in the same room as our clerks; it’s behind their desks. We don’t have a booking room. We have a little room with a bench with handcuffs on it.”

Elburn Police Deputy Chief Erich Schlachta points out the glass at the entrance to their current station, which is not bullet-proof. The department’s referendum for a new station was voted down in the April 4 Consolidated Election.

Elburn Police Deputy Chief Erich Schlachta points out the glass at the entrance to their current station, which is not bullet-proof. The department’s referendum for a new station was voted down in the April 4 Consolidated Election. Elburn officials are moving ahead with building a new police station, relying on the village's existing bonding power. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Elburn’s population is 7,200, but is growing. Elburn issued 100 new building permits this year, mostly for houses, Walter said.

More population means the need for more police.

“We’re not the small town we once were,” Walter said.

The new police station is expected to be completed sometime in 2025.

The Village Hall/Police Department space will be remodeled to provide more space for administration and building and zoning, Walter said.

The new police station will have a multipurpose room for training and for relocating Village Board meetings.

Also on the drawing board is more space for Public Works. A space needs analysis showed the need for a larger building.

The village owns two acres across the street from the public works building, which will become a location for a salt dome and a full storage building, he said.

The village is in its fourth year of spending $1 million on road improvements, focusing on Blackberry Creek and the north part of town this year.

“Our roads were in bad shape,” Walter said. “During the economic turndown [2008-09], we didn’t spend much money on anything because we didn’t know what would happen.”

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