SPRINGDALE — The city is looking at shuffling the location of its departments, aiming for more space and greater efficiency.
The City Council discussed rearrangements proposed by Mayor Doug Sprouse at a committee meeting Tuesday. Sprouse proposed selling the Criminal Investigation Division building at 206 S. Blair St. and buying a building at 109 Spring St. The building, across Johnson Avenue from City Hall, is owned by Dave Chapman.
The Planning and Community Development Department, along with the Building Inspection Department, could move into the building on Spring Street. Both departments are running out of space, Sprouse said.
The Police Department Criminal Investigation Division, now on Blair Street, is slated to move into 130 Spring St., one of three buildings on the west side of Spring the city bought earlier this year.
An earlier plan called for Building Inspection to move to Blair to replace the investigation division. Inspection is at 107 Spring St., crammed into a building with little space and hardly any parking. But moving Inspection to Blair wouldn’t solve problems the investigation division had, said Wyman Morgan, city director of administration and financial affairs.
Inspection has lots of people coming in and picking up permits, ranging from construction to yard sales, Morgan said. Many would have to start at City Hall, go to Inspection then return to City Hall to complete a permit application, he said.
Traveling five blocks between Blair Street and City Hall is time-consuming, said Capt. Mike Peters, head of investigation.
“I go back and forth four or five times a day,” Peters said. “Every time, I have to jump in my car instead of walking across the street.”
Aldermen are concerned the city can’t recoup its investment if it sells the Blair Street building now.
“We were told we had to have this building when we purchased it,” said Alderman Eric Ford. “Now we don’t need it and are trying to sell it.”
The city bought the Blair Street building in 2004 for $300,000, Morgan said. It has spent $175,000 on renovations.
“We won’t get what we’ve put into it,” said Alderman Mike Overton, who owns a real estate business.
Chapman’s building has been appraised for $530,000. Chapman has agreed to sell the building at a price set by a new appraisal.
“I’m not going to argue with the city over a few thousand dollars,” Chapman said.
All of Chapman’s tenants have been notified the building might be sold, he said.
Bryan Clinkscales, with Boone-Ritter Insurance, said he expected the city to eventually buy the building.
“We’re surrounded by them,” Clinkscales said. “We’ll probably buy some land somewhere and build us a new office.”
The council asked city staff to see what the Blair building is worth.
“We are going to talk to a couple of real estate agents who deal with commercial property,” Morgan said. “They should be able to give us an idea of what it is worth.”
The investigation division’s new offices are not expected to be ready for four to five months, Morgan said.
“We still don’t know how much the renovations are going to cost,” Morgan said. “Once we know that, and the value of the Blair building, the council might be more comfortable with buying the Chapman building.”