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Elkhorn Police Department moving out of outdated police station

ELKHORN — Inside a room in this city’s police station, officers occasionally eat lunch at a table across from a handcuffed prisoner.

It’s called the multipurpose room, where officers do everything from taking breaks and interviewing suspects to writing reports and holding detainees.

“It’s just not very conducive to a good work environment,” Elkhorn Police Chief Joel Christensen said.

The Elkhorn police station, located at the corner of North Washington Street and East First Avenue, is cramped and lacks the security features of modern police departments, city officials said.

The city plans on constructing an estimated $8 million, 26,000-square-foot police station across the street to replace the existing building, City Administrator Sam Tapson said. The police station is expected to open in late 2009 or early 2010.

Homeowners with property valued at $150,000 will pay roughly $150 a year in property taxes for 20 years to pay back the bonds needed for the project, Tapson said.

The police department has 25 employees, including 16 full-time officers, two part-time officers, three dispatchers, two community-service officers and two part-time crossing guards.

The employees have worked in the current brick building with the street department since the mid-1980s. The building originally had housed the Walworth County Highway Department.

A lieutenant’s office is in the old interview room. Two detectives share an office. The sergeants have no work space. The building has no cameras or secure doors.

The space is not modern, and it’s difficult to upgrade the building or fit it with new technology.

“It’s lacking some of the standard security features you’d like to see in most police departments,” Christensen said. “It’s not the best image to portray as a professional law-enforcement agency.”

Elkhorn, which has about 9,000 residents, was the fastest-growing city in Walworth County and nearly doubled in population during the 1990s and early 2000s, said Mayor John Giese, who was the police chief during that time.

The rapid growth impacted the police department, he said.

“The demand for police services has increased dramatically over the years, as has the size of the department,” Giese said.

After exploring different options for moving the police station into existing buildings, the city decided it was best to construct a new one, Tapson said.

The police station will be in Tasch Park. The park was chosen because the city already owned the land. Most of the park will be preserved, he said.

The design phase will be finalized in six weeks, Tapson said, and the city will seek bids for the project at the end of the summer.

When the new police station opens, it will have security cameras, alarms and secure doors from the lobby.

The police chief said residents reporting crimes or being interviewed by police will have more privacy.

“It’s going to be a place for them to feel safe,” Christensen said.

A new police station also should boost morale.

“Officers will actually be able to have their own lockers,” Christensen said. “And no longer will prisoners have to interact with employees trying to have a quiet lunch.”