7 months ago
Warner Robins City Council called a special meeting Monday night to move plans for a new law enforcement center forward.
It resulted in a little action and a lot of tension.
The mayor and council tried to make sense of two different plans, with two different price tags, on two different pieces of property for one new law enforcement center. Right now, the city plans to spend $7.5 million on the building. The original plans called for a $10 million facility.
Several disagreements added to the confusion.
Mayor Chuck Shaheen said he has "no emotional ties" to either suggested location for the law enforcement center. The last council, voted to build the complex on Perkins Field, but there is still discussion of building the complex on Prince Street. Shaheen said the city should "take the path of least resistance" by choosing the Prince Street location or other places around town.
Shaheen reprimanded council member Bob Wilbanks for inviting a banker to talk about financing options for the law enforcement center, without telling him about the visitor before the meeting. Standing up from his seat, Shaheen said, "If I'm going to be able to help this whole city, I've got to be informed when these people come down."
After the meeting, council member Bob Wilbanks said, "I don't intend to have a private meeting to discuss this entire project or any other project in the mayor's office, before we do it in the open, in the public. That's what we have open meetings for."
Wilbanks wants the city to move ahead with the Perkins Park location. He said, "This thing has been sitting out there for years. It was approved in a 2006 SPLOST, and we haven't turned a shovel of dirt."
After heated debate, council agreed to push further talks about the center to their next meeting.
Council member Daron Lee said, "I want us to behave like we are professionals, and weve studied, and we have all the information before hand."
Council agreed to take the first step toward locating the center on Perkins Field, by asking the city attorney to seek appraisals for two pieces of property. The city will need an appraisal for Perkins Field and the land where the city is building a sports complex.
Shaheen said, "There's a lot of red tape you have to go through to tear up a park."
To build at Perkin's Field, the state needs to approve tearing down the park. The city accepted grant money in 1980 that restricted the property to recreational use only. If the city builds the police center on Perkins Field, they'll have to build a comparable park somewhere else.
If the Perkins Field property appraises for a similar value to that of the sports complex property, the state may consider the sports complex a good replacement for Perkins field. Approval for the change from the state could take 90 days up to two years.
