The Salem City Council Monday night will be asked to surplus for the former Save-a-Lot building at 406 West Main that the city acquired two years ago to be renovated into a new police station building.
Interim City Manager Annette Sola says after a review of the building it has been determined the building is not sufficient to be the new police station.
“We have determined that the building is not going to be large enough, the parking area is not efficient, and that land is locked on all four sides. It doesn’t make sense financially for us to hold on to that. We are hoping to put that back on the tax rolls and look for a business to move into there and make it a viable business.”
Police Chief Kyle Ambuehl plans to include money to hire an architect to look at the best options for the police department in his budget request for the next fiscal year that begins May 1st.
“I’m going to have them come in and assess the current Police Department we have and if we haven’t sold Save-A-Lot yet I’ll have them assess that building as well. And then I’m going to have them assess building a new PD in a different location. We can take those numbers and make the best-informed decision we can. We are spending a lot of money looking at this if we are going to move forward, so I want to get the best product for the money.”
Ambuehl fears they could spend $2-3 million dollars for a renovation and will still be in an old building that will be inadequate for future growth.
Under the proposal before the city council, the resale of the building would not occur before July 1st, giving Mission Salem time to find a new location.
