Lawrence commissioners host listening session on police headquarters proposal

Lawrence city commissioners heard public comments once again on why a $28 million police headquarters proposal was shot down by voters in November.

About 45 people attended the Thursday night listening session at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St., several addressing the broader issue of priorities and timing of recent citizen-funded projects throughout the city.

“In the first meeting, we heard a lot about some of the things we’ve done wrong, and it was good to have the public be able to talk, pointedly, to elected officials,” Mayor Mike Amyx told the crowd. “Maybe it had to do with the sales tax, maybe it had to do with the size of the project, maybe it had to do with the lot we had chosen.”

Lawrence city commissioners hear public comments Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2015 at the Arts Center about why a 8 million police headquarters proposal was voted down in November.

Lawrence resident Scott Henderson said he voted in favor of the police headquarters but wasn’t surprised when the ballot request for a 0.2 percentage point sales tax increase to fund the project failed 52 percent to 48 percent.

Not only is money tight around town, Henderson said, but the timing of the vote may have had a lot to do with the outcome.

“We’ve got the rec center and the library, and a lot of people are out of money,” he said, referring to the new Lawrence Public Library facility on Vermont Street and the recreation center at Rock Chalk Park. “People are hurting, every time they raise taxes. And if the station had been voted on before those two, it would have won.”

Addressing the timing of the votes, Commissioner Bob Schumm assured those in attendance that the order in which the projects came to a vote was not a deliberate decision made by the city.

“The library was citizen-driven and the people of Lawrence certified the new library, you can’t argue with that,” Schumm said. “And we’ve had countless numbers of people talk to us on how much they needed a rec center. We’re not trying to pick and choose winners — we’re trying to get them all done.”

Lawrence resident Rich Crank told commissioners not only was funding an issue, but he voted against the police headquarters project because of his displeasure with the rec center.

“I voted out of anger,” Crank said. “And I may well vote in favor of the headquarters next time, but I need to be convinced to do so. But I don’t know how you can convince me.”

Though voters rejected the initial proposal, Amyx said, building a new police headquarters is still a top priority. But after listening to some of the comments Thursday night, Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib said he has mixed emotions on the feedback he’s heard.

“On one hand, it’s heartening to hear it’s not the police department they have a problem with,” Khatib said. “But on the other, and as a city employee, it’s disheartening to hear that we didn’t meet their expectations.”

While Khatib said he’s unsure of the future of the police headquarters project, the department’s need for new facilities isn’t going away.

“We’ve needed this probably since the mid ’90s,” he said. “I think it needs to get done, because it’s really the community that will suffer.”