Come January, Kenmore’s police officers will be setting up shop on the second floor of City Hall.
The King County Sheriff’s Office, which contracts with the city of Kenmore to provide police services, will close the department’s current digs at 18118 73rd Ave. N.E. to the public Dec. 5. Officers will still work out of that precinct until the January move, according to Chief Cliff Sether and Mayor David Baker.
“We just take it and go with it,” Sether said. “I’m excited to move to City Hall and be part of the city staff. We work closely with the staff, and to be in the same building will enhance that even better.”
Sether added that it will be a seamless transition for officers to continue to perform their jobs effectively.
“The public won’t see any change,” said Baker, noting that the Sheriff’s Office will be leasing the new space from the city.
The closure — along with the Maple Valley precinct — is part of an effort by the Sheriff’s Office to save money and move deputies closer to the citizens and communities they serve. Sheriff Sue Rahr estimates that the moves will save King County taxpayers more than $8 million over the next 20 years by closing these facilities.
“We are saving money, strengthening our relationships with our contract city partners, and improving our access and visibility for the benefit of the citizens of King County,” Rahr said in a press release.
Mayor Baker noted that City Hall was spaciously built because “we knew down the road, we were going to need that (second floor)” for the police officers. He added that when Kirkland recently annexed the Finn Hill area, Sheriff’s officers would no longer need to patrol there or use the Kenmore precinct as often.
Sether said the Sheriff’s Office had looked at closing the precinct in the past to save money, but seriously started considering the change at the beginning of 2011.
At Kenmore City Hall, 18120 68th Ave. N.E., Sether will have an office and the other 11 officers will share a larger space when they come off patrol to complete paperwork. Tasks like fingerprinting, interviewing crime suspects and administering blood-alcohol-content tests will now be done at the Shoreline precinct, and bookings will still take place at the Snohomish County Jail in Everett.
Anyone who needs to apply for a concealed-pistol license can now do so at the Shoreline precinct Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays by appointment only. The Shoreline precinct is located at 1206 N. 185th St. Residents can make appointments by calling (206) 801-2710.
