16 SCOTIA GLENVILLE 08.pdf - Pirate CNY

Page 8 April 17, 2008 Spotlight
Rotterdam station moves closer to reality
Town hires fi rm
to design new police
and court facility
By ROSS MARVIN
Spotlight Newspapers
marvinr@spotlightnews.com
Rotterdam police and town
court offi cers may not be housed
in the deteriorating, 100-year-old
town court and police station
off Princetown Road for much
longer.
At its meeting on Wednesday,
April 9, the Rotterdam Town
Board moved closer to the
creation of a new station and
court when it unanimously
agreed to hire the Albanybased
engineering fi rm, Clough
Harbour & Associates, to design
the facility.
The $35,900 contract with
Cough Harbour is partially
funded by a $25,000 state
grant.
“We’re taking the next step
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to design a police station
and court,” said Supervisor
Steven Tommasone. “Then
we’ll seek a location for such
a facility.”
Nearly four years ago,
Clough Harbour returned
part of a $38,700 feasibility
study that looked into the
former Curry Road Shopping
Plaza as a site for the station
and court.
Last year, the board decided
that location was unfeasible.
Tommasone cited traffic
constraints as the main reason
why the board decided to move
in a different direction.
“The best place for our
police would be somewhere
around the five corners,”
said Tommasone, referring
to an intersection in central
Rotterdam, off Route 7.
Last month, the board
informally gave Tommasone
the approval to look at various
properties in town that could be
used for the new facility.
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A back wall of the Rotterdam police station is visibly deteriorating.
Offi cials say much of the building is unfi t to house the police department
and town court.
Ross Marvin/Spotlight
Tommasone said he hopes
that Clough Harbor’s design
study will be finished by the
fall.
“They’ve already committed
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to and done most of the work,”
he said.
A leaking roof and sewer
line, crumbling stairs and a
deteriorating façade are only
some of the structural fl aws of
the current station and court.
The building, which used to
be an elementary school, also
has limited parking and a small
courtroom that is frequently
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overcrowded.
“The town courtroom is packed
in there,” said Tommasone. “It’s
not a safe condition. It’s not the
best condition for our offi cers.
We’re in a position where we
have to have safety.”
Deputy Police Chief William
Manikas agreed with the town
supervisor.
“The building is three fl oors
and we’re constantly bringing
prisoners up and down the
stairs,” said Manikas. “It’s a
safety problem.”
Manikas said the building also
offers very little storage space,
which makes record-keeping and
maintenance more diffi cult.
Manikas also cited the facility’s
lack of parking spaces as a major
issue.
“Parking is a huge problem
when court is in session,” he said.
“People park on the street and it’s
dangerous.”
Manikas, though, said he
didn’t think it necessarily
mattered where the new police
station was located.
“There’s a public perception
that the five corners is a central
location and it’s always good
to have a police presence
where people know how to
find you, but it’s really more
important for firehouses and
courts to be centralized” said
Manikas. “We have officers
that cover specific zones, so
regardless of the new location
our response time should not
be impacted.”
Still, Manikas said the
department, which has
complained about the current
station for years, was pleased
with the board’s decision to
execute the contract with Clough
Harbor.
“We’re encouraged this is
moving forward, but finding
the right property is a potential
problem,” he said.
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