Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Plan for Sheriff Station Hits Snags

The plan to build a $25-million, full-service sheriff’s station in Palmdale has run into a political dispute, with the City Council pushing for a downtown site instead of the two outlying locations suggested by the Sheriff’s Department.

The City Council, in a unanimous vote Thursday night, directed city officials to explore possible downtown locations and to seek help from county Supervisor Mike Antonovich. City officials say that locale is key to reclaiming Palmdale’s decaying downtown.

The vote came after sheriff’s officials presented the city with their two top site recommendations: the first choice, an 8.7-acre site near the city’s Antelope Valley Auto Center, and a backup location, a nearly 11-acre site at the northeast corner of Sierra Highway and Avenue S.

Sheriff’s officials are proposing to open the planned 32,000-square-foot station and 5,000-square-foot maintenance facility in 1996 or 1997, splitting the Antelope Valley into separate Lancaster and Palmdale patrol areas. But the county’s budget woes also threaten to delay that schedule.

Mayor Jim Ledford bluntly criticized Sheriff’s Department officials for resisting the council’s wishes. “Nobody’s asked the City Council, ‘What do you think?’ ”

Sheriff’s officials said they consulted with Palmdale city staff members in narrowing the potential sites from seven candidates down to the final two. And sheriff’s officials pointed out that the county expects to fund the entire project, except for a promised $2.5-million city contribution.

The Sheriff’s Department now serves the Antelope Valley with a 32-year-old main station in Lancaster and a leased 18-month-old temporary substation in downtown Palmdale.

Lancaster soon will be paying for a new $25-million sheriff’s station in a city-picked downtown site.

Lt. Mike Aranda, commander of the Palmdale substation, told council members the department would be willing to give the city more say in the site selection if Palmdale made a larger financial contribution. For a downtown site, council members said they might be willing to pay more.

If the Sheriff’s Department does not keep a facility in Palmdale’s downtown, “How are we going to get people to go in there?” Ledford asked.