Ingrid Mezo

Plans for the new Thurmont police building are moving forward steadily, and liaison to the town’s police commission, Commissioner Bill Blakeslee said he expects it to open July 4, 2007. While an exact cost for the building is yet to be determined, Blakeslee said the police commission, Chief Eyler, and volunteer project manager Gary Seiss are trying to keep the cost under $1.8 million, though it is approved for $2.4 million.

The town has already conducted reference checks on architects, and chose NuTec Design Associates to draw the designs for the building, Blakeslee said. In addition, the town picked a lending institution to finance the building in late March at a variable interest rate of 4.12%, but Blakeslee

said he could not yet legally disclose which lending institution. At this point in the process, there are no major permitting problems for the building, but the storm water management pond could present a problem, he said.

Blakeslee presented the town with a blueprint for the building which has room for 12 officers and a patrol room that will allow for more officers in the future. In addition, unlike the current building, the design for the new station includes evidence rooms, three holding cells, and a 600 sq.ft. exercise room.

"We will have a building that we can effectively operate as a police department," Eyler said during a recent interview. "Our current situation is unsafe for both officers and prisoners. There’s no confidentiality during interviews and no place to adequately handle prisoners. Everyone’s [officers and prisoners] safety is in jeopardy in our building."

Police Commission member Bob Lookingbill said during the town meeting that the design for the building had progressed without a lot of input from the police commission that was formed for that purpose. Lookingbill said that the commission received the first report on April 3.

"If I hadn’t asked for these reports, I wouldn’t have known so much had taken place," Lookingbill said. "Next, I see this building, and I hear $1.8 million, and it’s approved for $2.4 million."

Lookingbill also questioned the need for an exercise room in the building. "Do we really need that size, do we really need to spend that much?" he asked. "…People are leaving Thurmont because they can’t afford to live here. We don’t want to run all our citizens out of town, [especially if we’re going to have to pay for these buildings.]"

Mayor Martin Burns said that there was a misunderstanding and explained that the interior design of the building was a police chief function, and that the design team had not intended to keep police commission members out of the loop. Blakeslee in a later town meeting said the police commission had voted with only one vote of dissent to continue along the path of the Thurmont Police Station. Burns explained that all bids on the building have to be approved by the board of commissioners.

Commissioner Glenn Muth said the building looks "great" and asked if the town had yet determined the operational cost for the building. Blakeslee said determining how much it will cost to run the building, as far as water, sewer, and electric bills, as well as maintenance costs is next.

Burns requested that the town lock into an interest rate while the rate is low.

In the interview, Eyler reminded the town why the police department had undertaken the project in the first place in the first place.

"We made a commitment to the community to keep a police department in Thurmont, and we’re trying to do just that by building this facility," he said. "It’s not an extravagant building. It’s just what we need to maintain a professional department and to adequately handle policing the community now and in the future."

The new police department facility will be large enough to accommodate the current and future needs of the department for 16 to 20 years. The town decided earlier this year not to partner with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office on a joint building.

"Due to higher costs and time constraints, we are building our own facility rather than a joint facility with the county," Eyler said. "However, Sheriff’s Department and State Police officers are welcome to use the facility to fill out reports and temporarily hold prisoners as needed."

In addition, Eyler explained why an exercise room is in the design. "It’s important that we as a police force are fit and able to handle the physical

demands of the job of a police officer," he said. "We are faced with physical altercations and on-foot chases, for example, and our officers need to be fit to handle these responsibilities. Exercise is also an important form of stress relief."