JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – City staff will be discussing further details on a proposed new public safety building to be used by both the Jamestown Police Department and Jamestown Fire Department.

Jamestown Police Chief Scott Edinger says the proposed building would be used to store equipment and act as a backup dispatch if something were to happen at the current center.

Chief Edinger says the new building would provide more space for classrooms, equipment, vehicles, and more. The biggest of these needs would be evidence storage.

At this time, the Police Department has added 3,500 pieces of new evidence in storage in the past five years. Evidence is kept in five different locations in the city, which Edinger says reduces efficiency in their investigations.

While the proposed space would cover most of what the Police Department and Fire Department would need it for, Chief Edinger says he wanted to keep the project and it’s costs modest for the city.

Jamestown Fire Chief Jim Reuther pointed out that their current Southside Fire Station has been outgrown, but there is also concerns with Mill Hill.

Reuther says as the city grows in the Southwest, their response times become longer to that part of the community.

Councilmember Brian Kamlitz pointed out that with many aging buildings in use across the city, it might be time to start exploring new buildings such as the one being proposed by the police and fire departments.

While the proposed building and any specifications or costs are very preliminary, Mayor Dwaine Heinrich stated that the only way he could see the project coming to fruition was by a public vote.

No motion was made, but the council asked that city staff to work with the Jamestown Police Department and Jamestown Fire Department on continued discussions of the project.