The town board decided to proceed with plans to build a new purpose-built police department building next to the fire department on West Palmer Street.

Aldermen voted to proceed with cost estimates for a new purpose-built police department at this month’s regular town meeting. The new facility will be built for “hard use” and in accordance with state mandates for a police department.

The Franklin Police Department moved into their current facility in June, vacating the Burrell Building so that renovations could be made to transform the building into the new town hall. According to Franklin Police Chief Terry Bradley, the rental unit on Palmer Street was never meant to be the department’s permanent home but rather a temporary headquarters.

The lease will be up on the unit in June. “We were thankful we were allowed to move in,” said Bradley. “It has been a very good transitional building.”

Mayor Joe Collins said he hopes the new building will be in place before the following June so that the department will not have to relocate once again.

Bradley has already created a draft of a space-needs estimate. He said the advantages of building to suit would be meeting the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and General Assembly statutes without expensive renovations at a pre-existing structure.

Police Chief Terry Bradley

The new police department will also include facilities for officers to bathe should they come into contact with contaminants. Bradley called the locker rooms a “definite advantage” of a purpose-built facility.

The building will be built with hard use in mind, said Bradley, and will be located within the greater Franklin area.

“A PD building has the hardest use of many buildings due to the nature of traffic,” said Town Manager Sam Greenwood who said the new building will feature low-maintenance materials.

The town owns the land where the new department is to be built on West Palmer Street, near the fire department. Greenwood spoke to the advantages of having all of the town’s emergency facilities in one area.

“We will be able to conduct business as business needs to be conducted there,” said Bradley. There will also be space to impound vehicles, another component that has been lacking since the move from the Burrell Building.

The motion Monday night authorized the hiring of design work for the building to be awarded by late winter. Greenwood recommended surplusing the current town hall to sell. Sale revenue should outweigh police department construction cost, said Greenwood. Along with funds from the sale of the Whitmire Property, said Greenwood, construction on the new police department should be financed with no tax increase and with adequate cash reserves for town operations.

A new public works facility is also in motion to be located near the sewer plant. Greenwood said it is difficult to tell which facility will be finished first, but he hopes both will be finished by December of 2009. “We’re changing the face of Franklin,” he said.

Public hearing on National Flood Insurance

Over a dozen concerned citizens came to speak for or against town participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) pending new Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Three informational sessions were held on the matter in September. The board will weigh pros and cons of the program for the December meeting.

Resident Lamar Sprinkle said he thinks the flood elevation on the new maps is wrong. “I would love to see a restudy,” he said. Dennis Stamey agreed, saying he would like the maps to be looked at again.

Property owner Carl Gillespie said he also has issues with the accuracy of the maps. He also said he isn’t sure FEMA would be of any more assistance if the town did participate in the program. “The program has issues that may not make it as beneficial as it appears,” he said.

Business owner John Lupoli said insurance is available at competitive rates without participation in the program. He said he doesn’t think the insurance provided by FEMA will be enough coverage for many business owners. Property owner George Stork said his main concern is being able to develop property he purchased.

County Commissioner Bob Simpson said the NFIP restrictions are too complicated for commercial endeavors and the economic impact of participation could be horrendous. “There is not a mechanism to take care of these people,” he said.

“This map is wrong,” said resident Jim Conley. “I hope the town will get some relief.” Tom Harris recommended petitioning the maps. “Let’s look at it a little closer,” said property owner Bill Talbott.

On the other side, business owner Kurt Knechtil said he thinks the town could benefit from the program, citing the increase in the water volume of Crawford Branch. “The creek used to just trickle,” he said, “but now it floods. The issue is runoff.” He said that with an increase in development, the creek is not drying up like it used to.

Jenny Sanders with the Little Tennessee Watershed Association spoke in favor of joining the program. She said the program would mean significantly lower flood insurance rates. Non-participation means that federally backed loans will not be available for some property owners, and the town could have to provide its own assistance in the case of an emergency. She said that the Unified Development Ordinance already prohibits building where the new development would be located.

In other actions

• A public hearing was scheduled for Monday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. to discuss a special use application for CareNet.

• The board appointed Town Land Use Administrator Michael Grubermann to serve as the town representative on the county planning board.

• The board approved the replacement of shingles at the Burrell Building due to a roof leak. Depending upon the extent of damage, the cost could be $29,900 to repair.