SEQUIM — Police headquarters have a new look after a fresh coat of cream-colored paint and the replacement of 15-year-old carpeting with new blue floor covering.
The remodeling of the Sequim Police Department’s station at 609 W. Washington St., Suite 16, also added improved security features, storage space and a workout room with a shower.
The entrance lobby is remodeled with a new private room, where officers can now interview people without others hearing.
The reception counter has been outfitted with bulletproof glass, an additional protection measure for staff.
The carpet color, Police Chief Bill Dickinson joked, was “a raging debate” around the office for a time.
Much of the memorabilia that once lined the walls is gone, giving the hallway a cleaner, more professional feel.
“We used to have a lot of stuff on the walls, and the officers said it was kind of cluttered,” Dickinson said.
Security systems with alarms have been added or upgraded, including one that alerts officers if someone leaves the interview room when they are supposed to remain.
Storage was added, Dickinson said, “so we have plenty of evidence storage space now.”
Even the department’s two holding cells have received fresh coats of paint.
Police have shared the space since 1995 with Clallam County Sheriff’s Department deputies, who also will benefit from the remodeling.
City staffers have already moved into newly remodeled shopping center space next to the Sequim Police Department to relieve tight work conditions at City Hall on West Cedar Street.
The space is in the Sequim Village Shopping Center, part of the commercial strip mall east of J.C. Penney.
The newly remodeled space next door to the police headquarters is occupied by City Attorney Craig Ritchie, the Human Resources Department and information technology staff.
Moving those employees this year to new offices has freed up space at City Hall on Cedar Avenue.
“The landlord paid for the vast majority of the improvements,” Dickinson said.
The remodeling came after the city signed a new five-year lease with the McNish Family Trust LLC until Dec. 31, 2015.
The lease is $4,501.32 a month, or the equivalent of 85 cents a square foot. This is an increase of $1.102.89 a month for the newly improved space.
The city leases a total of 11,560 square feet in the shopping center. About 1,000 square feet of separate space at the shopping center is used by police detectives.
Burkett said the city is locked into a five-year lease, so it must still use the space wisely.
The city now pays $6,800 a month on the North Fifth Avenue space for the Public Works and Planning departments and is looking to lower its lease costs, the city manager said.
Burkett said the new lease also gives the city breathing space to build a new City Hall in the next four or five years.
Burkett said the city was in the process of negotiating for the acquisition of land on Cedar Avenue for the new City Hall but that the process was moving slowly.
The idea is for the city to consolidate its offices under one roof and no longer pay about $180,000 a year in rent.
A plan by former Police Chief Robert Spinks to double and improve the same shopping center space for the police department was scuttled only after Burkett said he found that it would cost the city more than double the original estimate and was no longer necessary.
Burkett’s action was backed by the City Council, which acted to settle with the contractor, Hannah Construction of Port Angeles, for $34,100 for planning work to remodel the additional space.
The city leased the space next to the police station in 2008, never using it, at a cost of about $76,000 in $3,800-a-month rent.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
