Does Sequim need new facilities for a city hall and police department? In my opinion, it is long overdue. City elected and appointed representatives have consistently avoided facing reality when constructions for these facilities were brought up and as a result the building costs have skyrocketed. There is no denying that the construction of a new police facility is an expensive undertaking. But one must also consider how expensive the "no build" alternative might be. If decisive leadership had been a part of Sequim city government in the past and now, we would have a new city hall and police department built or as the case is now, under construction.

Sequim is growing and expanding faster than its infrastructure can keep up and an important part of the infrastructure is adequate civic facilities to serve the community and its visitors. As a 30-year law enforcement professional, I have a great interest in seeing the Sequim Police Department serve the community from a modern police facility. The current situation is dismal. A law enforcement facility utilized by several agencies does not belong in shopping mall. It is a civic embarrassment.

In order to generate important ideas for consideration, the community and the department's officers should be involved, this will avert criticism later. To be a good neighbor, the police department should explain to residents all aspects of the new facility, including security arrangements.

Misconceptions about what is required in a new police facility are common. I doubt any of our city council members and city hall staff, except the interim city manager, know the logistics and planning needed to facilitate a police department. It is not "just another office building with a holding cell." Nothing is further from the truth. Today's modern police station must conform to a complex array of often-conflicting local, regional and national codes and regulations. A police station may house a short-term holding area or jail, an identification laboratory, a secure evidence repository, interview rooms including entry and exit doors for victims of sensitive cases.

The police department is a 24-7 operation and as such its employees need an area to relax and enjoy their meals. Parking of police vehicles for employees must be secure. It is important to display the visibility of security features. Police departments know that it is not uncommon that police vehicles and department employees are subjected to retaliatory property vandalism and I can recall several years back that the tires of several Sequim Police vehicles were slashed.

I attended the city council meeting on July 28, 2008, to voice my support for the construction of a new police facility. I have been a member of the Sequim Police Department since 1999 and I have come to know the department and its employees well. I can say without doubt that Sequim has a professional, hard-working police department. They have earned a professional facility and environment to work in.

If the city of Sequim government and its elected officials are serious about providing the much-needed facilities, they must move forward without hesitation before the costs escalate any further.





Soeren Poulsen is a computer forensics examiner and often works with the Sequim Police Department.