Former fireman Councilman Grayson Boucher is on a mission to find a new headquarters location for the Shreveport Police Department. Perhaps it’s a guilty conscience for not actively supporting Proposition # 2 of the proposed bond package.
Boucher is a real estate appraiser and broker. Seemingly he has forgotten a basic real estate principal—location, location, location. Has Boucher truly considered the impact of the location of a new police headquarters.
Boucher first proposed the old Arkla building in the 500 block of Milam Street. At least that building was near the current building on Texas Avenue, the city jail, the evidence building, the 911 building and Interstate 20.
Boucher ignored the parking needs for a headquarters building and the obvious traffic congestion that location would present,--much less the negative impact on future downtown development.
Now he has found another “bargain” buy—the BPH Billiton building on Preston Avenue, across from the recently constructed Shreveport YMCA
Again, no consideration of the location—like the additional time units would spend traveling to and from that building to Southern Hills or MLK for patrols. And how about the additional congestion this would cause on Clyde Fant parkway, or 70th Street just west of the Jimmy Davis bridge? Or for that matter the location of the police repair garage behind the present location?
If he looks hard enough, Boucher probably could find an old building in the inner city at practically no cost. The city owns many adjudicated properties in that area –and old FEMA trailers can probably be located.
Boucher’s over-riding consideration to save tax payer dollars versus prudent utilization of the public dollars is subject to question. One can only wonder what his approach would have been if the Shreveport Fire Department was in need of a new headquarters building.
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