City to consider new MOU regarding sheriff’s station funding

A group photo of all the dignataries in attendance at the groundbreaking for the new Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station on Golden Valley Road in Canyon Country on Wednesday. Cory Rubin/The Signal
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Santa Clarita City Council members are expected to approve a memorandum of understanding Tuesday that would provide additional funding for the 46,500-square-foot sheriff’s station that’s currently under construction on Golden Valley Road.

In May 2016, the city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County entered into a memorandum of understanding that allowed the county to station deputies at the new station location rent-free, as long as the department provides law enforcement services to the city, Tuesday’s agenda packet states. At the time, the estimated cost for constructing the new station was $51 million, excluding offsite improvements, and the county’s original contribution toward the project was to be $15 million.

On April 18, 2019, construction bids for the project were received, and the project’s costs were estimated to come to $61.1 million, excluding offsite improvements, according to the agenda packet. This resulted in an additional funding need of approximately $10.1 million, which is why the City Council will consider MOU Amendment No. 1 on Tuesday night.

If approved, the amendment would update the conditions of the agreement and result in the issuance of $3 million from the county to the SCV Sheriff’s Station trust account, which will be used for the station’s construction-related costs, the packet reads. This would bring the county’s total project contribution to $18 million, and the estimated $49.3 million that remains will be paid for by the city.

“It’s on the consent calendar, so unless somebody brings it forward, it will be approved with the consent items,” said Mayor Marsha McLean. “It’s necessary because when they had taken a look at what the construction costs were going to be, it turns out it was more expensive than we thought.”
The station is likely to be completed by July 2020 and be ready for deputies to move in by the fall of 2020, Robert Newman, director of the city’s Public Works Department, previously told The Signal.

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