Marysville police are reuniting

MARYSVILLE — The copy machine is in a bathroom, and file cabinets are tucked away in a closet. Two detectives’ desks sit in the middle of the lobby.

But there’s not a lot of complaining as part of the city’s remodeling of the Public Safety Center at 1635 Grove St. nears completion.

Until recently, detectives were in a separate building because there wasn’t enough space in the police department to accommodate them.

"That caused some real issues because of the lack of interaction with the police officers," said Mary Swenson, the city’s chief administrative officer. "That was why we wanted to move the court out."

Last year, many city offices moved into a new City Hall at 1049 State Ave., and the Municipal Court moved, too. That left the space that had been used as a courtroom and City Council chambers for the police department.

Police operations have grown so much the department ran out of room not only for people but also for records storage, Swenson said.

The old council chambers on the second floor is being converted to space for five detectives, a detective sergeant, an administrative assistant and an office for Cmdr. Ralph Krusey, who oversees the detectives, detention and corrections.

In addition, police now will have a training room (24 feet by 38 feet) to develop what they hope will become a regional training center. It will double as an emergency operations center, and eventually will be set up to handle 12 stations with data lines, computers and telephones.

Each year, officers participate in ongoing training, including a three-day refresher course conducted by satellite. Up until now, Marysville and other area officers went to Everett.

"We’re looking to just provide another location where we can provide additional training," Krusey said, adding that some officers wouldn’t have to wait as long to schedule training.

One example is an interrogation and interview techniques course. Attendees usually pay a fee, but the city’s officers would get it free in exchange for providing the room.

The training room won’t make money for the city, but it will save money in the cost of training as well as travel expenses for food and lodging and wear on vehicles, Krusey said.

Changes downstairs will remove a conference room and lobby and expand the records and reception area, and will provide more office space for the business manager and administrative systems. The lobby and entrance will move to the east side of the building on 43rd Street NE.

The remodeling of the upstairs and downstairs at the center cost about $100,000.

"We have contracted court and jail services," Krusey said.

"We’re trying to provide regional contract services for cash-strapped cities to consider that are cheaper than the county jail."

Currently, the city contracts with Arlington and Lake Stevens to provide Municipal Court and jail services. The city also is talking with the Tulalip Tribes about possibly using the city jail.

In January, the city added four beds at a cost of $2,000 to make a total of 37 beds in the jail, mostly in dormitory-type cells that have four to eight beds each.

The jail houses only misdemeanor prisoners who stay no more than 30 days. When the city jail is full, the city sends prisoners to Chelan, Okanogan or Yakima counties because it’s cheaper than sending them to the Snohomish County Jail in nearby Everett, Krusey said.

The city jail is about 80 percent full most of the time.

The city recently received the results of a $50,000 study paid for with a state grant to look at expanding the jail. The study identified two proposals — a near-term change that would cost about $558,290 and add 10 beds, and a long-term project that would give the jail 78 beds at a cost of almost $6.4 million.

The near-term project costs would be paid for by contracted jail services and would be accomplished in three phases.

The long-term project would mean expanding the building. It’s not likely such a change would be needed for 10 to 15 years, Krusey said. The larger jail would be able to take prisoners with sentences up to a year, and the city could rent more space.

The city’s public safety committee will review the study and make a recommendation to the City Council.

Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.