Voters to determine fate of Novi public safety buildings

NOVI — The Aug. 5 primary election will determine the fate of Novi’s public safety buildings. The city is seeking a $120 million bond to build and relocate three of four fire stations along with the Police Department, as well as update equipment and technology.

The buildings are more than 40 years old, having been built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. According to the city, it is no longer possible to renovate the buildings.

The bond would provide for a new 78,500-square-foot Public Safety Headquarters off Lee BeGole Drive, which will house both the city’s Police Department and replace Fire Station No. 1. A new road will also be constructed to get to the facility. The cost of the new facility is estimated at $91.85 million.

Fire Stations Nos. 2 and 3 would also be relocated if the bond passes. Fire Station No. 2 would be relocated to a 14,500-square-foot facility in the northern area of the city for an estimated cost of $13.15 million. Fire Station No. 3 would be relocated to a 14,500-square-foot facility in southeast Novi off Venture Drive. This move will cost an estimated $13 million.

Fire Station No. 4 is newer than the others and would remain at its current location off 10 Mile and Wixom roads. However, should the bond pass, Fire Station No. 4 would receive some on-site improvements for an estimated cost of $2 million.

City officials have said that they tried to remain as open as possible with residents and have posted all the details of the bond and other related information on the city’s website, cityofnovi.org.

Scott Zwierzchowski, a resident of the city, said he has gone through the available documentation, and while he appreciates the city’s transparency, he feels that something is missing.

In 2022, the city had looked at a $7 million renovation of the current Police Department. Zwierzchowski said he is wondering why that was abandoned, and now the city’s proposal will cost residents over 10 times as much.

“Honestly, when I look through the reports, when I look through the minutes, what I’m missing is a connection for why this is the final option,” Zwierzchowski said. “I’m looking for something that says, ‘Here is the evidence.’ They have a bunch of evidence on how much this would cost, they have a bunch of evidence for how much each individual item will cost, but I think that the evidence isn’t there for understanding why the other option that was proposed and underlined and studied, why is that no longer the option, why is that not favorable?”

He said that he understands the building needs a lot of repairs and will need more as the department grows. However, Zwierzchowski said he feels that is anecdotal and not evidence-based according to what he has seen in any of the reports. He said he would like to have seen a study on how much it would cost to do the repairs to the various buildings so that it would be easier to understand the price increase and the need to relocate the police and fire stations.

Police Chief Erick Zinser said that the idea to repair the Police Department was abandoned because they reevaluated the needs of the city and what they would look like in the next 50 years.

Since the buildings were built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, more and more women have joined the Police and Fire departments. So, the need has arisen for bathrooms and locker rooms for both genders, as well as areas for nursing children. The new plan includes prayer rooms and more storage areas. Equipment and vehicles have also changed through the years, as well as the number of vehicles needed. The number of officers has also increased.

“It (the previous plan) was abandoned because that buildout change wasn’t going to change the interior flow of this building; it was just going to add more space onto the front of this building,” Zinser said. “So, we weren’t accomplishing what we were wanting to accomplish, which is to build out for the future and not today’s needs. I don’t need a building for today’s needs. I have that. We want to build out for the future, and given that we knew the condition of the fire departments, it just made sense to reevaluate what direction we were going to go for the next 50 years, and we decided, with putting the committee together, that we needed to replace the fire departments as well.”

According to Sheryl Walsh-Molloy, communications director for the city of Novi, the old buildings have cinder block construction, which would cause problems with the integrity of the buildings if they were to attempt to repair them.

Plante Moran RealPoint, which conducted the assessment of the buildings, said in its report that the renovation of the existing facilities and sites would be cost-prohibitive and impractical. According to its report, because the structures are made of concrete block, that would make it difficult and costly to change to meet the department’s needs. The fire stations’ limited size does not allow for expansion, and attempting to renovate the current buildings would cause disruptions to the city’s public safety operations and impact the efficiency and safety of the services, according to Plante Moran RealPoint.

The city will hold one more open house at 7 p.m. July 24 at Fire Station No. 3, 42785 Nine Mile Road, to discuss the bond.

Early voting for the Aug. 5 election will begin July 26 and will run through Aug. 3. Early voting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day at the Novi Civic Center, 45175 W. 10 Mile Road, except on July 31, when the hours will be from noon to 8 p.m. Those who choose to vote on Aug. 5 will find the polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.