Eisenhower site is on police radar

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Mark Sievert

A committee studying law enforcement space needs has identified Eisenhower School as a candidate for a future facility.

“That’s a site that’s getting some serious attention,” said City Administrator Mark Sievert during a joint meeting of the school board and city council Monday.

Built in 1957, Eisenhower is currently home to District 544 sixth graders as construction on the future Kennedy Secondary School moves forward. Once students are in the new school, district officials will have an empty building on their hands.

Meanwhile, a group of police personnel, city staff, councilmen Ron Burt and Hal Leland, and non-law enforcement residents have been working with Shultz and Associates, Inc. of Fargo to determine what kind of features a new facility would require and where that facility would be located.

“Now we’re at the point of trying to narrow down an existing structure we can use or a piece of land to purchase,” said Tim Brennan, chief of public safety.

“We started out with a map with just a ton of sites on it,” Sievert said. Now the number up for serious consideration is at about half a dozen.

Eisenhower School is among them because it is an existing building that could potentially be purchased from the school district and remodeled at lower cost than building new, Sievert said.

If the school district chooses to sell Eisenhower, a state statute dictates money from the sale go to paying building bonds. Since Eisenhower bonds have long been paid for, the school district would have to put the money toward the purchase of land or upgrades to current facilities, said Business Manager Mark Masten.

City staff members are in ongoing conversations with the descendants of residents who donated the land around Eisenhower for park use many years ago, Sievert said. The city would need to get the family’s permission if it were to use that land for anything other than parks.

The committee studying law enforcement space will eventually present their recommendations to city council members, who will need to decide whether or not to move forward with the project.