By Jennifer Myers, jmyers@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- It is a proposal that would ease some of the city's financial burden, increase police presence in a neighborhood on the verge of revitalization, and bring parking revenue into the city.
City Councilor Rita Mercier has asked City Manager Bernie Lynch to investigate moving the Lowell Police Department's training center from its current home in the Cross Point towers to the city-owned Early Garage on Middlesex Street.
"It's a win-win-win," Mercier said.
Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee confirmed last month that he is seeking an alternate site that would be less expensive than the $117,000 annual rent the department pays for the 2,344 square-foot space at Cross Point. That rent is anticipated to increase to $119,000 in fiscal 2010.
Police departments from 27 municipalities send their officers for 32 hours of training at the Lowell facility per year. The department's Cross Point rent is paid through the tuition of those officers. Lavallee, however, said he would rather find a less expensive location and spend the tuition money on salaries.
Lavallee has been in discussions with Middlesex Community College and the Lowell Regional Transit Authority for a new space.
Mercier says it doesn't make much sense to her for a private entity like the LRTA to collect rent money when it could go to the city.
She said if the Police Department needs 2,500 square feet and is charged $11 per square foot by the city, the rent would be $27,500 per year, a savings of $91,500 that could be used to pay for the salaries of two or three employees.
Additionally, she said the proposal would bring police presence to the neighborhood and money into the local economy as police officers from other communities come downtown for training, park in the garage, and eat lunch at local establishments.
"The economy is not where it should be," Mercier said. "People are not banging down the doors to put their businesses in the garage. If they were I'd scratch this idea, but they are not."
The ground floor of the 900-space Early Garage includes 17,000 square-feet of retail/commercial space. The city has signed a lease with Garcia Brogan's, a Mexican-Irish pub for 5,043 square feet and Dr. Anshu Goel, a local dentist, for 1,972 square feet.
The city had been in talks with Edmilson Ramos to lease 8,000 square feet to open a Brazilian steakhouse. However, Ramos opened his restaurant, Tabocas Steakhouse, on Andover Street late last year.
Adam Baacke, the city's director of the Department of Planning and Development, said the city's brokers are in discussions with a retail tenant who may be interested in leasing 6,000 square feet. If that deal comes to fruition, approximately 4,000 square feet would remain vacant in the garage.
"The economy has certainly created unanticipated challenges as retailers nationwide have been contracting, but we remain optimistic both because of the transformative projects that will be starting soon in the neighborhood as well as the quality of the space itself," said Baacke. "We also recognize the significant fiscal challenges facing the city and if the garage can play a role in helping address those challenges while remaining true to the original intent of the project, we are willing to help."
Lynch said Mercier's proposal is "an excellent idea" that the city is "taking very seriously" -- with one caveat.
He said he told Lavallee not to get "too comfortable there," because "in the long term we want to make sure that area is used for retail properties." But in the short term housing the police training facility for three to five years could work to address both financial and public-safety needs, Lynch said.
Karen Bell, president of JAMBRA (Jackson-Appleton-Middlesex Business and Residents Association) said she agrees with Lynch's position.
"What they are paying at Cross Point is ridiculous, and this space is sitting here and doing nothing," she said. "But the city should continue to look for retail opportunities. We need activity down here and it would be nice if they could have some EMT classes or something so it will not be dark at night.
"Police from other communities coming in and spending money, especially when the economy is down, is not a bad thing," Bell said.
Lynch said he will prepare a report on the feasibility of Mercier's proposal for the City Council.
This story appeared in the Lowell Sun on Monday, March 2, 2009