Currently an empty field sitting next Oswego Fire Station Number 1 on Wooley Road, the site will be home to the future Oswego Police Department’s new $30 million station. The station is expected to open during the summer of 2018. (Photo by Erika Wurst/for Chronicle Media)

In 1991, when the village of Oswego erected it’s new police station on Route 34, the building was designed to house 50 employees.

Fast forward 25 years, and that 50 employee threshold has been reached, and then some.

Today, there are some 70 employees who call the police station home, and that number is expected to rise to 170 by the year 2040.

“It’s time to make some moves and plan for the future,” said Dean Roberts, principal at McClaren, Wilson and Lawrie, Inc., a firm chosen by the village to head the police station’s transition into the future.

After years of discussing the proposed upgrade to the officer’s facilities, serious headway is being finally being made. A $30 million facility, which has a tentative finish date of July/August 2018, will rise soon on Wooley Road, immediately east of Fire Station 1.

After surveying four sites, a 16.37 acre lot, located in the Hummel Trails subdivision, was purchased by the village for $205,000. The site promises to become a safety hub in the village, Roberts said.

The proximity of the two stations, both police and fire, is expected to help foster a close relationship between the departments and promote synergy.

“There’s some remarkable opportunity for cost saving,” Roberts told board members during a recent meeting.

In addition to signing on MLW, the board recently approved a contract with

Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK) to serve as their design/engineers on the project to the tune of $1,848,750.

The two companies have been working closely over the last several weeks to kick-start the project in hopes of keeping the momentum up. They will workshop every two weeks in hopes to move things along quickly.

“We thought, ‘Let’s be pretty aggressive in scheduling over the first 60 days or so and really get things moving forward.’,” Roberts said. “We’re doing the due diligence and considering all factors that need to be considered as we go about designing the site.”

He acknowledged that many folks are anxious to see the building’s design, but noted that there’s plenty of work to do before that image comes to fruition.

The work includes interviewing police department staff, as well as village board trustees about what they envision for the future station. It includes studying the land’s soil and layout, determining space needs, as well as the building’s architecture and regulatory compliance requirements.

“If we can do the first things right, that’s our best strategy for moving forward,” Robert said. “It’s a pleasure to be involved in a project where the momentum just keeps building. We are as excited as you are.”

Village trustees said they were just as thrilled to see the progress being made.

“(You’ve created) a pretty impressive schedule. Thank you for that. You heard us loud and clear,” Village President Gail Johnson said.

What they’re even more thrilled about, they said, is the fact that property taxes will not be raised to foot the project’s $30 million bill.

According to Roberts, 60-percent of the project’s budget will be funded by non-Oswego residents though sales taxes.

“It’s a really great story to tell so we don’t have to foot the bill,” Roberts said.

Meanwhile, police department staff has been working hard to come up with its own future station wish list.

They want a sustainable building that oozes with innovation. They want to have a place that makes them feel safe and makes residents feel even safer. It should have civic presence, be stable and secure, and appear welcoming and friendly.

“That’s not something that was happening in police buildings generations ago,” Roberts said. He’s hoping that will change with the building’s new design.

The need for a new station first came to light around 2008 when a space needs assessment on the building was completed. Even then, all signs pointed to the department having outgrown its current home.

The dream of a new station was put on hold, however, as the economy began to decline. A new study was conducted in 2015, and showed the same results–it was time for police officers and staff to move on to bigger and better digs.

And, although the project’s completion is still two years out, there’s plenty of excitement in the air.

“I can’t sleep at night waiting to see what it’s going to be,” Trustee Pam Parr said.

— Oswego moving forward with new police station —