REDLANDS – When construction began April 17, 1962, on the Safety Hall on Brookside Avenue and Eureka Street, many in the area marveled at what was to become of the building that had plans to house a number of fire and police department personnel.

Built from funds obtained through the California State Retirement System, the 20,000-square foot building was ready for occupancy a year later on April 20, 1963, and was constructed by Cal Construction Co. of San Bernardino.

It cost the city $298,000 to build.

Inside, the Safety Hall was to house a total police facility, administrative offices for fire department personnel and city attorney, space for local and state civil defense operations and council chambers, where meetings were held regularly until the early 1990s.

It also included a basement area that was to operate as an independent shelter for government personnel that had its own power, water, food and communications system that was to assure continuity of services during a time of disaster.

Designed by renowned architect C. Paul Ulmer, who also designed a number of schools and civic buildings in and beyond the Redlands area, the Safety Hall was described as a building with “functional capacity, adding great beauty to the city.”

And many city officials agreed.

Then-Mayor Waldo F. Burroughs described it as a “fine facility” for Redlands.

“Redlands Safety Hall is not only beautiful and of very sound construction, but is also very functional and will serve our community for years to come,” he said.

Councilman Norman N. Martinez added, “I feel that any citizen of this city can be proud of this facility, not only because of its architectural beauty, but more so of the progress in making Redlands a more desirable community in which to live.”

During the 1960s, Safety Hall contained many specialized service areas with the “most modern scientific police equipment available” and provided training areas at the facility never previous available, including a fully equipped classroom and an indoor firing range.

Prior to using Safety Hall, the police department was housed in the Hall of Justice, which stands on the west side of Fifth Street, just north of Redlands Boulevard, said Carl Baker, the city’s public information officer.

The name was decided by the city council in a 4-1 vote in 1962 with then Councilman Robert Wagner, chairman of the special building name committee, opposing. “Frankly, I’m stumped,” he said.

The name “Safety Hall” was selected because the majority of the council felt it most adequately reflected all of the city functions to be housed in the building, said the council.

It was agreed then, however, that various sections of the building that are visible from Brookside will be named in relation to their use.

Many of those sections are still visible today, most notably the public entrance for the police department.

While it was the gem of the city back in its heyday, in the mid-2000s, Safety Hall’s age started to show.

In November, 2007, the city council chambers was closed due to cracks in the building discovered by structural engineering company W. Tan Engineering.

They were hired to examine the structure to see if it was safe enough to move dispatchers into, to provide more space for operations.

“I visited the site on Oct. 29 and found cracks near the top of four concrete wall panels where the crossed steel beams are anchored,” Weiquan Tan said in a letter addressed to officials. “These beams support the roof of the proposed dispatch room. These cracks indicate the structural failure of the concrete panels, which could cause the collapse of the proposed dispatch room and, possibly, adjoining structures.”

In response to Tan’s comments, the council moved to close the room to the public until further notice.

But plans to reopen the room kept becoming delayed, as more and more problems boiled to the surface.

Later that month, another room of the Safety Hall was red-tagged after a toilet above the police department’s workout room flooded. It was closed so experts could search for E. coli bacteria.

During that time, officials also discovered that the police force was outgrowing the Safety Hall. Police administration moved into the old city hall building at Cajon Street, while officers, dispatchers, records and the jail remained in place.

Other police employees were scattered through the city in substations.

The problems did not seem to stop there.

The city applied for a grant that would retrofit the building in case of an earthquake later that month, but plans to do so were halted when asbestos had to removed from the building in August, 2008.

In September of that year, the city council decided that Safety Hall was not safe enough to be the headquarters for the police department and immediately removed operations away from the site.

Most of the operations were relocated to the Police Annex at Cajon Street, and its west substation at 1150 Brookside Ave. and north substation at 1568 N. Orange St.

It cost the city $140,482 to do so.

A month later the council began weighing its options on where to locate the police department, appointing a committee to explore what can be done about Safety Hall without leaving it vacant.

But after heavy November rain proved to be too much for the venue’s roof, the department’s dispatch center – which remained in one part of the building after personnel were moved because their new center was not yet complete – flooded and soaked dispatchers and equipment.

Dispatchers were moved from the building to the department’s Code 99 bus in its parking lot.

Following the flood, the council declared the state of disrepair at Safety Hall an emergency by unanimous vote.

It has remained vacant ever since.

The Redlands Area Historical Society had looked into the possibility of obtaining the venue to house its historical museum, but its focus shifted to the Brookside Avenue post office when the United States Postal Service announced it would close its retail center and possibly sell the building to an interested buyer.

