SEQUIM — A secured set of double doors will go in between the school and the suspected criminals.
That’s the most important thing to Sequim School District Superintendent Garn Christensen when it comes to reconfiguring the Community School’s east wing to accommodate the Sequim Police Department.
In Tuesday’s presentation to the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce at the Dungeness Golf Course meeting room, Christensen, Police Chief Robert Spinks and city Capital Projects Manager Frank Needham sought to explain the proposal that would put law enforcement next door to education.
The Community School, 220 W. Alder St., has space to spare, Christensen said.
And the police station needs to grow, and soon, said Spinks.
The proposed solution could be a win-win for students and officers, Christensen added — but the idea is still in the discussion phase.
Price tag varies
Turning the school’s east wing into a police station could cost from $296,000 to $595,000, Needham said.
The price estimate is broad, he said, because the city has yet to determine how much work will need to be done to make the building more energy efficient.
The retrofit will include upgraded heating and electrical systems as well as new plumbing, said Needham.
Costs also will depend on how much seismic retrofitting and exterior preparation are required.
Spinks, meanwhile, said his police force has outgrown the 5,300-square-foot space it occupies in the J.C. Penney shopping center at 609 W. Washington St.
A move into the school’s 11,000-square-foot wing would not only double the space, he added, but it would also give the department the visibility it needs.
Criminals cruising through town should see the police station in a central location, Spinks said. It should not be tucked away in the corner of a strip mall.