“We definitely don't have enough space for everything,” said Council Bluffs Police Identification Technician Kasey Gizler.
Three’s a crowd in the crime lab.
“It's very crowded and we're running into each other and running out of places to put property,” said Gizler.
In the traffic division officers have to share desks and computers.
“If it's a serious crash or fatality we could have all six officers working at one time. It makes it awfully hard to do that in a space this size,” said Capt. Scott Milner.
Sometimes the lack of space can mean a less than sanitary place.
“We'll have officers that may come in and eat a lunch or a dinner here and eat off the same table that before a guy was tagging some marijuana and cocaine evidence,” said Capt. Milner.
The current facility is 19,000 square feet. A department the size of Council Bluffs should be working out of something twice as big.
“It's not really one of those we really want one because it would cool to have a new station, it truly is a need for not just us, but for the entire city,” said Capt. Milner.
Captain Scott Milner says a new department would not only benefit the officers, but the people they serve.
“If we really would have all these other things that major metropolitan agencies have then I really think that our service and those things could just improve greatly,”
On Monday the City Council will approve or deny a special election in May that would allow city voters to vote on a $20 million bond issue that will pay for a new headquarters.
“I think the citizens of Council Bluffs know we need a new facility, we just have to educate them,” said Capt. Milner.
Chief Tim Carmody says he has been transparent about the project and what it will cost tax payers.
The average Council Bluffs home is $100,000. For a $105,000 home it would cost tax payers about $30 a year to help pay for a new facility, less than a dollar a day.
“You know the police department is not trying to build the Taj Mahal, we are just trying to get a facility that clearly functions as a law enforcement agency,” said Capt. Milner.
