Fayetteville council tours site of planned police campus

FAYETTEVILLE -- About 30 residents joined the City Council on Monday to tour the site of a planned police headquarters campus at Porter Road and Deane Street.

Voters approved building a police headquarters among 10 bond questions in April 2019. The $37 million police headquarters issue passed with 4,245, or 71%, votes in favor and 1,773, or 29%, against.

The council twice has reviewed renderings showing a preliminary layout of the site. The campus as presented would have the estimated 56,000-square-foot main police station sitting east-west at the northern portion of the site. An indoor firing range would sit north-south at the western edge of the site. The two buildings would join, with the main entrance and lobby serving as the link, at the northwest corner. A fire substation also would sit at the southern portion near Deane Street, with room left for a future building or buildings of some kind.

[Don't see the link above? Click here to see renderings of the police headquarters: nwaonline.com/faypdhq725]

The purpose of Monday's gathering was to give council members an opportunity to walk around the site and get a feel for the topography and how buildings might be placed. The council asked for a number of revisions to the preliminary layout after a workshop last month, saying the plan fell short of a number of the city's standards for urban design.

Residents who appeared asked questions about the bond election, what's planned at the site and how the site was selected. Questions about the nature of policing came up, and how the new facilities would address a comprehensive approach to public safety.

B. Worthy said he wanted to hear what public officials had in mind. He said he understood the bond issue passed and the campus will be built, but wanted to provide a voice on what will go on in those buildings.

"Because they're moving into a bigger space, I feel they could give more energy into demilitarizing themselves, or give more energy into understanding how to operate in a low-income community and identifying the needs of a low-income community," Worthy said.

Council Member Sloan Scroggin said after walking around the site, he got a sense the campus can meet most of the design standards the city expects from any other development. Parking could be rearranged, with ample vegetation and green space possible and perhaps on-street parking along Porter Road and Deane Street, he said.

"We have time to get this right," Scroggin said.

Deputy Police Chief Jamie Fields said the goal is to accommodate police operations today with an eye to the future. Having the department operate out of a central location, rather than being dispersed throughout the city, will enable police to more effectively serve the city, she said.

"We're always looking for how we can do things better," Fields said. "It's not just the conversations of today, we're always looking forward."