ARROYO GRANDE, Calif- The city of Arroyo Grande approved selling three properties to pay for a new police station. The current police station has been in use since 1973. After Arroyo Grande voters rejected two ballot measures to help fund a new police station, the city is taking matters into its own hands, to get the project started a different way.
Leaky ceilings and stuffed jail cells are only a couple of things that are going wrong at the Arroyo Grande police station, and the city has been trying to come up with solutions. "For the last 4 or 5 years we've been putting forward some specific proposals up to now but we think we have a plan now that can proceed," said Arroyo Grande City Manager Steven Adams.
There are two locations the 6-million dollar station can go. It can either be built on West Branch Street on a vacant lot or the city can upgrade or rebuild the existing police station. "A portion would be financed, a portion would be from funds we have set aside, and then a portion would be from revenues from the sale of properties we have identified," said Adams.
A few years ago Santa Maria also listed getting a new police station as a top priority, but they paid straight out of pocket. Unlike other cities, Santa Maria has additional revenue sources from increased residential developments. The city said paying as it goes is its preferred method of payment.
The Arroyo Grande City Council will meet in March to select which location the city will go with for the new station, and it hopes to begin construction by the end of the year.