With roadblocks facing the possibility of repairing and filling Safety Hall for government use, current City Manager N. Enrique Martinez told the Redlands City Council that it may be time to think about a new Safety Hall in February, 2010.

They agreed and hired Kosmont Cos., a Los Angeles-based company, to help with the initial planning stages of either refurbishing Safety Hall or using its land for a new facility.

A few months later, they returned to present a report to the council that said they would not be allowed to use the building, nor its land to to build a new facility.

Glen Allen, president of Newport Real Estate Services, company subcontracted by Kosmont to help complete the report on the matter, cited the building’s construction violations – building standards, mechanical codes and electrical codes were outdated and could not be used.

“Little of the building is salvageable,” he said.

The high cost of upgrades, the small size of the site and the location of storm drains and the shape of the property would prevent the city from building on the site.

Safety Hall timeline

April 17, 1962: Construction on the then-not yet named Safety Hall begins. Later, the Redlands City Council votes in a 4-1 decision to name the building Safety Hall.

Nov. 24, 1962: A dedication ceremony for the Safety Hall is held.

April 20, 1963: Safety Hall is ready for occupancy.

Oct. 4, 1994: The city council moves out and meets for the first time in the current chambers at 35 Cajon St.

March 5, 1994: C. Paul Ulmer, architect for Safety Hall, dies of cancer at Plymouth Village. He is described as a pioneer in the development of prefabricated housing during World War II, a noted designer of local schools and civic buildings and a community leader.

November, 2007: The city council chambers are closed due to cracks in the building. It’s the first of two sections of the building to be red-tagged in a number of weeks.

The second is the police department’s workout room, flooded by a toilet on the floor directly about it and red-tagged so experts can search for E. coli bacteria.

The Redlands Police Department seeks a $1.25 million grant to ensure that the then 46-year-old Safety Hall can survive an earthquake.

The Redlands City Council approves the department’s request to apply for a Pre-Disaster Mitigation Competitive Grant to pay for a seismic retrofit on Nov. 20.

Aug. 6, 2008: The Redlands City Council votes to appropriate funds for the removal of asbestos from Safety Hall, temporarily halting all earthquake retrofit construction taking place. Asbestos had been discovered in the ceiling and floor tiles of Safety Hall at the beginning of construction for the retrofit. W.B. Allen Construction Inc. was hired to work on the retrofit project.

Sept. 3: In a unanimous vote, the Redlands City Council declares that Safety Hall is not safe enough to be the Redlands Police Department headquarters. Effective immediately, the department must move all operations away from Safety Hall as engineers look into the possibility of saving the roof.

Sept. 4: The police department begins moving its personnel staff out of Safety Hall at a cost of $140,482. Over time, the police are spread out around the city and the department begins using its substations and the basement of the Police Annex as its base of operations.

October: The city council begins weighing its options for a home for the police department, making plans to appoint a committee to explore what could become of Safety Hall. A city staff report says the committee would be appointed on an ad-hoc basis and would discuss options relating to Safety Hall and the relocation of the police department.

Most of the department’s uniformed personnel moves to the second floor of the Police Annex at 30 Cajon St.

Nov. 1: A rainstorm proves too much for Safety Hall’s roof and floods the department’s dispatch center, soaking dispatchers and equipment. The dispatchers are moved from Safety Hall to the department’s Code 99 bus, a mobile command center parked in the Hall’s parking lot.

Dispatchers remain in Safety Hall as it closed in September because their new center is not yet complete.

Dispatchers continue doing their jobs in temporary but cramped quarters, unable to answer 9-1-1 calls and running to and from Safety Hall to use the restroom.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s dispatchers answer calls and transfer to dispatchers in Redlands.

Nov. 4: The city council declares the state of disrepair at Safety Hall an emergency after a unanimous vote. By declaring the hall an “emergency,” the city does not have to abide by the standard three-bid process to repair the roof.

Dec. 9: The city council holds a special meeting to discuss the Safety Hall and agrees to allow city staff to solicit request proposals from consulting firms that could help city staff perform a cost/benefit analysis, research real state possibilities and evaluate programming needs. In addition to the possibility of a new Safety Hall, the consultant would also have a hand in developing a study on a new civic center. Total cost – $80,000.

Late December: The police department finds a temporary home at Fire Station 264 on West Park Avenue, where it plans to operate for most of 2009. Dispatchers are the first to move in. City Manager N. Enrique Martinez said moving the whole department into Station 264 would save the city millions.

