Merced still weighing new police station, false-alarm fines

Potential sites for a new police headquarters and a proposal to help reduce the time and money spent on responding to false alarms are among the issues set to go before the Merced City Council on Monday.

A study session on options for a new police headquarters is set to begin at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 678 W. 18th St. The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m., when the council will discuss a proposed fine for repeated false burglar alarms.

City staffers have been examining a potential purchase of the Merced Sun-Star building, 3033 G St., for use as the next police headquarters. The city owns an undeveloped site at Mansionette Drive and Yosemite Avenue that has been identified for a new station, but the council has questioned whether it’s the best option.

Three alternatives will go before the council, according to city staff: remodeling the Sun-Star building at a cost of $13.2 million; demolishing the building and constructing it from scratch for $17.2 million; and building at the Mansionette site at a cost of $16.8 million. The first two options don’t include the cost of the land purchase, which is dependent on the final purchase price of the G Street building and how much the city makes from selling the Mansionette property.

The city is considering demolition of the G Street building because police headquarters are required to meet the highest earthquake standards in the state, according to city staff. The Sun-Star building would require a complete retrofit of its walls, ceilings, doorways and structural improvements, according to city staff.

During a presentation earlier this year, Merced police said that from 2011 to 2015, the city saw 26,258 burglar alarm calls. Of those, 525 turned out to be legitimate alarms. Each alarm call is treated as if it involves a real burglary, and officials say false alarms lead to a waste of law enforcement expenses and time.

The council will consider whether owners of burglar alarms would be required to get a free permit to register their alarms. Owners would get warnings for the first two false alarms, and a third one could be waived if they participated in a false-alarm awareness program. There would be a $50 fee for each of the fourth and fifth false alarms; six or more false alarms would cost the owner $100 each.

There would be an additional $100 fine for any false alarm if the owner does not have a permit.

The council also has to decide if school districts will be treated differently than any other person or business with an alarm.

Officials said residents make up a small portion of those triggering false alarms. Schools, churches and businesses are far more likely to cause the problem. The equipment often is installed incorrectly, officials said, or employees are not properly trained on using the alarm.

This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Merced still weighing new police station, false-alarm fines."