Marshfield Common Council Discusses Possible Relocation of Marshfield Police Department

Wednesday, July 24th, 2024 -- 11:00 AM

The Marshfield Common Council held a special meeting before the regular Council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the possible relocation of the Marshfield Police Department.

This has been discussed by the Council for some time. The current building was built in 1981 and is around 18,000 square feet. Lack of space, safety, and ADA accessibility are some of the biggest issues the Department faces with their current building.

According to a study done in 2017-18, it was recommended the Department would need a 35,000 square foot building to meet their needs. That hasn’t changed significantly, but a new study in 2023-24 recommends a facility with 37,500 square feet.

There has been a lot of discussion by the Council regarding moving the Department to the Wildwood Plaza building, which was donated to the City. It was built in 1996 and has some private offices and many workspaces.

It would need substantial remodeling to be a police station, but a study did confirm the building would work. The study looked at three possible options with different layouts. None of the options would be considered “the perfect option” as discussion would need to be had on each one, but they would be a starting point.

With each option, they would come in at 37,000-42,000 square feet, while building a brand new facility would come in at 35,000 square feet because they can build more efficiently instead of using existing space.

The cost with the three options in the Plaza building would come in between $13.5 million-$14.1 million, while new construction would come in around $15.7 million. There is $2-$3 million in savings by using the existing building. All the options included money for furniture, equipment and a contingency.

The Council also discussed a possible referendum gauging the support from the community on the best option moving forward, but there were mixed opinions on that.

Finally, it was decided that the Council should hold another Special Council meeting on a night with no other meetings to take the time and really look deeply at this item.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.