What happened
Seabrook City Manager Gayle Cook stressed the importance of relocating the current station, which was built in 1996, due to the flood risk at the station’s current location.
The police department, for example, lost vehicles and equipment, including computers and a 911 dispatch console, and experienced damage to the offices and jail during Hurricane Ike, according to a city staff presentation. Staff were displaced for over a year in temporary offices.
“During Hurricane Ike, this building was significantly impacted,” Cook said. “At that point, it set the current council on a path of looking at getting critical infrastructure out of harm's way.”
City staff proposed relocating the station from its current location in a flood zone to build a new 22,215-square-foot facility on city-owned property west of Hwy. 146, which could cost up to $15 million, documents show.
What else?
Chief of police Rolf Nelson said that the current station does not have enough holding space for the continual collection of evidence. The jail door hinges are failing as well, he said.
“It’s difficult ... getting people to sign up to be cops anymore,” Nelson said. “To work in an area where the facility is very old, very tight, very cramped when they can go down the street earn the same pay and have a newer facility that’s more conducive to a human working environment.”
Looking ahead
The project would be funded through a 2025 bond program that voters would consider on the May 3 ballot, according to a city staff presentation. If approved, the design phase would begin in March 2026 with construction completed in 2027.
However, before the item can appear on the ballot, city council would have to call for a bond election. Officials would have to do that by February, according to city documents.
