Building purchased for Decatur PD

Photo by Randy Moll This building on Decatur’s Main Street, once owned by TDS, is slated to become the new home of the Decatur Police Department.
Photo by Randy Moll This building on Decatur’s Main Street, once owned by TDS, is slated to become the new home of the Decatur Police Department.

DECATUR -- The police department in Decatur will soon have a new home, the former TDS building located at 185 Main Street.

In a special meeting on Thursday the Decatur City Council authorized Mayor Bob Tharp to negotiate for the purchase of the building, and over the weekend the city learned that an agreement had been reached on a price of $69,000. A signed contract was received by the city on Sunday.

The council voted unanimously on Thursday to authorize the mayor to pay up to $70,000 for the building, which was offered for sale by Crye-Leike Real Estate Services at a list price of $70,000. Tharp said he thought he could negotiate a purchase price closer to $60,000 but others, too, were apparently interested in purchasing the building.

The council was presented, for informational purposes only, a loan document from Grand Savings Bank showing the monthly payment amounts for a 20-year loan of $70,000 at an annual interest rate of 4.5 percent. The document showed monthly payments at $442.85 per month for 240 months. However, Amendment 78 to the Arkansas Constitution only allows municipalities, without a bond issue, to enter into short-term financing obligations for five years, meaning the debt would need to be financed for and paid off within a five-year period, making the monthly or annual or annual payment considerably higher.

Money to pay off the short-term loan would come from the police department budget, with money designated for a new patrol car purchase used for the building this year instead of a car and the payment built into the budget in future years.

Reasons cited for purchasing the building for the police department included a good Main Street location, more room for officers and better security for the police department, as well as for other city employees and visitors to city hall. Police Chief Terry Luker said officers have had to wrestle to control prisoners in the hallway at city hall before and that a secure entrance at the back of the new building to bring in prisoners would offer more security and safety for all.

Improvements needed at the new building were viewed to be minor, according to Chief Luker. He suggested a partitioning wall inside the front entrance to keep the public from entering the work area of officers and a secure room inside the building for evidence storage.

General News on 02/24/2016