The City of Bettendorf is considering building a new police station near the Bettendorf public works annex along Devils Glen Road.
The Bettendorf City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 17, approved a resolution to hire Estes Construction as its construction manager at risk (CMAR) for a proposed police station and possible renovation of city hall.
“This has been a top priority for Bettendorf City Council,” said Decker Ploehn, city administrator. “In 2023, we did a space needs study, and it found that we really need more room for our growing staff – and that includes more police officers. With our city growing, we are committed to keeping our community safe, and building a new police station in the center of our city is paramount to continuing to fulfill our city’s mission.”
“For the majority of 2024, city staff has been working with Bray Architects on a preliminary design of a new police station to be located on city-owned land adjacent to the Bettendorf public works annex along Devils Glen Road,” said Jeff Reiter, assistant city administrator and economic development director. “This site was decided upon due to its central location in the heart of Bettendorf and will centralize our police department for the entire community we serve – providing better response times and setting us up for the continued momentum we see as our population continues to grow.”
The city created a core project team (CPT), which consists of staff from the Police, Administration, Public Works, Finance, and Legal departments.
In addition to a new police station, the CPT has been working with Bray Architects on a preliminary design of renovations to city hall to reuse the space that would be vacated
if the police department moves to a new location.
Estes Construction will now start meeting with the CPT and Bray Architects to establish a game plan for the new police station. This plan will include architectural renderings of the new facility, more definitive pricing, and establishing tactics for community outreach. The CPT anticipates community outreach and engagement to begin during the first quarter of 2025.
“Hiring Estes as our CMAR and bringing them on board during the design process has some huge benefits,” said Brent Morlok, city engineer. “The biggest one is cost estimating. They’re the experts at that. As construction managers, that’s a major part of their work. They have a massive database of pricing that will really help us dial in the proposed cost of these projects. Then, you get some ancillary benefits — constructability reviews, material and equipment selection, and construction staging. They have experts in all these matters.”
The proposed police station would likely be funded through a public referendum with the city hall renovations funded separately.
