The city is buying the two Seajay Drive properties from Diverse Ventures Properties and WesBanco Property.
“Land is at a premium in the city,” Landrum said.
In 2016, a building assessment was done for police and city hall buildings. The assessment found that both buildings on Research Park Drive had significant upgrades and repairs needed.
Landrum said the city has determined that bringing the old buildings up to code and into ADA compliance would not be the best financial decision nor would it meet the city’s long-term needs.
This new facility has been in the city’s capital improvement plan, unbudgeted, since 2019.
“This is badly needed. We need to act quickly to acquire the land,” said Councilman Charles Curran.
Councilman Pete Bales said because the city relies on property taxes, the city has certain funds they can use for this land purchase and the eventual project, like the police fund and the general fund. The city’s street fund is funded by a levy and therefore cannot be used for any purpose other than streets, he said. So the street fund will not be used to fund this project at all.
Beavercreek is asking residents to approve a renewal streets levy in the May election. The levy will be 3.4 mills and a renewal of a current levy that is set to expire at the end of 2021. This levy currently makes up about 76% of the street levy fund revenue and funds public service department salaries.
There are not currently any renderings of the future facility. The city does not yet have a timeline for when the facility would be built, Landrum said.
Beavercreek Mayor Bob Stone said this is the first step in the project.
“We need to plan ahead. If you sit back and wait until you’re ready to get going, it is going to be difficult,” the mayor said of the land purchase and future project. “We have to do something and this is the first step. We’re taking little steps at a time. We’ll talk to the public when we are ready to take that second step.”
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