A combined Rock Township Ambulance District station and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office substation is now on the drawing board.
The Sheriff’s Office recently released a preliminary architectural rendering of the outside of the new facility to be built on 6.4 acres on Lions Den Road west of Old Lemay Ferry Road in Imperial.
The County Council approved a budget transfer of $450,000 to allow the Sheriff’s Office to pay for its share of engineering and architectural costs for the new building from its reserves.
The vote was 6-0, with Brian Haskins (District 1, High Ridge) absent.
The Sheriff’s Office and the Rock Township board agreed to evenly split the costs of the engineering and architectural services.
FGMA Architects of St. Louis will draw up the plans.
Sheriff Dave Marshak said he expects the engineering and architectural work will be finished later this year.
“After those are done, we should be able to go out for (construction) bids this fall. We’re hoping to be moved in by December 2024,” he said.
Rock Township Chief Jerry Appleton said he expects the groundbreaking will be in October or November.
“We’re getting there,” he said. “You can say we’re sharpening the shovel.”
A preliminary estimate for construction – and Marshak said this figure is “very preliminary” – is as high as $8.2 million.
“That includes a lot of contingencies we may not even need, such as rock removal and soil remediation,” he said. “We’ll have a better figure once the engineering is complete and the bids are in.”
The two entities agreed to split the construction cost based on how much of the building each uses.
Under preliminary plans for a 14,143-square-foot building, Rock Township will use 7,683 square feet and the Sheriff’s Office 4,680 square feet, with the rest designated as common area, which will include a meeting room that Appleton said will be available for community groups.
“We have a room at our Barnhart station (House 4, which also includes the district’s administrative offices) that we allow different groups to use,” he said. “We envision that this building will be a focal point of our community.”
A fifth ambulance house has long been part of Rock Township’s long-range master plan, and the ambulance district’s share of the cost will be funded with revenue from the $23 million bond issue voters approved in late 2018, Appleton said.
“The new house will be smack-dab in the middle of the district, so we’ll be able to reduce response times,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office has been looking to relocate its East Zone substation, which has been housed on the Windsor C-1 School District campus in Imperial for more than 20 years.
Marshak said the Sheriff’s Office has outgrown those quarters.
“We’ve had a really good relationship with Windsor,” Marshak said. “But the space we’re occupying now was not designed to how we want to use a substation. We’ve been putting money aside to get this done for some time.”
The county’s share of the construction costs will be drawn from the Sheriff’s Office reserves, Marshak said.
“That money will be upfront payments on a lease with the ambulance district for 20 to 30 years,” he said. “We’re definitely planning on a long-term partnership.”
Marshak said the groundwork for the agreement came together quickly.
“This substation project was started when Chief Jerry Appleton asked if we would be interested in a partnership,” he said. “He knew we were looking for an area to build a new substation and we both knew that partnering would save tax dollars.
“We crafted an agreement on a napkin over lunch. A couple of more lunches and we had some of the details worked out.”
Marshak said the new substation will improve the Sheriff’s Office presence in the northeast part of the county.
“I’m excited about the Seckman Valley area and believe this will enhance the Imperial and Barnhart areas. Most importantly, this substation will enhance the community-oriented policing strategies we like,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office substation likely would be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Rock Township ambulance crews present in the building around the clock.
Marshak said the agreement with Rock Township could well establish a precedent.
“I hope to have another strategic partnership when we build our next substation in the south portion of the county,” he said.