Police Storefront Struggles With Rent
With $1,200 in monthly rent getting harder to find, police and merchants are considering moving the downtown police storefront, possibly to a side street where rents are cheaper, officials said.
While the Police Department pays for the staff and office equipment at 309 E. Main St., downtown merchants pay the rent.
Monthly rent was $500 when the storefront opened four years ago, but gradually crept up to $800 by last fall and finally hit $1,200 this year. The Downtown Community Council rallied merchants for more money, but police and the council’s officers said that generosity won’t last forever.
It’s hard for the council to keep raising that kind of money, said Sgt. Skip Young, police supervisor of the storefront and of the city’s community policing program.
The price is a bargain for downtown space, council officials said, but pricey for the grass-roots organization.
Although some business owners have pledged money, the council only has cash for three more months of rent, said council President Doug Halter.
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