(The Center Square) — The Shreveport Public Safety Committee met this week to get an update on the status of the new police headquarters and substations.
The construction of the North Market Street substation received some negative feedback as it relates to the requirements of the deed.
The previous owners of the land donated the plot to the city of Shreveport with one major condition: It must used for a police station for the next 25 years. If it isn’t, they have the right to take the land back from the city.
Members of the committee voiced their frustrations on Tuesday with this development and even stated they were not made aware of the deed demands before approving construction.
“We can’t sell the property, we can’t use it for water and sewage, we can’t use it for public works, we can’t use it for property standards,” Grayson Boucher, District D representative, said in regards to possibly needing to use the land for something else in the future. “I just think that that’s poor business and, if I had an opportunity to see this deed prior to this being executed, I would not have voted for it.”
Several other members agreed and questioned Mayor Tom Arceneaux why he accepted the deed without letting the council review it first. Arceneaux claimed he could not remember the situation at this time.
Around $230,000 of the $1.5 million in bonds issued for this project have already been spent, but the committee says they’d rather scratch it now and see what other options they have if they can’t fix the deed issue.
As for the new police headquarters, Police Chief Wayne Smith says they are still evaluating locations to relocate personnel, but has confidence they will find something in the next couple of weeks.
The types of locations they’re looking to use are abandoned schools, colleges, shopping centers and the committee thinks schools are their best bet. The chief says they’re running into two issues: Finding a place with enough parking space for all the patrol cars, which he estimates would be around 100 spots, and finding a place that makes economic sense.
That would place that doesn’t require a long lease since construction might only take a year, and a place that might be used as a substation in the future since the force is going to have to do some remodeling when they arrive anyway.
The committee also met with a representative of On Scene Services, an independent response team that answers traffic reports on behalf of police departments. On Scene does work with other cities, including New Orleans, to alleviate stress on the department and Shreveport is considering a contract for its services.
Smith and the committee went further into the discussion of a lack in manpower in the department by considering asking for more help from the Caddo Parish Sheriff Department. Smith says he’s had discussions with the sheriff and thinks they may be able to get help in surrounding areas.
