LAGUNA BEACH : It’s Moving Time for City Hall

As Laguna Beach city employees prepare to move into trailers this weekend so that the renovation of City Hall can begin, some police officers have traded in their holsters for tool belts to help set up temporary police headquarters.

Using officers to build shelves, set up computer systems and install wiring, the city has trimmed the cost of moving to its temporary headquarters, officials say.

For example, rather than paying a computer company an estimated $2,250 to wire the computer system in the Police Department’s temporary headquarters, Lt. Paul Workman was assigned the job, Laguna Beach Police Chief Neil Purcell said.

“Through Paul’s efforts, there has been several thousands of dollars in savings,” Purcell said, noting that Workman is a computer whiz. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”

Sgt. Raymond Lardie, who on an average day would review crime reports, brief the press, assign duties and supervise other officers, has for the past several weeks been framing doors and building shelves. Capt. William Cavanaugh has temporarily assumed most of Lardie’s duties.

Purcell said temporarily reassigning five officers to work on the temporary City Hall has not meant a decline in police services. The five officers are either supervisors who have had their duties assigned to someone else, or are working extra hours in exchange for additional vacation time.

The $3.4-million City Hall renovation is expected to take about a year to complete. During that time, city employees will work from rows of trailers on the corner of Forest Avenue and Broadway. Involving police officers in setting up the temporary Police Department has helped ensure that the temporary quarters will meet the department’s needs, Purcell said.

“A lot of this is clearly out of their job description, but they’ve been eager to see this through,” he added.

City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said that using other city employees to help ready temporary quarters also has saved the city money.