GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The lastest proposal calls for the building could combine fire and police departments, as well as City Hall and Municipal Court into one facility. The Protection and Policy Committee gave the okay for an ad hoc committee to explore all possibilities.
The idea of merging four major city entities into one building, is being called good timing for a long-term investment, according to Green Bay Alder Brian Johnson.
“One of the things we’ve been going through right now is our five year capital improvement plan and the intent of launching that initiative was to give us a crystal ball into the future what some of our upcoming expenses are going to be.”
Right now the current plan calls for $10 million to be invested into just the City Hall building.
Johnson tells FOX 11 he requested the creation of the committee to consider the pros and cons of investing in the idea of consolidating several departments in one building. As of now, police, fire, city hall and municipal court utilize 4 buildings within blocks of each other downtown.
“$10 million in investment in city hall over the next five years is tremendous amount of money. Before we drop a dime in that I believe we need to look at this holistically and determine if $10 million can be utilized in a different way.”
In 2016 discussions began to merge the Green Bay police and fire departments under one roof. However, five years later both departments remain at the same, separate locations.
Fox 11 asked Johnson why he thinks the 2016 plans fell through.
“I think the previous plan stalled because you didn’t have enough representation at the table. It’s exactly what we’re trying to rectify through this process. We know all these voices have to be at the table to move forward with the process ”
Taking a seat at the table is something Green Bay Police Commander Kevin Warych says they’re ready to do. Even if they’re only a fraction of the overall plan.
“We’ve outgrown the current department but there are things in the building that have grown beyond it’s lifespan. So, the decisions need to be made whether to put improvement into the building or find an alternative building for our needs. But again, you know for the police department it doesn’t affect our service.”
Overall Johnson sees all four city departments being in one building beneficial for efficiency for staff, and the community it serves.
The majority of the Protection and Policy committee voiced support for the ad hoc committee. There was some concern about how the City will be able to find a location to house all four departments.
City Council will still need to give the final approval for the ad hoc committee.
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