Jan. 6, 2009: The city council votes to move forward with a plan to get Fire Station 264 ready to become a temporary Safety Hall for dispatchers and police.

May 6: The city council votes unanimously to free up $172,726 and a 10-percent construction contingency to build a modular building near Fire Station 264 that will serve as a temporary home to the firefighters at the facility. Police plan to occupy the station as a temporary headquarters.

The contract is awarded to M-Space Holdings, a Redlands-based company that specializes in temporary portable structures. These become the city’s best option after city staff determines that retofitting existing buildings for police use would be beyond its price range, and fixing up an existing building could cost between $5 and $12 million.

May 19: The city council votes to provide the police department with a working headquarters by freeing up $252,764 and a 10 percent construction contingency for modular facilities. Police will use the these to process and hold people they arrest. Then-Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director Rosemary Hoerning said the lockup should be ready for police use in September or October.

July 21: The city council could award a construction contract to Hinkley Construction Co. for the set-up work at the new, temporary Safety Hall site at Fire Station 264. The work would prepare the site for portable structures and include the installation of sidewalks, handicap-accessible ramps and generators.

Hinkley’s bid of $233,000 is the lowest of three.

Feb. 10, 2010: City Manager N. Enrique Martinez talks about the new Safety Hall and says the city needs to start thinking about building a new building, but needs a consultant to help.

The new Safety Hall project could be the city’s largest capitol improvement project of the next decade. Martinez says the city’s staff does not have the necessary experience to make sure the project can be a success at the cheapest possible price, but the consultant could.

He adds the new Safety Hall would be home to the police and fire department’s administrative staff and could cost as much as $45 million to build.

A subcommittee had been working with city staff for more than a year to examine ways to make the construction possible.

Feb. 16: The city council selects Los Angeles-based Kosmont Cos. to help with the initial planning stages of a new Safety Hall. The contract will not exceed $50,000. City staff originally suggests up to $140,000 to pay for the contract. The altered contract is awarded with a 3-2 vote, with councilmen Jon Harrison and Pete Aguilar dissenting. Both councilmen felt it was necessary to move forward with staff recommendations of awarding an as-needed contract up to $140,000.

Kosmont Cos. will help the city determine how much space is needed for a new Safety Hall and will also investigate the possibility of retrofitting the old Safety Hall building to accommodate a new structure.

Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Bean feels there is a way to salvage the building. “I’ve been advised by people in the engineering business that while the building does have problems, the basic structure is sound,” he says.

May 18: Kosmont Cos. presents a report to the city council. The abandoned Safety Hall building – and the land it was built on – can not be used to build a newer facility.

“Simply, the building is worn out,” says Greg Allen, present of Newport Real Estate Services – a company subcontracted by Kosmont.

Allen says Safety Hall could be used for some other kind of municipal building, but not as police headquarters because of state requirements.

June 1, 2010: The city council votes unanimously to direct city staff to negotiate a new contract with Kosmont Cos. for the second phase of the effort to find a new home for Redlands Police.

The contract will require Kosmont to find a new spot for a Safety Hall and develop a strategy to pay for its construction.

Dec. 20, 2011: The council votes 4 to 1 to authorize City Manager N. Enrique Martinez to negotiate and execute a contract “not to exceed $160,000″ with Kosmont and Associates to look at sites and financing options for a new Safety Hall facility.

Councilman Bob Gardner votes against the authorization, expressing concerns that the city cannot afford to go forward with the project.

“There’s no doubt we need to do something,” Gardner says. “I don’t think we can afford to do it now.”

Development Services Director Oscar Orci says the contract is to pay for Phase D of Kosmont’s consultation agreement. The phase would refine space needs, look at property acquisition and financial strategies, he said.

April 17, 2012: Kosmont provides the council with an overview of the needs of Public Safety in Redlands, aligned with the visions of the heads of public safety and city staff.

They also provide the council with a summary of project costs and an estimation of the city’s capacity to self-fund the project that will cost $37.2 million to complete.

The council revises numerous financing options that include the use of existing funds and revenues; the use of existing city real estate assets; extending existing debts; potential new taxes; grants and other sources to fund the protect.

May 1: The city council decides to push back to August its decision to vote to ask residents to approve a bond for a new Safety Hall.

The request is made to provide city staff with adequate time to poll residents on the issue and provide more information to the public about financing.

The council is concerned it will not have enough time for a campaign to persuade voters in time for the November election.

Redlands Daily Facts archives contributed to this report

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