Washington City Council members had sticker shock last week when they learned a new evidence storage building needed by the police department will cost more than $2.3 million.
Much of the funding for the building will be covered by federal and state grants, but the city will still be on the hook for $600,000, including $356,722 out of its general fund reserves.
Council will vote Monday on the award of a contract for the construction of the building, and an amendment to the city's 2024-25 budget allocating an additional $600,000 for the contract and $119,000 owned to Dewberry Architects.
Green space just west of the Washington Fire Station off Jefferson Street is the site for the new evidence storage building, which could be completed by the end of the year.
So how did the police department come to need this building?
The police department stored in its evidence for the last decade or so in a building on Jefferson it shared with the city's Public Works Department. Prior to that, evidence was stored at the police station.
A February fire in the public works part of the shared building forced the police department to find a temporary place to store evidence until its new building was built. That temporary place was found, outside of Washington, at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Deputy Police Chief Jeff Stevens said the new evidence storage building is essential. And mandatory.
"A well-designed, well-built, city-owned facility is the only good answer for us for evidence storage," he said.
Stevens said the police department moved its evidence to the building it shared with public works because of space issues and then the loss of the storage room at the police station in a remodeling project.
"The tradeoff was the space we gained wasn't ideal for maintaining some types of evidence," he said. "The new facility gives us both. We'll be able to store and maintain the evidentiary value of the things stored."
Maintaining physical evidence is important to justice, Stevens said.
"The 'things' need to speak for themselves," he said. "When maintained, they can be examined by the defense and presented to a jury."
Stevens said the new facility will better maintain items like DNA or trace evidence because the environment will be designed for that.
"This will be an evidence facility, not just a warehouse," he said. "It will be properly ventilated. The environmental controls will be designed for preservation. The space will be secure, with things separated as necessary. And it will be more efficient.
"Storing evidence is more than putting items on a shelf. Each item has to be stored correctly, sent for examination or analysis and received back from the lab or court, and a chain of custody must be maintained at each step.
"We have to hold some items for months, some for years, and some literally forever. Proper storage and accountability are essential. A well-designed facility contributes to that."
Stevens said the police department's former evidence storage space in the shared building wasn't properly controlled for humidity, temperature or ventilation.
"After the fire, there was no choice. We had to move our evidence out of there for good," he said. "The rented space we have now can only be temporary because of the restrictions on access and costs. Then there is the travel time.
"Plus, we had to find a property owner who appreciated what we needed and agreed they couldn't have access to their own property."
Stevens noted that Republican Congressman Darin LaHood and Democrat State Sen. Dave Koehler helped the police department get federal and state grants for the evidence storage building project.
"The broad spectrum of support demonstrates the fundamental importance of the project in terms of justice," he said.
