Geneva seeks public input for new police station, facilities upgrades, home rule

The police station in Geneva floods, the roof leaks and the sewer backs up.

City Hall, built in 1912, is not entirely accessible, has inadequate insulation, wastes energy and does not support modern technology needs.

The public works building is a metal barn almost 40 years old. It also leaks; employees catch water in garbage bags and buckets.

Geneva officials are surveying residents for feedback on a capital project with a cost estimate of $97.5 million to support building a new police department and revamping and expanding existing facilities.

“This is a four-phased process. We really want to hear from the community – what they think, what your priorities are,” City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said. “And if you think everything is fine, that’s fine, too.”

Dawkins spoke Nov. 16 at the second of four community engagement sessions. The session was at Fire Station No. 1, 200 East Side Drive.

“The reason this is $97.5 million is, as of today, the city has a ceiling cap on the debt we can issue and that’s $100 million. That changes over time, based on EAV (equalized assessed valuation),” Dawkins said. “If we were to go out to bond tomorrow, the most we could bond for would be $100 million.”

The other items officials would like to accomplish would come through the city’s normal capital budgeting through the regular budgeting process, Dawkins said.

“We’re not presenting what the city thinks it wants to do,” Dawkins said. “What we’re asking is to get your feedback first. And we can take that into consideration while we figure out what this long-term plan is.”

Dawkins detailed the city’s facility needs and the estimated costs to address them.

The eight people who attended the session filled out surveys to rank each section.

Also in the mix is whether there is support for Geneva to become a home-rule community.

Communities with populations of 25,000 or more automatically become home rule. With a population of 21,393, according to the 2020 census, Geneva needs public approval via referendum to become home rule, Dawkins said.

“That’s part of why we’re getting the feedback,” Dawkins said. “This is a council decision to make to go to referendum for both the bonding and home rule. ... Right now, we’re just trying to put all the options on the table to see what the community sentiment is and then figure out which might be the most beneficial way to go.”

Home-rule communities have more flexibility to create new revenue streams and have more authority to make decisions. Without home rule, Geneva has to go to referendum in order to sell bonds to pay for building and upgrading facilities.

Home rule would allow the city to sell bonds as needed for each individual project, Dawkins said.

As to why the city has not asked for a home-rule referendum in the past, Dawkins said it’s because the council is not unanimous in support of it.

“It’s hard to sell it to the community if there hasn’t been unanimity on the council in the past,” Dawkins said. “They didn’t want to go to referendum if they were not sure it would pass. I think that goes for both referendums, right? You don’t want to go through the effort and the expense unless you’re pretty certain it will pass.”

Dawkins said she could not say whether there now is unanimity on the council.

The five facility priorities and estimated costs that the city is asking for feedback are:

• A new 45,000-square-foot police station on property the city owns near the public works facility on South Street would cost $45.3 million to $58.9 million. Options could include an indoor firing range to boost training and indoor parking for all vehicles.

• City Hall and the former library renovation involves partial demolition of the vacant library building next door, which the city owns, to retain only the original section and maintain historic exteriors. This would include a 15,000-square-foot addition to connect the buildings. It would create a civic center with larger, accessible spaces for residents and employees to conduct city services. Options could include a lower-level addition and interior buildout. The cost estimate is $33.4 million to 37.4 million.

• For Fire Station No. 2, the proposal is to build a new 20,000-square-foot fire station on city-owned property near the existing site at 2530 Fargo Blvd. It would provide adequate space for vehicles and staff, improve safety and response times and provide gender-appropriate locker rooms and firefighters’ living quarters. Options could include a fourth apparatus bay and additional training facilities. The cost estimate is $18.8 million to $20.8 million.

• For Public Works, the proposal is for site improvements and renovations to make the facility safer, more functional and more efficient. This would include new mechanical systems to replace existing systems. Options could include additional renovations, covered storage and improvements to the salt storage dome. The cost estimate is $20.6 million to $37 million.

• For Fire Station No. 1, the proposal includes maintenance and upgrades to mechanical systems. Options include renovations to provide gender-appropriate living quarters for firefighters and an addition to provide meeting and training space. The cost estimate is $7.9 million to $14.8 million.

The impact on property taxes of a house valued at $350,000 would be:

• $125 a year for the lowest funding level of $45.3 million, which would address the city’s most urgent facility needs.

• $215 a year for the medium funding level of $78.8 million, which would address additional facility needs.

• $265 a year for the highest funding level of $97.5 million, which would address most of the city’s facility needs.

In addition to what facilities have the most priority, a survey asks residents to rank 10 potential benefits in addressing those needs.

These include infrastructure and mechanicals, safety and security, sustainability, space, historic preservation, accessibility for ADA compliance, adequate working conditions for city staff, energy efficiency, technology and parking.

The next public engagement session is a virtual meeting via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21. Register at us06web.zoom.us to attend.

The full presentation is available on the city’s website at www.geneva.il.us.