Police-Station Election Under Debate

The fate of the city’s new police station will wind up in the hands of voters if the City Council calls for a special election.

The council, at a hearing Sept. 26, will decide whether a special election is necessary.

The election would give Buena Park residents the chance to decide whether they want to pay for construction of the proposed facility, which would be adjacent to the existing police station.

If the council decides to go ahead with the March 6 special election, voters will be asked to increase property taxes.

Cost of a new police station is estimated at $15 million, and the city does not have the money to finance the project. City officials hope to build the station at the same time the new City Hall is under construction, beginning next summer.

Under the plan, owners of single-family homes would pay a maximum $30-per-year increase in their property taxes, while owners of commercial and industrial properties would pay an additional $120 to $3,600 annually. The tax would be levied for the next 30 years.

City officials have the option of renovating the existing police station, but, according to Buena Park City Clerk Shalice Reynoso, renovation would cost nearly as much as building a new facility. She said the existing police station has outlived its usefulness.

“What people should understand is that the Police Department’s operations have changed substantially over the years,” Reynoso said.

She said the station was built in the 1960s and the city has grown since then. She said there’s a need for a new station to handle “the new police technology available today.”

Andre Briscoe can be reached at (714) 966-5848.