City officials approved a plan to spend $10 million to build new police department headquarters in Clermont.
Clermont City Council approved a new multi-million dollar police station Thursday night at a special council meeting.
Police Chief Charles Broadway said about 60 officers are working out of the police headquarters in downtown Clermont on Montrose Street but the building was built to house only 24 officers.
Broadway said the other major problem is there’s not enough parking.
“Our home has been deteriorating rapidly," explained Jeremy Kevitt, the president of the Clermont Police Officers Union. "We’ve been dealing with infestation of rats and other things have been atrocious and we’re so thankful that the city council made a positive decision to move forward with this building project."
The city’s new police station, will be located on Hammock Ridge Road next to the Clermont Arts & Recreation Center off U.S. 27. That was not the original choice -- that was near the Citrus Tower.
The Hooks and Citrus Tower location would have been preferred but we’re just so happy to have a new home now," Kevitt said.
The new police station is expected to accommodate the city and department’s growth for at least the next 20 years.
“The new site is an adequate site. In my personal opinion, I think that the initial site that was chosen by the previous council was a better site," shared Clermont resident Jim Purvis, who attended and spoke during the public comment portion of the special city council meeting.
City leaders eventually chose the Hammock Ridge at the Arts and Recreation Center site because it could be built for less money and with fewer hassles. That's because there are no pending legal issues tied to the site, like there are with the Hooks Street and Citrus Tower site.
However, some residents felt the more centralized location just south of State Road 50 was worth any delays in the long run.
“It’s in downtown right now and it’s totally inadequate for various reasons," Purvis continued. "There was a study done of where the actual center of Clermont’s population is and it was within as I recall, a half mile of Hooks Street and Citrus Tower Boulevard," Purvis added.
Architects said the new $10 million police station should be open by the first half of 2017.
Meanwhile, Clermont city leaders also approved take-home cars for all officers who live within 20 miles of Clermont.
The program will cost about $280,000 to implement.
Police leaders said the program will help with morale, recruiting new officers and increasing officers' visibility in their neighborhoods while they are off-duty.