(rshsdepot) Taneytown, MD

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

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Police station to be finished by November
Building is designed to look like railroad depot

By Christy Koontz
Special To The Sun
Originally published July 10, 2002


After months of delay, the new Taneytown police station is taking shape next
to the railroad tracks on East Baltimore Street.

Designed as an old railroad depot, the one-story station will stand in the
heart of the city's downtown, a stylistic linchpin for Taneytown's downtown
revitalization efforts.

"The building will be a match of what the old one was," City Manager Patrick
Nield said, referring to the former train station at the site. "It matches
the time period as well as the design of the station, which was previously
here."

The 5,000-square-foot building will provide badly needed space for the
city's Police Department and can accommodate 20 to 25 employees.

As many as 10 officers have had to share 544 square feet of space adjoining
City Hall. The extra space will allow officers doing casework, interviews
and interrogation to have work areas, said Lt. Bill Tyler.

"We're operating out of a two-room building with a front office and back
squad room, which incorporates our fingerprinting, holding cell and officer
locker room," Tyler said. "We're expanding to create a more professional
atmosphere and more professional look to the department."

The station will have two holding cells, two interview rooms, five offices,
a 405-square-foot booking room and men's and a women's showers and locker
rooms.

A 49-space municipal parking lot will be behind the station, and 14 spaces
will be created in front of and alongside the building.

Ground was broken on the $827,883 project in April, and work is expected to
be complete by November. City employees will temporarily move into the
police station while the town offices undergo a $500,000 upgrade.


Main Street Maryland

The projects are at the core of Taneytown's contribution to its downtown
revitalization, an effort aided by the Main Street Maryland Program.

The exterior will have woodlike batten siding and a standing seam metal
roof, reminiscent of the former train station.

To save money, a mahogany front door and matching sidelights were
eliminated, trimming thousands of dollars from the project.

Also, commercial flooring will be used instead of carpet, concrete cell
bunks will replace steel ones, and a rear carport and a second public
restroom were eliminated.

Despite the changes, the new station will "be a significant improvement over
the cramped quarters they have now," Nield said.


Nine bidders for job

GRC General Contractors Inc. of Westminster won over eight bidders for the
contract. City officials were pleased with the lower bids, which were closer
to the initial cost projections for the new headquarters and other
improvements.

"We're getting a police station, street, parking lot and razing of the old
[Southern States] mill all in one," Nield said.

When the city put the project out for bid last year, contractors submitted
bids ranging from $950,000 to $1.3 million. In addition to the construction
changes, a change in the economy after Sept. 11 might have contributed to
the lower bid, Nield said.

  Bernie Wagenblast
  Transportation Communications Newsletter
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/



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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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