Co-location back on the table

FORT WAYNE, Ind., (WANE) -- - Plans for a new city hall in Fort Wayne are sparking an old debate. Should city and county police be under one roof? County commissioners say yes, and they're reviving talks about co-location.

It comes after Mayor Tom Henry announced plans to relocate the police department and a number of city offices into one building.

The new city hall would be inside the Renaissance Square building downtown that once housed the Lincoln Museum.

The move would mean half of the county owned, City-County building would be left vacant.

But, the county commissioners new proposal could change that. The commissioners believe if both departments co-locate, other city offices won't have to stop leasing space and leave the City-County building.

And that means the county, wouldn't lose out on more than a million dollars in rent.

"I think at this point it's one more time, we'll give it one more shot and hopefully we can figure it out," commissioner Bill Brown told NewsChannel 15. "If we have an opportunity to put the sheriff in there, if that works, than we think it's a good idea at this point."

Brown and the other commissioners sent a letter to Mayor Henry about the plan.

Rachel Blakeman, spokesperson for the city says Henry is open to the idea, but would like to see a detailed proposal.

"The Mayor is always happy to have meaningful conversations with the county about opportunities where we can work together," said Blakeman.

If the co-location plan happens, the county would become the tenant at Renaissance Square and the city could continue to be a tenant at the City-County building.

"If that can happen, that's always been a goal of mine and many people," said City Council President Tom Smith. "If we can do that over there, than this building begins to make more sense to me, that is buying Renaissance Square makes more sense to me."

And there's another option to weigh: if the city does leave the City-County building, the sheriff's department could take its place there.

"The county owns this building, it seems to make more sense to be here. It all comes down to dollars and cents," Sheriff Ken Fries told NewsChannel 15.

On top of that, the sheriff's department is also looking at another option: moving its headquarters out near New Haven.

As far as the idea of co-locating at Renaissance Square, Mayor Henry has said he'd like to see some finalized plans for this building by the end of next month.