On Oct. 27, Sunset Valley City Council is expected to hear a final report that reveals what the estimated cost will be for permanent buildings for its police and public works departments.

Though a final cost has not been publicly announced, City Administrator Clay Collins said the project is a “multimillion-dollar expenditure.”

The city of Sunset Valley’s police and public works departments currently operate inside modular buildings, which are meant only for temporary use, Collins said. The portable buildings are adjacent to the permanent City Hall building, located at 3205 Jones Road, a 10-acre site  the city owns.

Mayor Rose Cardona said the need for the new facilities has increased as each year has passed.

“Right now the portables, especially for the police department, are just not sufficient,” Cardona said. “As a city we don’t have an excuse; we need to do [the project.]”

When City Hall was built in 2004, there was discussion about permanent police and public works facilities next door, Collins said.

“But it was such an endeavor,” Collins said. “It took up so much in terms of not just financial resources but also commitment and involvement by the elected officials at the time.”

In the past several years, Collins said, council members began voicing the need for permanent police and public works facilities.

Justifying the new facilities

In terms of protection from inclement weather, energy efficiency, soundproofing and safety for staff, Collins said it is not a good idea have first responders inside a 15-year-old modular building.

Police Chief Sean Ford said the new police facility is needed. One safety issue in the current building is the processing room, Ford said. Ford said it is not safe to have a suspect, who may be violent, sitting close to an officer who is on the computer.

Behind the suspect holding bench is the workout room, which also functions as  locker room and storage room.

“The officers here are walking over themselves,” Ford said. “They’re walking over themselves when it’s just them in the building or when they have people in custody.”

And inside the public works facility, several office rooms are also
multipurpose rooms. Public Works Director Katy Phillips said the conference room also serves as a storage and printing room. In both buildings, large items that have no place in a storage area are stacked on top of file cabinets.

Sunset Valley resident and former City Council Member Russell Harding said he has no problem with the proposed new facilities because the existing ones are old, cramped, inefficient and unsightly.

Collins said the new buildings are expected to last multiple decades. A construction timeline has not been established.

The city hall campus concept

On June 16 architects presented City Council with an initial draft of a facilities report, including three design options.

Scenario A has separate police and public works buildings to the east of City Hall. Scenario B has a two-story building east of City Hall with both police and public works operating within.

Scenario C, which Collins said is the version council endorsed, has a police building to the west of City Hall and a public works building east of City Hall.

Collins said Scenario C balances the 10-acre site and gives it a campus feel. As part of this concept, the parking lot for City Hall will be extended around the entire building to form a semi-circle. Currently, parking is a quarter-circle southwest of the building.

Cardona said she prefers Scenario C.

“[Scenario C] makes for a more cohesive setting; it allows us to avoid a two-story building, which means more construction costs [and] it allows us to avoid having any underground parking, which is more expensive than above-ground parking,” Cardona said.

On Oct. 27, Wiginton Hooker Jeffry Architects will report on the cost estimates for construction, furniture and equipment, fees and contingencies, both in current dollar values and inflated values based on when construction is projected to begin, according to the city. Architects will also report on recommended timelines and designs.

Funding construction

The city saved money for years to build City Hall with cash, Collins said. The city plans to do the same for its police and public works buildings.

“Our community has an aversion to debt, and so if we don’t have to borrow the money, we save the money until we have enough,” Collins said. “That’s not typical for governments to do that.”

Jeff Burdett, Sunset Valley council member and resident, said he would be against establishing a property tax to pay off the debt from a bond. Sunset Valley does not have a property tax, he added.

“Our city has never had to raise any type of taxes ever, and I have no interest in doing that at all,” Burdett said.

In contrast, Art Williams, Sunset Valley resident and member of the city’s Public Safety Committee, said he would support a bond for the new facilities.

“The city of Austin passes bonds and next thing you know everything is jacked up in price, but it’s just part of development,” William said. “You’re either going to develop or not.”

Three years ago City Council approved funding to be set aside in reserve for future buildings, Collins said.  One year ago, council approved funding to hire an architectural firm for a facilities study.

As of September the city has about $1 million in reserves for the future facilities, Collins said.

Collins said the Sunset Valley community is not large, so the new facilities do not have to be expensive and not be financed by bonds that last 20 to 30 years. But depending on what the cost estimates will be, the city may use short-term financing options, Collins said.

Small town, large population

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Sunset Valley’s population at 684 in 2013.

Sunset Valley, which is about 639 acres, or roughly 1 square mile, can have a population between 5,000 and 15,000 depending if special events occur or if it is the weekend or holiday shopping season, said Rich Andreucci, Sunset Valley Police Department public information officer. During the holiday season, officers work on mandatory overtime to assist shoppers with directions and keep commercial retail centers safe, he added.

Megan Haoe, co-owner of J.CoCo Salon and Day Spa at 5400 Brodie Lane in Sunset Valley, said business increases during the holiday season. Haoe said she would support the police department moving out of its temporary building.

Every November, Great Promise for American Indians, an Austin-based cultural group, hosts its Austin Powwow at the Toney Burger Center in Sunset Valley. Executive Director Lois Duncan said the daylong event brings between 40,000 to 45,000 people to Sunset Valley throughout the day, adding that the group tries to minimize advertising because the facility cannot handle more than that.

Duncan said the Austin Powwow is probably the largest annual event in Sunset Valley, and the Sunset Valley police provides Great Promise with services it needs for the event.

“When you think about other events like the high school football playoffs, those crowds have to be huge,” Duncan said. “So that’s not unlike what we have in terms of having police manage.”