OVIEDO, Fla. — The police headquarters in Oviedo is making headlines again as city leaders say they want to make sure they provide the best facility possible for law enforcement.

One of the ways to make that happen is by putting it on the ballot for voters to decide on funding.

What You Need To Know

  • Last September, Oviedo leaders said the new police headquarter project would cost around $47 million

  • Two months later, voters rejected a $35 million bond referendum to fund a new public safety building

  • The City of Oviedo is now working with a construction consulting company called ZHA to go over logistics

  • In order to get this on the ballot this fall, police chief says city leaders have to pass an ordinance in July

Oviedo Police Chief Dale Coleman said the need for upgrades, or a new facility, won’t go away.

“We’ve run out of room, and we have been for a while,” Coleman said. 

Coleman said the building has been in the community since May 1990. The building may not be old, but he says they are running out of space. 

Police officials are making do with what they have. Through the years, equipment has been added to fit the times. 

But now, Coleman said there is nowhere else to go. 

Officials say the building has hurricane damage, but the real challenge they say is finding the space to train officers.

In order to do so, they have to move equipment.

As for what the city plans to do, that is still to be determined. 

During Monday’s meeting on April 29, Coleman says city council members came to an agreement on a way forward. 

“One is to build a freestanding police department of 29,000 square feet. The other one was to build an annex to this building of about 10,000 square feet and attach it to this building and then renovate this current building,” Coleman said. 

This is something Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek is optimistic about. 

“I think it was very savvy of our new designers that we’re working with to come up with some ideas on how to combine spaces and make it as efficient as possible,” Sladek said. 

She wants to make sure this goes to the voters again.

“I’d like to put this to the voters again. It’s the only way we can have a guaranteed funding source,” Sladek said.

As for how city leaders plan to market this, it is by showing residents what Coleman and his team have to deal with every day.

“If you can get the message out, it changes people’s viewpoints,” Coleman said. 

In order to get this on the ballot this fall, Coleman says city leaders have to pass an ordinance in July. 

It’s a deadline they’re working hard to meet. 

The final cost is still to be determined. 

Last September, Oviedo leaders said the project would cost around $47 million.

Two months later, voters rejected a $35 million bond referendum to fund a new police station safety building.

The city of Oviedo is now working with a construction consulting company called ZHA to go over logistics.