$647 million on the ballot From the cover
The full story
In a nutshell
Response time savings
A new station According to city staff, a new fire station in south Plano would improve response times.
A $155 million new Plano Police Department headquarters, Proposition B, is the largest single project featured in the May 3 bond referendum. The building that houses police department operations was built in 1973, and the latest expansion to personnel space came in 2003, according to city documents. In that time, the police department’s staffing has increased 30%, Police Chief Ed Drain said. The new 9-acre HQ would be located at the corner of Park Boulevard and Alma Drive. The new building would consolidate personnel located in separate buildings, including the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center. “The only reason that we have some of those folks in these spaces is because we don’t have space to put them at the police headquarters,” Drain said.
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Proposed response area Proposed fire station 14 Existing fire stations
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SOURCE: CITY OF PLANO/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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prevent that altogether, but whenever you do that it begins to affect your response times.” Emergency calls in the city have increased by over 50% since 2014, Biggerstaff added, and Station 14 would have been the city’s sixth busiest in 2022. He also said that area is expected to see additional growth as the Collin Creek mixed-use development continues to develop. Additionally, the proposal calls for funding for a renovation to Station 8, and a land acquisition to expand Station 3.
Proposition D asks voters to approve $37.49 million for improvements to several Plano fire stations, along with the construction of a brand new fire station. Fire Station 14 would be located next to the new police headquarters at the corner of West Park Boulevard and Alma Drive, in between Stations 1 and 2, which Fire Chief Chris Biggerstaff said were “the two busiest stations.” “It would provide us coverage to keep us from having to bring other apparatus over to cover Station 1 and Station 2,” Biggerstaff said. “We can’t
• Plano PD staff: 49 • HQ size: 13K square feet
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1981-2003
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• Plano PD staff: 141 • HQ size: 32K square feet
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• Plano PD staff: 475 • HQ size: 52.4K square feet
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• Plano PD staff: 618 2024
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SOURCE: CITY OF PLANO/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Another thing
Neighborhood street projects Street rehab not completed City boundary
depending on need. Within each zone, the work is usually broken up into two projects that cost approximately $5.3 million, meaning the bond would pay for construc- tion in eight neighborhood zones. “When we go to these zones, we will do repairs on all the streets, the alleys and the sidewalks to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the community in that area,” Owens said. Other road projects in Proposition A include res- idential street reconstruction, bridge replacement, intersection improvements, alley reconstruction, sidewalk repairs and more.
Proposition A accounts for nearly half of the pro- posed bond funds, which would allocate money to various street improvements. Of the $316 million in Proposition A, asphalt overlay projects would account for $130 million, while neighborhood residential street and alley repairs would account for $92.75 million. Plano’s neighborhood street rehabilitation is done by performing maintenance to all roads and alleys within a set area called a “neighborhood zone,” Director of Public Works Abby Owens said. Plano has 53 neighborhood zones, and Owens said city staff aims to hit each zone every 20-25 years,
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SOURCE: CITY OF PLANO/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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