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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 7, 2006 Talent PD holds open house By Alan Panebaker Ashland Daily Tidings Submitted Photo The new design for the Talent police station would add over 2,000 extra square-feet. Talent Chief of Police Bob Rector is tired of interviewing suspects and victims in a cramped entry way in the 16-year-old Talent Police Department. He hopes taxpayers in the City of Talent agree and pass an $800,000 bond for a police station remodel and addition. On Oct. 8 and Oct. 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Rector will show people why he thinks the dilapidated building is in need of repair. "We really hope people turn out, take a look at their police department and make their own assessment," Rector said. The proposed bond would increase the police station from 2,160 square feet to 4,265 square feet. Rector showed the bathroom that serves as a locker room also, the cramped entryway and detective's office that is too small to work in. From 1990 — when the police station was built — to this year, Talent's population grew from about 3,200 people to about 6,200. Incident numbers increased from 843 to 4,500 annually during the same period. The city's police department hasn't grown accordingly, he said. The largest issue for the police department, Rector said, is the lack of rooms for interviewing people. With only one open patrol room that is sometimes used for interviews, suspects and victims can be interviewed in the same room. The police department's squad room serves as a collection area for officers, witnesses, victims and suspects. "It's an area that should not be open to the public," Rector said. The bond would tax 16 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in property taxes over a 15-year period. A homeowner with a house assessed at $200,000 would pay about $31 each year for the bond. In November of 2004, a $5 million proposal to fund a new city hall and remodeled police station failed. The Talent Urban Renewal Agency funded a new city hall — which is under construction — and the city decided a smaller bond for the police station would suit voters better. Talent City Manager Betty Wheeler said the city has not seen a similar bond measure in more than a decade, so she couldn't make a prediction how the community feels about a remodeled police station. "We haven't heard anyone speaking out publicly about it," Wheeler said. Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or [email protected] . Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.