Relocation of station to be studied

NEW CASTLE — The city has hired a local engineering firm to look into the possibility of moving the police station from the city building on Jefferson Street to the former Huntington Bank building at North and East streets..

Council recently agreed to pay RAR Engineering $25,000 to conduct a feasibility study on the proposal. Officials said the state will pay for the study under the financial recovery Act 47.

One of the initiatives in the city’s fiscal recovery plan under Act 47 addresses the possibility of relocating the police station.

According to the recovery plan adopted by council in August 2007, the police station has several deficiencies including inadequate facilities for detaining adult and juvenile offenders simultaneously, faulty plumbing and insufficient storage space for evidence, weapons and supplies.

Earlier this year, Huntington Bank donated the building to the Greater New Castle Community Development Corporation. The building previously housed the former Sky Bank for several years.